Tea Regions of Japan – Kagoshima (Part 4) | Soo Featuring Sueyoshi Seicha Kobo

It is grown all around Kagoshima prefecture but very few people know about Soh city. Soh is a mountainous area largely covered by forests. It is located on Osumi peninsula right at the border with Miyazaki prefecture. Soh is also home to an impressive 15 meter statue of a legendary giant Yogorodon. You can see Yogorodon symbols all around the city and there are festivals held in its name too. While it may be little known Soh does make tea as well. However because it is located at a higher altitude and on the northern side of the prefecture tea here is usually harvested a few days later than in other parts of Kagoshima. Rather than rushing for an early harvest focus here has been on producing high grade teas and the shaded tea Kabusecha is now very common in this region. Soh is close to one of the largest active volcanoes in Japan, Sakurajima and the routine release of ashes has an impact on tea farming as well. We can't make tea with ashes on it so we have to wash it first before we put it in the kiln. It's been 5 years since I came back to Japan and this is my 6th time making tea this year. Only in the first year and this year I didn't make tea with ashes. The rest of the year I make tea with ashes. That's why I make more tea with ashes in Sakurajima than in other regions of Japan. Mataki-san started tea farming about 5 years ago but his family has been making tea since his grandfather's generation. The tea making in Seiyu-shi, Hachino-ka started from my grandfather's generation. My grandfather was a tea farmer in the Seiyu-shi region at the time and he was told by someone who wanted to quit making tea that he would do it instead. So he bought a tea plantation and a tea factory. and that's how my father's farm began. When I was in my second generation, my father took over the farm and made it bigger. My father took over the farm and made it bigger. Five years ago, I became the third generation. Before tea farming, Matakisan had a completely different career. He was a certified accountant. I thought that this was the job I would do for the rest of my life. I wanted to make tea since I was a kid. When I turned 30, I had a chance to think about what I would do for the rest of my life. My father told me that he made tea once a year. I thought that no one could make tea 100 times by himself. But I decided to start making tea as soon as possible. I made a lot of tea. Now, Matakisan does everything on the tea farm, from cultivation and processing to sales. Now, Matakisan does everything on the tea farm, from cultivation and processing to sales. I want to make a lot of tea for my customers. For Matakisan, the best thing is to see his customers enjoy his tea. I like to drink my own tea. I think it's a reward for my hard work for a year. Doing everything alone might be quite hard, but on the tea fields, Matakisan is supported by Nakatsugawa-san, who has been helping for many years. We have a veteran who has been working for us for 10 years. Thanks to him, I was able to start my own kitchen. I was a snowboard instructor in Nagano in winter. I got married and started my own tea business. It's hard to make tea. But if I get used to it, I can do it at my own pace. Matakisan believes it's the best to work in a small team. He doesn't want his tea farm to become very large. I've heard that if you have more than 6 people, you start to slack off. I've heard that if you have more than 6 people, you start to slack off. I want to stay in the same direction for a long time. I don't think about how much land I can develop. I want to keep working in the same direction in as much as I can. On what Matake-san wants to convey to the future generations is that tea is more than a drink. Tea is not just a drink, but a tool that can help people get closer to each other. I think that tea is not just a drink, but it is a tool that can help people get closer to each other. I hope that the value of tea will continue to grow and that the value of tea will continue to grow for the next 300 years. Thank you.