Wazuka Kyobancha
Azuma ChaenMade from the older leaves of the tea plants that are used to make matcha, this traditional Kyoto bancha is strongly roasted, giving it an intensely smoky aroma and soft taste
Also known as iribancha (炒り番茶 - roasted bancha), kyobancha is folk tea traditionally produced in the Kyoto region. After the harvest of gyokuro and tencha for matcha, the tea bushes are trimmed back to encourage new growth for next year’s harvest and it is the large leaves and stems from this trimming that go on to become kyobancha. After picking, the leaves are steamed and dried without rolling, after which they are heavily roasted, giving the tea its signature smoky aroma. Though the aroma is intensely smoky, the taste of kyobancha is often quite mild and light bodied.
Producer: Azuma
Region: Wazuka, Kyoto
Elevation: 300m
Cultivar: Blend
Harvested: November, 2024 | Roasted 2025
Picking: Handheld Machine
While Uji may be the most famous tea region in Kyoto, most tea sold as “Ujicha” is actually grown in the neighbouring town of Wazuka, located to the southeast, which produces almost 50% of Uji tea. Dating back to the Kamakura era, tea production in Wazuka has enjoyed an 800-year history.
The tea plantations in Wazuka are located on the steep slopes of misty hills and mountains—an environment suitable for high-quality tea leaves, with cool air, short daylight hours, temperature differences between day and night, and well-drained soil. Cultivation of tea plants in such an environment takes a lot of time and effort, making it unsuitable for the methods of mass production employed in the flatlands.
Brewing Instructions
Traditional
Hot Tea
Use 5 g (0.18 oz) of tea leaves for every 200 ml (6.76 oz) of water
Heat your water to 95º C (203º F) or let it cool slightly from boiling
Let it steep for 2 minutes before pouring slowly until the last drop. Enjoy!
Azuma Chaen (東茶園)
The family business is currently managed by fourth generation Teruko Azuma (東 てる子) who has been involved in her family’s tea production for over 12 years. Now a certified Nihoncha Instructor, she is excited to share the delicious and natural taste of her family’s tea.
Nestled in the hills of eastern Wazuka, Azuma Chaen is a family owned tea farm founded in the late 1800s during the Meiji era. This area of Wazuka is far from any train tracks or major roads, and its scenery of endless rolling hills of tea fields has been designated a cultural landscape of Kyoto.
Azuma Chaen specialises in the production of low-pesticide tencha, the raw material used to produce matcha. Today, around 90% of their 5 hectares of tea fields is dedicated to tencha production and is harvested only once a year, which means they can avoid using pesticides as all of the tea is picked before the arrival of insects. While all of their tea fields make use of lower amounts of pesticides or even none at all, some of their tea fields are already certified JAS organic, with others in the process of conversion.
In addition to tencha, they also produce small amounts of sencha, houjicha, wakoucha, kyobancha, and oolong. As they primarily produce tencha, most of the cultivars that htye grow are well suited for shaded teas, such as Okumidori, Samidori, Asahi, Gokou. They also grow Yabukita and Zairai among others.