When the rich nature and the wisdom of the people who live there are combined, various "treasures" are born in that land. Numerous shining "treasures" have been born in various parts of Kagoshima Prefecture. They are now attracting attention from around the world.

A trip around "Kagoshima, the treasure box of the south." This time, we visited two tea shops that are attracting attention in Kagoshima Prefecture, which will be the number one producer of unrefined tea in Japan in 2024, "Ikeda Tea" and "Kagoshima Horiguchi Tea." We also introduce a bar in Kagoshima City that has been well-received for its "matcha beer," an experiment in craft beer.

In fiscal 2024, Kagoshima Prefecture will finally achieve the number one position in Japan in terms of crude tea production.

In February 2025, good news came to Kagoshima Prefecture. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced that Kagoshima Prefecture had finally surpassed Shizuoka Prefecture to become number one in the nation in terms of production of crude tea in fiscal year 2. Crude tea is processed tea leaves picked in tea fields, and is the primary processed product of tea.

It is no exaggeration to say that Kagoshima Prefecture has become the number one tea producing region in Japan, with the prefecture now number one in Japan. As the global matcha boom shows, Japanese tea, especially Kagoshima tea, is becoming more and more popular around the world. Ikeda Tea and Kagoshima Horiguchi Tea, which we visited this time, are tea shops that play a major role in both being number one in Japan in terms of crude tea production and in promoting Kagoshima tea to the world.

Ikeda Tea
The finest tea made by a tea expert with the title of "10th Dan Tea Master"

Kenta Ikeda of Ikeda Tea is tasting tea leaves. Various types of tea leaves, including sencha and tencha, are prepared on the table. As he proceeds with the tasting with practiced hands, Kenta Ikeda explains:

"There are five points that determine the quality of tea leaves: shape, color, aroma, color of the tea leaves, and flavor. Even if it's the same sencha, the taste will be completely different depending on whether it's lightly steamed or deeply steamed. Also, the taste of the tea leaves themselves will change depending on where they are produced within the prefecture, even if they are the same type. It's only by being able to distinguish these that high-quality tea can be made."

The three types of tea carefully brewed by Ikeda were indeed different in aroma, color, and taste, each with its own unique characteristics. It was a moment when I got a glimpse into the profound world of Japanese tea.

In addition to being the president of Ikeda Tea, Mr. Ikeda also holds the title of 70th dan tea master. The XNUMXth dan tea master title is awarded based on the results of the National Tea Examination Skill Competition, and is the highest title in tea judging and appraisal skills. In the roughly XNUMX years since the system began, only a few people have achieved this title, making it an extremely difficult title to obtain.

Selection, blending, and roasting. The "tea master" is involved in the three processes that determine the flavor of the coffee.

Ikeda Tea does not have its own tea fields, but instead carefully selects tea leaves from producers all over Kagoshima Prefecture, and is a tea shop that handles everything from blending to roasting. Starting with the selection, the shop creates teas with a variety of flavors by blending them using the outstanding techniques of Ikeda, a 10th-degree tea master, and roasting them in its own factory to bring out the maximum flavor.

"It's important to distinguish the quality by checking where the beans were grown and how they were grown, and to blend them in the perfect ratio, but roasting is also a very important process. The degree of roasting completely changes how the amino acids, catechins, and caffeine are brought out. This has a big impact on the taste, aroma, and color of the coffee."

"You can't make good tea unless you pay close attention to each of the three processes - purchasing, blending, and roasting. As tea masters, we polish the tea leaves and turn them into delicious tea. That's our job."

In response to the growing demand for matcha overseas, Ikeda Tea also built a factory exclusively for matcha. Currently, it is the only tea shop in Kagoshima with two factories, a sencha factory and a matcha factory. In the matcha factory, a huge grinder is used to grind matcha for general use, but the highest quality matcha used in the tea ceremony is carefully ground using a stone mill.

Growing up surrounded by the aroma of roasting tea leaves

Ikeda Seicha has been operating a tea shop in Tenmonkan, the center of Kagoshima City, since 1948. Mr. Ikeda is the third generation owner.

"The tea shop that my grandfather opened in Tenmonkan was also his home, so from an early age I was surrounded by the aroma of roasting tea leaves. I grew up watching my grandfather work every day with pride in tea, and I had no hesitation in choosing to become a tea master."

The Tenmonkan store will be completely renovated and a new brand will be launched.

In 2021, Ikeda-san completely renovated the Tenmonkan store of "Ikeda Seicha" and at the same time launched a new brand called "Ikeda Senchado". In the modern interior of the store, many teas that Ikeda-san has carefully crafted are beautifully displayed with sophisticated packaging.

A wide variety of teas are lined up, including "Chiran Hana," which could be said to be Ikeda's specialty, "Gyokuro," "Lightly Steamed," "Fukamushi," and "Genmaicha." There is also a stylish counter at the back of the store where you can sample cold-brewed teas, which change tea leaves every month.

Established a company in Italy to spread the "IKEDA" brand

"When you think of a tea shop, you usually think of a traditional storefront with rows of large tea boxes, but when we launched our new brand, we revamped our logo and made the store look like a combination of a select shop and a cafe. In addition, to meet the growing global demand for matcha, we built the prefecture's first matcha-only factory and established a company in Italy in 2024. We would like to spread the IKEDA brand in Europe in the future."

