The Origin of Fukamushi Sencha
The city of Kakegawa in Shizuoka Prefecture is known as one of the best tea producing areas in Japan. It produces high quality green tea, mainly Sencha tea. In this article, we will provide details about this tea.
The History of Kakegawa Tea
Tea cultivation in Kakegawa began over 400 years ago. Buddhist monks brought tea seeds from Kyoto and planted them in Yoshioka-hara during the renovation of Eiju-ji Temple in Wadaoka Village (now part of Kakegawa City) in 1572.
In 1600, Yamanouchi Kazutoyo, the lord of Kakegawa Castle, served tea to Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sayo-no-Nakayama Pass. There was a strong spirit of industriousness in Kakegawa and its surroundings. For this reason, each village took the initiative to develop tea fields and water reservoirs for the plants.
From the Edo period to the Meiji period, the Makinohara Plateau was developed as a tea field, which increased the production volume. What's more, the cultivation was so successful that it was eventually exported to overseas countries!
The year 1975 is a special time for Sencha tea, because at that time the deep steaming method was introduced. Thanks to this, the taste of tea changed for the better. Over the years, the Japanese continued to improve the tea processing method to maintain its best taste, aroma and quality.
More about Sencha tea
Sencha tea is made using a method called Mushi, which means "steaming" in Japanese. Tea leaves are steamed for about 100-150 minutes or longer. This will give the infusion a more pronounced flavor and a green color (the longer the steaming, the deeper the green color and the characteristic suspension in the cup).
Thanks to this, green tea also retains many nutrients, such as catechins, polyphenols, and vitamin C.
It is important to pay attention to the temperature of the water that we pour over our green tea and the brewing time. We should not pour boiling water, because we will destroy what is good in the tea. Time also plays an important role, the longer we brew our tea, the more bitter notes will be extracted into the infusion. Therefore, it is recommended to use sieves or jugs (kyusu) to stop brewing the tea at the right moment.
Kakegawa is an attractive city. Where you can enjoy beautiful views of mountains and tea fields. It is an ideal place for tea lovers.
We encourage you to try the historic Kakegawa tea.
