Two of our founding team members, Yasuharu Matsumoto and Simona Suzuki, recently had the honor of delivering a keynote speech at the Isecha Promotion Conference in Mie.
This annual event celebrates and promotes the Mie tea brand – Isecha. The 2024 conference took place on 26th November in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, drawing around 150 attendees, including tea producers, researchers, and government officials.
The event began with opening remarks by Takao Kamata, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, followed by an award ceremony for the Isecha Competition. Our team then delivered a one-hour presentation titled “The World is Captivated by Japanese Tea.” Using the inspiring example of Mie-native Kahei Ohtani, who pioneered Japanese tea exports over 150 years ago, the presentation highlighted how a single individual’s passion can spark transformative change and suggested that every one of the conference attendees have the potential of becoming tea heroes. The audience was deeply moved and enthusiastically engaged with the presenters during the celebratory dinner that followed.
We are thrilled to contribute to the growth and recognition of Japan’s tea regions and look forward to future opportunities to support the tea industry.