Of all the tea farms in Japan, only a small number of tea farmers grow competition grade tea. If the tea contributed to Japan's National Tea Competition wins the award of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, it brings extreme and deep honor for the farmer. However, growing competition grade tea requires a surprising amount of money and effort. So, why do farmers grow this special tea? If a farmer grows competition grade tea, through his experience growing the tea, along with having the tea critiqued by experts at the National Tea Competition, he gains much knowledge about how to perfect not only his competition grade tea but his entire tea crop. The quality improves across all kinds of tea produced by the farmer.

It usually takes at least a decade to perfect a tea worthy of submitting to Japan's National Tea Competition. Once the farmer starts growing competition grade tea, all of his agricultural processes, even daily tasks that before seemed repetitive or unimportant, become filled with concentration and intensity. To grow excellent tea, every step is important. The farmer must try his best at all times.

The most vital steps which must be done extremely cautiously are: seeking out new types of fertilizer, and in the case of Gyokuro and Matcha, shading the tea plants from sunlight. Fertilizing techniques advance at a rapid pace, even in modern agriculture, so farmers must discover which new fertilizers work best. Before applying a new fertilizer to the tea crop, it is not uncommon for the farmer to taste the fertilizer to gauge its effect on the tea plant. The farmer knows the tea plant well enough to understand if this fertilizer is what the plant needs. For example, if a fertilizer is too salty, it is generally not good for the tea plant.

In the case of Gyokuro and Matcha, one of the most difficult issues is knowing exactly when to shade the tea leaves from sunlight. If too early, tea leaves can't absorb nutrition and the flavor is weak. If too late, the noble mellow aroma is weak. Through growing competition grade tea, the farmer acquires the ability to tell the best time to shade from sunlight. The farmer that truly knows his tea plants gauges the best time to shade from sunlight not by the calendar, but by looking closely at the tea leaves. Our tea farmer says that when shade is required, the tea leaves talk and ask him to provide shade from sunlight.

Competition grade tea production requires a surprising amount of money and effort. About three times the amount of fertilizer is used to grow competition grade tea. And all growing processes must be carefully completed. In addition, the yield amount is about one fifth of common tea, because competition tea is harvested when the tea leaves are very young. Though competition grade teas bring high prices, the extra money earned does not cover all the costs involved in growing and production. But, farmers do not grow competition grade tea for profit. Farmers grow this special tea to gain knowledge and expertise, with the goal of producing the perfect tea.

After winning a national award from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for his competition grade tea, one experienced farmer, who has grown competition grade tea for more than 10 years, said he feels the most delight when his tea plants grow the way he intends. While honored by the recognition and award, the farmer's greatest satisfaction is knowing that his efforts resulted in such a special, memorable tea.

We have arranged to add three limited edition Competition Grade teas and two limited edition Belended Sencha teas.

Competition Grade Tea is extremely rare and available only at the National Tea Fair of Japan, attended by those within the Japanese green tea industry. The flavor is unique only to teas contributed to the exclusive competition and quite different from usual tea.

Belended Sencha has concurrently two different characteristics: the aroma of Sencha and the taste of Gyokuro. They are composed of fine and unique breeds of tea with special characteristics. Each individual tea is more sweet and mellow than basic Sencha, characteristic of Gyokuro. But, it has a more refreshing aroma than Gyokuro, characteristic of Sencha.

Competition Grade Tea is limited edition of just 650 packages each and Blended Sencha is limited edition of just 850 packages each ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season.