5 days on a tea plantation

Various plantations in Japan offer tea internships. This is the perfect experience for tea enthusiasts.

Tea plantation 茶畑

Spring begins the first season of picking tea leaves. This is a special time for farmers and people buying tea from the first harvest.
Time is of the essence here. The collected leaves must be delivered to the factory as quickly as possible to preserve the best of what is in them.
Once they arrive at the factory, a series of tea processing processes begin. This is done to stop the oxidation of the leaf and preserve its best flavor and aroma.

The internship gives you the opportunity to learn about all the individual processes:

1. A close look at tea cultivation.
2. Detailed knowledge of the plant and its needs.
3. Role and influence on the final effect, i.e. the infusion.
4. Methods of harvesting, transportation and first steaming of tea.
5. Understanding the process of processing the harvested leaf to the final stage (dried tea).
6. Tasting and learning about different tea blends and their characteristics.
7. Creating an original tea blend from different tea varieties and their influence on the final taste.
8. Pricing of tea according to quality.
9. Secrets of selling tea at home and abroad.

You don't have to go to Kyoto to experience all of these individual things. There are a ton of tea plantations throughout Japan that offer these practices.

Another reason to experience an internship in Japan is to learn about their culture. The work ethic in Japan can also be an interesting thing in itself. Because the Japanese are a collectivist society. Which affects every aspect of their lives.

Sado 茶道

So in Polish translation "the way of tea" is the science of tea ceremony in the tea pavilion. Sado describes in detail the sublime way of making the ritual Matcha tea as well as its consumption. In the tea pavilion every movement, every word and position has great weight and some kind of meaning. Sado also describes in detail the decor prevailing in the Chashitsu or "tea room".

When entering the tea pavilion, you may feel like you are stepping back in time. The tea room has a simple décor that should be adapted to the place and time. The arrangement changes depending on the season. To be able to enjoy the moment we are in as much as possible.

A room with tatami. Ink paintings (Sumi-e). Cut flower decoration (Ikebana). Poetry written on a scroll (Kakejiku). Everything in the tea pavilion has meaning.
This is to influence the best possible feeling of what is here and now. And to fully enjoy such a simple activity as drinking tea.

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