小島製茶 やまへい

This year's gyokuro is finally complete. It takes a lot of care and patience, but that gentle, lingering umami when you take your first sip — it makes every bit of effort worth it. We've captured the whole process on video, so please come watch it with us!

Quality starts with how you pick. We don't leave it to machines. Instead, we follow the tradition of ichi-shin ni-you — picking only the new bud and the two tender young leaves just below it, one by one, entirely by hand. It takes time. It takes effort. But that's okay — we wouldn't have it any other way. ☺️ We are proud to grow tea here in Uji, and we want to keep delivering something we can hand over with confidence — now, and for years to come. Even after picking, we keep watching. Once...

Another brilliant blue sky today, and we've been at work since the early hours, crafting our gyokuro. Take a look at the photo — freshly picked tea leaves glistening in the morning sun. Deep, vivid green. Firm, resilient texture. Each and every leaf carries the concentrated umami that makes gyokuro truly special. The defining feature of gyokuro lies in its "shaded cultivation" method. For approximately 20 days before harvest, the entire tea garden is covered with shading sheets to block...