Tea making

Ureshino’s unique Kamairi Sei (pan-fried) Tamaryokucha and Mushi Sei (steamed)
Tamaryokucha are made with rounded tea leaves.

Kamairi Sei Tamaryokucha was a representative of Ureshino, but it is called Tamaryokucha because it becomes a magatama (becomes curled) because it is dried without performing a polishing process.

It was called “Guricha”(Curly Tea) because of the round shape of the tea leaves. Before the war, most of the production was Kamairicha, but after the war it gradually changed to Mushi Sei (steamed). In recent years, the number of producers of steamed Mushi Sei Tamaryokucha has increased, and Kamairi Sei Tamaryokucha has become rare product.

At Onohara Tea Wholesaler, we are working with producers to once again spread the traditional Kamairi Sei Tamaryokucha, which has an outstanding sweetness. We also put the same enthusiasm into Mushi Sei Tamaryokucha, and are devoting ourselves every day with a strong desire to continue making delicious “Ureshinocha”.

We value the history of tea making for more than 600 years,
and add modern technology.

Ureshinocha is said to have been used by Chinese “Ming” potters who moved to Ureshino in the 15th century to cultivate and make tea for their own use. In addition, it is said that it spread because a potter named “Red Reijin” who moved to Ureshino from China. At the beginning of the 16th century, he brought with him a Nanjing kettle and told Ureshino the latest method of making Kamairicha that was consumed in China at that time.

At the beginning of the Edo period, “Shinbei Yoshimura” tried to produce tea in Ureshino.
During the Edo period scholars, writers, and German doctors Kempfer and Seibold who stayed at Ureshino hotels through the Nagasaki Highway kept records of Ueshinocha. At the end of the Edo period, a large amount of Ureshinocha was exported to the United States by Kei Oura, a female trader in Nagasaki. This is considered to be the first tea trade by the private sector.

Water that goes well with Japanese tea is said to be soft water with a hardness of about 30 to 80 mg / liter.

Basically, tap water in Japan is soft or moderately soft so it is suitable for Japanese tea. Japanese tea enjoys a balance of umami, astringency and bitterness, this is because the bitterness of tea is suppressed when the hardness of water is high. The water that is suitable for making tea is slightly acidic “soft water”.

Soft water is water that is low in calcium, magnesium and has low hardness. Japanese mineral water is good, but overseas mineral water is often hard water, so please be careful. If it is hard water with high hardness, the tannin component in Japanese tea may not be extracted well and the aroma and taste of the tea may be diminished so water become cloudy white. Therefore, many foreign natural mineral waters are “hard water” that contains a lot of calcium and magnesium, so they are not suitable for making tea. Delicious water is also indispensable for drinking delicious tea.