Diversity and Inclusion Section Site

Narorin and Ochazuke - Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, NARO (NIFTS)

Date of visit: May 30th, 2017
Weather: Sunny



Hello, everyone! This is Narorin♪
In this Narorin Report or Naroripo, I will tell you about my visit to the Kanaya Tea Research Station(in Shizuoka Prefecture) of the Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, NARO(NIFTS).

The Kanaya Tea Research Station conducts research on cultivation, quality and stable production of tea. New tea varieties are developed in collaboration with the Makurazaki Tea Research Station(in Kagoshima Prefecture). And it takes about 30 years to develop a new tea variety. Wow... that's quite a long time!! They showed me new tea variety "Seimei". It is delicious for preparation of Matcha・Powdery tea!

They guided me to the field outside. Since my visit was too late, I felt bad that I could not see the first-picked tea or "New tea". But I could see second leaf sprouts. The "New tea" is made by picking up the leaf sprout growing from the first flush of the year. Later, according to the order of picking the leaf sprout, it is called "second picked tea", "third picked tea" and so on. Tea leaves are harvested with this machine! (right part of above picture)

Okay, I could see that the tea tree here has no leaves!? No, it's not so♪ The upper part of tea tree has been cut periodically so that the tea tree does not grow too big. This work has to be carried out once for every five years!

At the Kanaya Research Station has a green tea experiment building and a refinement experiment building. The tea leaves are steamed and dried so that it can be consumed for drinking! They also taught me how to taste the color and aroma of the prepared tea♪ There was also a tea bowl to add hot water and compare the aroma and taste!

Here, the tea plants are grown and used for research on pests and diseases that affect tea, as well as methods for analysis of tea. I discovered tea plants, which are just as tall as me! Next, I was shown the pest measuring instrument (right part of below picture). They are doing research related to this machine which can automatically count the number of pest!

The Kanaya Research Station is also conducting the training for tea technicians. It is an important job as it protects the prestigious Japanese tea culture. They study everything right from tea production, tea processing, and tea distribution. The trainees use this facility to dry tea leaves manually by hand! This is a compulsory course to become a technician.

Here is a group photo with the staff of Kanaya Research Station. After that I learned from them about the method to pour tea without making any mistake.

Finally, a photo with everyone in front of statue of the first station director.

Soon it's going to mid-summer! I recommend everyone to beat the hot summer with cold tea and Ochazuke!!!

Now I'm wondering where to go next...

Check here for further details about the Kanaya Tea Research Station, Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, NARO(NIFTS)


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