Hidetoshi Nakata travelled around Japan's tea-growing regions and met tea farmers who had won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award, and tea masters with the highest rank of "10-dan" in the "National Tea Judging Technique Competition"-one of the few competitions in Japan where tea appraisal skills are competed, and discovered the excellence and potential of Japanese tea culture. Utilising the connections Nakata has established with producers in the various regions he has travelled to, our company is involved in the development of a range of tea products, from developing our own brands to collaborations with companies. As well as producing a range of high-end tea leaves and bottled tea, the company is also developing products that are perfect for the increasing demand for health-conscious, non-alcoholic products in the coming years, with a view to develop private brands for restaurants and hotels in the future.
HANAAHU TEA
"We aim to protect our tea farmers, Japanese culture, and natural environment."
As a result of decades of declining tea leaf sales and an opposing increase in demand for bottled tea, the average unit price of tea leaves has plummeted and tea farmers are struggling.
Although tea leaves are mainly produced in Japan and the other Asian countries, there is no brand for the tea leaves themselves in Japan, which inhibits the appreciation of Japanese tea farmers and tea culture.
In the past 50 years, the number of tea farmers has shrunk to less than one tenth, and as a result of the advancing age of the nation’s tea farmers, farmland is increasingly being abandoned in mountainous areas.
HANAAHU TEA was born out of this reality.
Our desire is to create a brand that protects our tea farmers, Japanese tea culture,
and the natural environment.
Aiming to be the "ultimate tea for enjoying with food," HANAAHU Tea has an exquisite balance of flavour, bitterness, astringency, and acidity, which harmonises with cuisine.
We are not merely seeking to create a single delicious cup of tea, but rather a gentle flavour that can be paired and enjoyed throughout the course of a meal.
In modern dining, we often drink chilled beverages, and the difficulty with tea is that the temperature at which it is made can significantly alter the taste.
Our solution is to specialise in cold-brew.
In keeping with Japanese culture, the four seasons are valued, flavours are adapted to suit seasonal ingredients, and all our products are named after the four seasonal words.
This is the inspiration behind our Japanese tea brand.
Hidetoshi Nakata x POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage “Kagabou Hojicha”
Hidetoshi Nakata supervised the relaunch of Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage's TOCHI and CRAFT Kaga Bo-Hojicha. Together with Aburatani Tea in Ishikawa Prefecture, he created a product with a refreshing taste that brings out the aroma and richness of bo-hojicha (roasted stem tea) and has an entirely unique, elegant expression.