Private Tour: Meet A Tea Merchant
Behind the scenes of Japanese tea refinement
Visit tea merchant Ikeda Ryō to understand more about the art of tea refinement. During this 2 hour tour, we will accompany you to Ikeda Chaen, an award-winning and highly respected tea merchant family business specialising in tea refinement. We will taste tea, make a short tour of their factory and visit the nearby scenic tea fields overlooking Omura Bay.
Japanese tea production is usually divided into two separate processing steps.
The first step is to farm the leaves and turn it into aracha : an unrefined ‘rough’ tea. This forms the backbone of the tea we have in our cups as consumers.
The second, often more hidden step, is the refinement of the aracha into a finished tea.
This tour provides a unique opportunity to look behind the scenes of a tea merchant, as usually it’s difficult to visit refinement factories unless you’re a professional tea buyer.
The tea refinement allows the producer to sort the rough tea into different grades, for instance sieving out the stems and the very fine particles of the tea to create the most premium tea. Refining specialists certainly create their own magic by sorting, blending, roasting and unlocking potential from the aracha: highlighting different flavours and creating several different teas from one original batch, or combining the characters from different batches to create a new unique and balanced flavour.
Read more about tea merchant and producer Ikeda Chaen on Ikedoki Tea’s producer page.
When booking this tour, we will discuss starting time to suit your travel plans and coordinate with the producer which time suits them (with different seasons, their schedules will vary). During the peak of tea production from mid April – end of June, Ikeda will be too busy with visiting the tea auction and refining the new teas to be available to welcome guests. We cannot offer the Meet a Tea Merchant Private Tour option during this time.
If you’d like to turn your visit to Higashisonogi into a longer tour, we can expand this Private Tour into a longer Custom Tour with, for instance: extended tastings, presentation on history of Nagasaki tea, visiting more tea fields, including lunch and more.
Visit our Custom Tea Tour for more ideas on possibilities, or contact us to discuss your wishes to turn your visit to Higashisonogi into the most memorable experience of your trip!
Tour Schedule
Starting time is variable and will be discussed when booking.
00:00 – 00:30
00:30 – 01:10
01:10 – 01:20
01:20 – 01:50
01:50 – 02:00
Introduction to Ikeda Chaen & tea refinement, tea tasting
Tour of tea refinement factory
Time to shop
Visit scenic tea fields overlooking Omura Bay
Drive back to Sonogi Station
Tour Price
￥22,000 per person (incl. 10% tax) for the 2 hour tour
Including transport to and from tea farmer, factory and tea fields
Booking
Please visit Nagasaki Ikedoki Tea’s website to contact us.
Who is Ikedoki Tea?
Nagasaki Ikedoki Tea is a small tea-focused project based in Higashisonogi. We are a team of two: Matsu and Marjolein.
Ikedoki Tea’s mission is to Share a Peaceful World Through Japanese Tea, by being ambassadors for the different tea regions within Nagasaki. We aim to put a spotlight on this beautiful but slightly unknown region, uncovering the gems by gathering the stories of tea farmers across Nagasaki, giving tea producers an opportunity to sell tea internationally.
Our activities are based on both inbound tea tourism, welcoming people to this stunning region, as well as selling Nagasaki tea worldwide.
We are fluent in English and hold these tea tours in English.
We are looking forward to welcome you to the scenic and charming countryside of Higashisonogi.
