Wide view of Moriuchi Chanoen's tea terraces curving across a sunlit mountainside, with village rooftops below

Moriuchi Chanoen (森内茶農園)

For almost 300 years, the Moriuchi family has been growing tea in the Uchimaki sector of Honyama, Shizuoka. Currently headed by 9th generation tea farmer Yoshio Moriuchi (森内吉男) and managed by his wife, Masami Moriuchi (森内真澄), Moriuchi Chanouen is a certified Eco-farm, using less than half the standard amount of pesticides in order to preserve the balanced ecosystem of the tea fields. Additionally, they mix their own fertiliser which is over 80% organic.

Since 1999, they have been manufacturing oxidised teas such as black and oolong, making the best use of the unique characteristics of the over 15 cultivars that they grow, which include Marishi, Yama no Ibuki, Sōfū, Saemidori, Kōshun, Yume Turuga, Tsuyuhikari, Okumidori, Inaguchi, Benifūki, Minami Sayaka, Musashi kaori, and of course Yuabkita. Additionally, they grow some Taiwanese cultivars such as Chin Hsin Da Pa (known as Seishintaipan in Japanese).

Head farmer Yoshio Moriuchi sees agriculture as a natural laboratory in which he can hypothesise and experiment, discovering new ways to cultivate and produce tea. He’s always trying to do something new and innovative, and is constantly refining and improving his teas. He is a Nihoncha Instructor and Temomicha Master (手揉み茶 - hand-rolled sencha), and has won 1st place in the Shizuoka Temomi Competition and 3rd Place in the National Competition.

His wife, Masami Moriuchi, manages operations at Moriuchi Chanoen. She is a certified Nihoncha Instructor Leader, full-time Nihoncha Advisor Lecturer, and has also won awards for her masterful Temomicha.