In his free time, Ikeda also participates in triathlons. Just like in a triathlon, where you face forward, swim, and run, Ikeda always looks forward.

Kagoshima Horiguchi Tea
Approximately 300 hectares. The largest tea plantation in Japan.

Located on the east side of Kagoshima Bay, the Osumi Peninsula stretches from north to south. Blessed with abundant nature and known for Cape Sata, the southernmost point of the mainland, the peninsula has a vast, flat land that is ideal for agriculture. Kagoshima Horiguchi Tea operates one of the largest tea fields in Japan, covering approximately 300 hectares, the equivalent of 64 Tokyo Domes, including its own and contracted farmers, centered on the Osumi Peninsula.

The third-generation president is promoting "smart agriculture" that also takes into account distribution and marketing

In order to carry out efficient farming on large-scale tea fields, Kagoshima Horiguchi Tea is promoting the automation of tea picking and weeding machines, while also promoting the next-generation "Smart IPM Farming Method" that incorporates cutting-edge technology and takes into account not only production but also distribution, sales, and marketing. The person at the forefront of this is Daisuke Horiguchi, the third-generation president of the company.

After graduating from a university in Tokyo, Mr. Horiguchi worked for the major tea product manufacturer "Itoen" before returning to Kagoshima in 2010 to join his family business "Kagoshima Horiguchi Seicha". At "Kagoshima Horiguchi Seicha", he established tea production that does not rely solely on chemical pesticides and is now using machinery.He was promoting labor-saving through digitalization, but what Horiguchi started to do wasThe goal was to further improve quality and develop a new brand.

Developing new products with an eye on overseas markets

"The products made by Kagoshima Horiguchi Seicha, which was founded in 1948, had been well-received. However, when we looked towards overseas markets, we realized that we couldn't continue like this, so we created a new brand, TEAET, which adds new value in the form of health, convenience, and relaxation. The name is a combination of the words TEA and DIET. We also created a stylish package design, which was well-received at antenna shops and helped to create new demand."

With the new brand "Kakuhori," he is taking on the challenge of making "Japanese black tea," something his grandfather and father attempted 30 years ago.

Following "TEAET", the "KAKUHORI" brand was announced. The logo mark is a new design that puts the kanji for "Horiguchi" at the forefront, and the package design is appealing to overseas markets. With a focus on quality, the company has created a lineup of eight types of tea, with deep-steamed sencha as the base, as well as roasted green tea, oolong tea, and black tea.

One tea that attracted particular attention was Kakuhori Black Tea Benifuuki, known as a Japanese black tea.

"Actually, about 30 years ago, my grandfather and father produced oolong black tea. It was a delicious tea, but perhaps it was ahead of its time, and before we knew it it had disappeared from the product lineup. As a company, we have had the technology to produce black tea for a long time, but with an eye on the world, we aimed to create a unique product that would stand out from the black tea produced in Japan, so we further evolved our production technology and created Kakuhori Black Tea Benifuuki."

Sales begin at the long-established British department store Fortnum & Mason

The long-awaited release of Kakuhori Black Tea Benifuuki has been highly praised in Europe, especially in the UK, the home of black tea, and won the gold medal at THE LEAFIES, hosted by the Tea Academy and known as the world's highest level tea competition.

It has also received high praise in Japan, including winning the Platinum Award at the Japanese Tea Awards for three consecutive years since 2022.

In particular, having won the "THE LEAFIES" award for three consecutive years, the brand has achieved the remarkable feat of being sold at Fortnum & Mason, the department store in London that is patronized by the British royal family, from January 3.

Compared to black tea from India or Sri Lanka, Japanese black tea is considered to be mellow and not as astringent or bitter, but Kakuhori Black Tea Benifuuki has been highly praised by black tea fans for its moderate weight and astringency. A sweet floral aroma rises subtly from the teacup, and a faint muscat flavor spreads in your mouth when you put it in your mouth.

Kakuhori Black Tea Benifuuki is not the only tea that has received high praise overseas.Global Tea Championship 2025At the "Kakuhori Deep-Steamed Sencha Okumidori" award, "Kakuhori Deep-Steamed Sencha Okumidori" won first prize in one category, and "Ryokucha Densetsu Kiwami" won second prize in two categories, for a total of three categories.

While focusing on Japanese black tea, they are also promoting new ways to enjoy green tea

"Domestic black tea has great potential for the future, and is attracting attention from overseas. On the other hand, unfortunately, consumption of green tea brewed in a traditional teapot is declining year by year. In order to stop this, I think that as a tea company, we need to go beyond simply producing tea and provide more opportunities to propose the deliciousness of tea and ways to enjoy it to more people."

Horiguchi speaks passionately.

Experience a new way to enjoy tea at the restaurant "Chaon no Kura" attached to the factory.

One place to enjoy the deliciousness of tea is Chaonokura. Located next to the Kagoshima Horiguchi Tea Factory, this restaurant offers a lunch course using tea from the tea garden and seasonal ingredients, based on the concept of fusing tea and Japanese culture. As I finished the course with a cup of fragrant matcha in a space where jazz was playing, I was reminded of the importance of tea in Japanese food culture.

Try a new beer flavored with matcha at a bar in Kagoshima City

Matcha is now used not only in the tea ceremony but also in various other aspects of food. In Kagoshima City, there is a bar that serves craft beer using matcha from "Ikeda Senchado". It's called "Matcha Beer". You'll want to try the aroma of matcha that rises with the beer foam.