Profile of Masashi Harashima

Harashima-san, an organic tea farmer, is a 3rd generation tea farmer in Yame, Fukuoka.
He has been working as a farmer for 38 years in his family owned tea field where his grandfather Chiyokichi started 75 years ago.

Harashima-san’s dream is to have people all over the world drink his tea.
He has been growing tea without using pesticides targeting the overseas market for about 13 years.
He uses only organic plant-based fertilizers and are vegan-friendly, taking into consideration the natural environment where tea trees can grow on their own.

His wife recalls the time when they started organic farming as follows.
‘In 2012, we shifted to pesticide-free cultivation.
At first, we were planning to make an organic pesticide (a mixture of vinegar, chili peppers, etc.) as an alternative to pesticides to prevent pests and diseases.
However, organic farming is more labor-intensive than conventional farming, and in reality, we were unable to manage the 6 hectares (14.8 acres) of organic tea fields, process and sell our teas by our family alone.
Since then, we are discouraged at every tea harvest seasons, finding the damages caused by pests and diseases.
A few years ago, most of the second harvest leaves was affected by the disease.
And I can still remember the sight of my husband’s backside that he was so disappointed that his shoulders slumped and he almost fell off his back.
My husband now says that the secret of continuing pesticide-free cultivation is to “let it go”,
and just accept how the tea is grown each year.
If the tea leaves are damaged by pests or diseases,
the tea leaves are then cut down and used as fertilizer to grow the next season’s tea.’

Harashima-san is not only a three-time winner of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award for his delicious tea,
but he also knows how to enjoy tea.
He is a licensed tea master with Kofuseicha Reishiki, a sencha tea ceremony,
and is constantly researching new ways to enjoy tea and find out the best use of tea in our daily lives.

Harashima-san wants to provide you a tea that will soak into your body when you take a sip.
Please enjoy his teas grown in the clear air, in the snow-filled mountains in winter, with birds chirping in spring, the tastes of the mountains.

 

Check Harashima-san’s Tea Products – Sencha