KIYA YASUHIKO

The Tea Master

Yasuhiko Kiya the Third (heir and third owner of Kiya-horyouen) is a certified Japanese Tea Appraiser and holds the highest rank along 38 others in Japan. He works to spread new ideas and concepts about Japanese tea and promote Yame tea, Gyokuro and Tea culture in general.

We are very honored to propose Kiya san's incredible teas and be able to collaborate together on news ways to enjoy green tea by going beyond the traditional ways (stay tuned !).

Kiya san has developed exclusive teas for IKKYU. His deep and unique knowledge of tea along with the quality of Kiya san's products will lift you to the highest levels of Japanese Green Tea.

EXCELLENCE

No Compromise !

Kiya-horyouen was established 86 years ago. This well known, but quite remote and almost hidden tea producer sells Hoshino-mura Gyokuro, Sencha and Matcha as well as high quality tea leaves.

Hoshinomura area produces special high quality tea and has won the Minister of Agriculture award for Gyokuro five years in a row in the Gyokuro Contest of Japan.

The Hoshinomura area, which is famous for its beautiful starry sky, is a calm and cozy village located deep in the mountain's valley with morning mist, a critical condition for growing the best Gyokuro along with pure water and good soil.

THE YAME REGION

An Ideal Climate

The most renowned plantations in Fukuoka prefecture are located in Yame area. Yame City is in a vast expanse of plain in Chikushi Region (Chikushi Plain) in the south of Fukuoka Prefecture.

Chikushi Plain is blessed with an ideally wonderful climate and fertile soil conditions for agricultural production.

In particular, the area ranging from Chikugo River basin to Yabe River basin (called as Yame Region) has produced green tea for centuries.

Thanks to the area's particular soil, most of the green tea produced in this region has a full-bodied taste and a remarkable sweetness.

Morning mists and river fogs are very frequent. Curtains of fog wrap green tea plantations, properly blocking sunlight.

This helps generating more amino acids (including theanine, glutamic acid, arginine, etc.) within the tea leaves.

In addition, Yame enjoys an inland climate－high temperature during daytime and very low temperatures at night.

Finally, the region receives an annual rainfall of 1,600 mm to 2,400 mm. These features are ideal for green tea production.

LAND OF THE GYOKURO

Highest Grade In Japan

Yame Region is proud of its top production amount of gyokuro (Highest Quality). As much as 45% of all gyokuro available on Japanese market comes from Yame Region. That is the reason Yame is famous and known as one of the few production places of highest quality green tea in Japan.

Yame Gyokuro won Best Prize in the All Japan Green Tea Competition for 12 consecutive years from 2001 to 2012, as well as in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, Yame Green Tea won Best Prize in the sections of both Green Tea (Middle Grade) and Gyokuro Green Tea (Highest Grade).

In 2007, Yame Green Tea took the all the places from the 1st place to the 26th place in the Gyokuro Competition Section, showing its overwhelming excellence over green teas produced in other regions in Japan.

THE TEAS OF KIYA SAN

Only The Best - And Completely Exclusive

The teas prepared by Kiya san for IKKYU are competition grade! Kiya san has developed exclusive teas for IKKYU that you will find nowhere else.

With a deep and rich umami taste and thanks to high quality leaves, you will be able to rebrew your tea up to five times.

As you will re-brew your teas, try each time to feel the complex tastes balance themselves. The first brew should be done with a minimum amount of water by just covering the leaves. This will give you the strongest umami taste in a small shot to sip slowly !

8 items

Appliquer

SATORI

Premium Gyokuro

ORGANIC: No WEIGHT: 50g

A stunning premium Yame dento hon gyokuro blending Tsudyuhikari and Kirari 31 cultivars, with notes of miso and nori with hints of citrus and nasturtium.

SAWA

Premium Kabusecha

ORGANIC: No WEIGHT: 50g

The shading of this tea leads to strong umami characteristics, with notes of pine and narcissus, as well as bok choy, nori and artichoke. First harvest tea.

SAYAKA

Premium White Tea

ORGANIC: No WEIGHT: 50g

An exceptional and exclusive premium white tea from Yame. Sweet, umami-packed, low in caffeine and with high contents of amino acids. Prepare it like a sencha, enjoy it like a gyokuro!

Épuisé

Kirari 31 Gyokuro

Competition Gyokuro

ORGANIC: No WEIGHT: 8g

Only 5 kilos of this dento hon gyokuro made from the famous Kirari 31 cultivar are produced every year. A rare and exclusive treat, in very limited quantity.

SAKI

Premium Gyokuro

ORGANIC: No WEIGHT: 100g

Sweet and packed with umami, this rare dento hon gyokuro from Yame is rich in amino acids. An original blend made of three cultivars.

Épuisé

GYOKURO - LIMITED BOX

Competition Gyokuro

ORGANIC: No WEIGHT: 5x8g

A limited-edition competition-grade Dento Hon Gyokuro from Yame. A blend of yamakai and kanaya midori, a concentration of umami and sweetness that comes in 5 bags of 8g in a beautiful wooden box.