[Wakayama/ Tanabe] Kumano traditional kettle roasted tea making experience!

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It has been 14 years since we have been making pesticide-free and naturally grown tea. In the village where I live, during the new tea season, we pick the tea that we drink throughout the year and make kamairicha. The tea that is generally drunk is made by steaming tea leaves in sencha, but in Kumano, tea leaves are roasted in a large iron pot. Roasting does not stop the fermentation immediately, so it is semi-fermented, and because it is the same as Chinese tea, it becomes semi-fermented tea like oolong tea. When it is time to use it, it is further roasted to turn it into bancha, which is used to make chagayu, a local dish. Hojicha made with first-grade tea has an exceptional aroma! It's sweet and really delicious. The first time I drank it, I fell in love with its aroma and taste, so much so that I even rented a house with a tea plantation. I wanted to convey the taste of Kumano's hometown, so I made it an experience menu. Because we are making tea, we can't accept it during the busy season, but we accept it from the second season when the tea is strong and strong. (Please contact us as the timing of tea leaf growth is not fixed every year depending on the climate). While talking about pesticide-free natural, unpruned fields and native tea trees, you can pick tea with your own hands. After harvesting a certain amount, the tea leaves are roasted in an iron pot. It's difficult to adjust the heat, so I'm going to fry it quickly while watching the situation. When the tea leaves change color and soften, remove from the heat and knead the tea leaves on a mat. The old-fashioned mat is not sold anymore, so it is very valuable. In other words, there are few teas that take such time and effort to make. The straw mat that has been used for many years has brown stains and is sparkling brown. The old man in the area proudly boasts of the tea stain. If the old man is healthy and the timing is right, you can ask him to teach you how to make tea. The area is aging, and in five years, most of the people in the village will be gone. In that case, I have a sense of crisis that I will not be able to protect the cultural landscape that is registered as a World Heritage Site, but there is a limit to what I can do. think. Experience fee, tea time, and sweets included. It takes about two and a half hours for a series of work, including picking, rubbing, and spreading in the sun for about two hours. It is possible to walk the Kumano Kodo while drying.