Mie Organic tea garden by the Hayashi family

JAPAN: MIE Organic TEa GARdEN by the HAYASHI family

Founded by organic pioneer Iwao Hayashi, the tea garden is now run by his son Kimihiko Hayashi in the second generation. (Despite the similarity in names, the family is not related to the tea garden family of Shutaro Hayashi in Kirishima).

Iwao and Kimihiko Hayashi’s tea garden is located in Mie Prefecture, about 100 kilometres south-east of Kyoto towards the sea coast. In an area characterised by mountains and large rivers, the Hayashis‘ nine-hectare tea garden is located in a small village surrounded by hills. Tea has been grown in Mie for over 800 years. The first tea seeds came from Kyoto.

Iwao Hayashi – pioneer of organic tea cultivation

Iwao Hayashi is regarded as a pioneer of organic cultivation in Japan. As early as the late 1970s, he followed his ideals and switched to an organic cultivation method. Before that, he also used pesticides, which were constantly promoted by the agricultural co-operative. Despite wearing a protective suit, gloves and breathing masks, he was plagued by such terrible headaches that he thought his head would burst. Iwao Hayashi could not imagine that such chemicals were really necessary, and was one of the first in the region to switch to organic farming.

Though he was met with ridicule and contempt from his neighbours, he refused to be deterred, and followed his convictions. As soon as the Yuki-JAS Japanese organic certification system was introduced, Iwao Hayashi had the tea garden and processing certified. Even today, the family’s green teas not only impress tea drinkers with their flavour, but also radiate the pioneering spirit of Iwao Hayashi.

A tea enthusiast for almost eighty years

Even as a schoolchild, Iwao Hayashi was very interested in tea. In the fifth grade, he built a showcase for a research project in which tea plants could be observed through a glass pane as they formed roots. Later, the inquisitive schoolboy contacted the Tea Research Institute in Shizuoka to enquire how many tea plant varieties there were. He was deeply impressed by the answer – around 200! As a schoolboy, he had a side job in a tea factory. Later, he produced a tiny 0.3 hectare field in a communal tea factory. Of course, since he couldn’t earn a living from this, he also grew rice and had part-time jobs.

Tea production in the 1950s and 60s

Back then, harvesting was still mainly done by hand. Shifts started at sunrise so that as much as possible could be done. The capacities in the tea factory were also very different to today. In order to produce 100 kilograms a day, work was carried out around the clock in two 12-hour shifts. In the meantime, wood had to be chopped to fuel the machines.

The dream of owning his own tea garden comes true

At the age of 28, Iwao Hayashi was able to fulfil his dream of having his own tea garden and tea factory. He still remembers the magical moment when he used his brother-in-law’s excavator to prepare the ground for the foundations of the tea factory over the New Year holidays. At that time, the Japanese demand for green tea was growing, and Iwao Hayashi was able to gradually build up his tea garden.

The second generation: Kimihiko Hayashi

Kimihiko Hayashi grew up on the farm and learnt tea production directly from his father. After leaving school, he worked for the local agricultural co-operative for a few years before returning to his parents‘ tea garden in the early 2000s. He took over production at the aracha factory at an early stage. With his reserved, focused manner, he continues to run the tea garden based on his father’s organic philosophy today.

Kimihiko is proud to grow organic tea and to be able to offer tea drinkers safe, organically produced products. Just like with his father, the beneficial aspect of organic green tea is very important to him.

From aracha to finished fukamushi tea

Relatively early on, father and son Iwao and Kimihiko Hayashi decided to stop supplying to processors or wholesalers in Japan. They had been observing the strong price pressure in this market for years and had seen a number of aracha tea gardens – those that only produce pre-processed tea – close down. Instead, the Hayashis were quick to focus on long-term partnerships abroad and direct sales at home. They are particularly proud of the fact that their teas are available in the renowned shops at nearby Ise-Jingu: The most important Shinto shrine in Japan attracts numerous pilgrims and visitors all year round.

In 2015, they moved their aracha processing to a new building. The old plant was located on a slope and was thus largely on the first upper floor, which no longer seemed safe in light of the heavy machinery and potential earthquakes. The former aracha factory was remodelled for final processing (shiage). Since then, the Hayashis have carried out the sorting and final heating and packaged the teas there, in the immediate vicinity of their home.

Kimihiko Hayashi normally produces his teas based on long steaming (fukamushi). This gives the teas a fresh, smooth and dense flavour, without tangy bitterness. The infused tea is intensely green and somewhat cloudy – a characteristic of teas that have been steamed longer, whose components are absorbed into the water after a short infusion time.

Three generations in one tea garden

For a short time, three generations even worked in the family tea garden at the same time: Iwao’s grandson Shuhei joined the family tea garden in 2015 at the age of 21. Shuhei is now the father of a young daughter. Great-grandfather Iwao Hayashi is naturally also very happy about this. In 2017, at the proud age of 80, he retired from working in the tea garden with a heavy heart and handed over the tea garden to his son Kimihiko Hayashi.

Paths into the future

Kimihiko Hayashi takes great pleasure in hearing how his teas are received by tea lovers. Sometimes he even receives letters from enthusiastic tea drinkers from places like Kyoto and Hokkaido, which gives him extra motivation. In autumn 2023, he opened a tea café near his fields so that he can talk directly to tea drinkers. As this is a rural area with little infrastructure, he also felt the need to create a meeting place for the local population.

There are many older tea farmers in the area who have had to give up their tea fields due to a lack of successors. In 2022/23, Kimihiko Hayashi took over some gardens from older neighbours and is now converting them to organic cultivation. In this way, he not only carefully and diligently looks after the cultivation and tea production, but also ensures that organic cultivation is further strengthened in the region.

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Teas from the Hayashi Family