Tea production area: Ohtawara City and Kanuma City
Brand name of tea: Kurobane tea and Itaga tea
Types of tea: Sencha (medium steamed green tea), black tea and flavored tea

History
It is said that a Buddhist monk brought tea seeds from Kyoto and planted them in Kurobane Town.
It’s thought that the beginning of Kurobane tea happened when a Buddhist monk brought tea seeds and planted them during the Muromachi period.
Due to the aging and the shortage of successors, the number of tea producers has decreased, while abandoned farmland has increased. At the same time, the number of tea factories has also decreased. Now there is only one tea factory of Sudo sencha in Tochigi Prefecture (as of February 2022).

Tea fields of Sudo seicha (March 2019)

Sudo seicha (須藤製茶)
Sudo seicha is in Sukagawa district, Otawara City and produces sencha. The tea leaves are brought to the tea factory of Sudo seicha from other districts, such as Kanuma City, for producing sencha.

Sudo seicha tea factory (March 2019)

Senga kiku (煎が効く)
Kurobane tea is cultivated and produced in Sukagawa district, Otawara City at the foot of Mt. Yamizo. The local people say that Kurabane tea is senga kiku (煎が効く). It means that the tea has full body and rich flavor, and one teaspoon of tea leaves can brew many cups of tasty tea.

Sudo seicha’s Kurobane tea (sencha) (March 2019)

Black tea with sansho (山椒) and chili pepper
The local people of Sukagawa district established a group “Yamizo-Azumappe Kyogikai (やみぞあづまっぺ協議会)” in 2012. The members of the group have reclaimed abandoned tea fields and produced sencha and black tea. They blended black tea with sansho (Japanese pepper) or the local chili peppers. The combination of black tea with sansho or chili peppers goes together well. Drinking black tea make the body warm, so it is especially recommended to drink it in the cold of winter.

Tea fields of Yamizo-Azumappe Kyogikai (March 2019)

Yamizo-Azumappe Kyogikai’s Black tea “Ungen no seihitsu”
やみぞあづまっぺ協議会の和紅茶「雲巌の静謐(うんげんのせいひつ)」

Itaga tea (March 2019)

Related article on the site:
Tea related facility:
Tea mascot Yuru-Chara:
Ceramic and pottery art: Mashiko ware

Reference:
松下智 (平成3年) 日本名茶紀行 (初版) 雄山閣出版
広報おおたわら2016.5 No.1226
https://www.city.ohtawara.tochigi.jp/docs/2016050200015/file_contents/01-26k2.pdf
やみぞあづまっぺ協議会　https://yamizo-tea.com

*The information provided on this site may be updated. If you find any information in this article that is incorrect, new, or incomplete, please contact CHAMART.
*The site does not describe all “Teas of Japan” or all “Teas of the World”. Additionally, each article expresses the writer’s personal experience and feelings.

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