Camellia Sinensis Assamica Plants in Japan

When we discuss Japanese tea, we typically refer to plants from the Camellia Sinensis Sinensis variety. However, last month, while exploring tea locations in Mie Prefecture, we stumbled upon a small town cultivating the Assamica variety instead. The story became even more intriguing when we learned that these plants originated from seeds sent from the Calcutta Botanical Gardens of India in 1877! We couldn’t resist delving deeper into this fascinating discovery.

The original tea bushes planted by seeds 150 years ago.

The village, Oroshi, is located in Mihama city in the picturesque south of Mie Prefecture. Nestled among significant religious sites and pilgrimage routes of the Kumano Kodo, as well as stunning rice terraces and a coastline rich in culinary delights, Oroshi often goes unnoticed.

We received a warm welcome from a cheerful local delegation, and Ms. Nao Enomoto from the Mihama Tourism Office organized our visit wonderfully. I was fascinated to see the unique way the tea plants are cultivated—somewhat wilder, with tea bushes scattered naturally throughout the area that have been propagating even up on the hills. Mr. Hiroya Shibasaki happily explained and translated any details I inquired about. The sight of hundreds of budding tea flowers among the few already in bloom showcased the vitality of those 150-year-old plants!

The old plants were bursting with flower buds!

These seeds, later identified as hybrids between Assam and Chinese cultivars, were distributed at the time to seven different prefectures. Hikoshiro Yamada planted 840 of those seeds in Oroshi, where he owned land. By 1879, he successfully produced 2 kilos of tea from those plants. Unfortunately, the knowledge of these tea plants and the practice of black tea production gradually faded, only to be rediscovered in 1932.

Today, Mihama is the last place where Assamica tea plants from the original seven prefectures are still cultivated, and only one tea farmer produces tea for commercial purposes. Mr. Yuichi Yamanaka kindly shared his story and processing methods with us, gifting us some black tea. While a few others in town also make tea, he is the only one doing it professionally. He explained that producing black tea is a challenging and complex process. Additionally, climate change poses serious challenges, with hot seasons getting longer and winters getting less cold. This is not ideal for the tea. 

Tea farmer Yamanaka-san (left) in his factory and Shibasaki-san (right) explaining the temperatures he uses to dry the black tea.
A younger 20 year old tea field that Yamanaka-san has planted.

Despite these obstacles, he remains committed to his craft, experimenting and persevering. From two harvests each year, he yields only about 20 kilos of finished tea. We felt incredibly fortunate to have received some Oroshi Assam tea!

If you have the opportunity to visit Japan, consider a trip to Mie. Oroshi in the south and Watarai in the north make a very worthwhile tea-trip out there!

Our special thanks goes to Japanese tea instructor Kaori Inoue for enthusiastically connecting us to the people of Oroshi.  

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