KAI MASAYA

In The Misty Mountains Of Miyazki

 
 


 

Located high in the mountains of northwestern Miyazaki Prefecture, the Takachiho area is frequently shrouded in fog, making it perfect for quality tea leaves. Legend connects many deities of the Japanese Shinto pantheon to the area, bestowing upon it the moniker “Village of the Gods.” Patchworked across 520 acres of this luminous land lie the fields of Kai Seichaen. Kai Masaya is a fourth-generation grower, continuing an over 70-year tradition of Kai family tea cultivation. Working alongside his parents and workers he considers to be “like family,”

Masaya produces award-winning Oolong, Koucha, and Kamairicha. With the knowledge that the number of tea farmers in the Takachiho domain is decreasing, the Kai family goal is continuing the tradition of tea growing for the sake of his hometown as well as the enjoyment of new clientele. It’s just as important to him that his tea remains a local favorite as well as a national one–and we hope, an international hit as well.

“When I was a child, I used to think that this was a rural area,” says Kai san. “But now I feel proud of Takachiho, which has a deep history and many gods nearby.” Kai Seichaen is dedicated to preserving local traditions of tea production and local tastes while also catching up to the mechanization of the 21st century. Using mostly organic fertilizer and a small local team, Kai Seichaen is truly as magical as the surroundings suggest. 

 
 
 
 

AWARDS

2015: 1st Class, 69th National Tea Tasting Event, Kamairicha Division


2015: Japan Tea AWARD,  Grand Prize Special Award


2022: Japan Tea AWARD,  Japan Tea Grand Prize

THE MIYAZAKI REGION

Between Sea & Mountains

South-Eastern Kyushu. Facing the Pacific Ocean, Miyazaki prefecture is known of its beautiful pristine beaches and its verdant and luscious mountains.
It enjoys a mild climate. While it is not well known outside Japan for its tea, Miyazaki is actually the fourth tea-producing region of Japan.
This area produces very high quality tea.It is notably home to the exceptional and rare Kamairicha, made using a very special production technique (pan fry).

This technique is almost lost as only few producers still have the expertise required to produce this tea.

In Gokase-cho, where you can see Mt. Aso and Mt.Sobo, tea gardens spread to the ground above 600 m in altitude,  the difference in temperature is large, and allows the production of fragrant tea.

In 2015, it was certified as a World Agricultural heritage.

Still now Tea farmers inherit and preserve the traditional way of making roasted tea.It is easily recognizable as the tea leaves are curved, making a "comma" shape, Magatama in Japanese.

AN ALMOST LOST PROCESS

Kamairicha

"Kamairi" in Japanese literally means"pan firing", or"roasting in a pan". The process is intense and manual, and as a result production is only done on a small scale.

The characteristic aroma of tea is strongly preserved in the final product, due to the traditional techniques developed over centuries.

Fresh tea leaves are immediately parched after harvesting for ten minutes at 300 degrees C, using a Japanese process called "Iriha-ki", to minimize and stop fermentation. Parched leaves are rolled and dried in a four-step, intensely manual process.


This time-tested Japanese technique yields a unique pan-parched fragrance, with a remarkably complex and rich taste. Kamairicha is highly rich in natural antioxidants, as it does not undergo the usual steam treatment of green teas.

THE TEAS OF MASAYA SAN

The Epitome Of Takachiho Tea

Kaimairicha, the pan-fried tea born in Miyazaki prefecture, is what Kai san believes to be the epitome of Takachiho tea. True to this belief, his Oolong cha is finished using pan firing to bring out the aroma and full flavor of the leaf. 

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