Kaneroku Matsumoto-en: Whiskey Oak Barrel Wood Smoked Wakocha

This Shizuoka black tea has been smoked with Oak Whiskey Barrels from award winning Ichiro Distillery in Chichibu, Tokyo. 30g This smoked tea is wonderful enjoyed both hot, cold and is fantastic used as a mixer for creative mock/cocktails. This smoked wakocha was a silver medal winner at the 2014 International Tea Tasting Competition. Steeping Notes: 3g | 200ml | 95°C | 3mins Ingredients: Black tea Region: Shimada, Shizuoka Type: Family business, tea farm & factory NOTE: All aspects of the production at Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden adhere to the environmental conservation cultivation method world renown as GIAHS (i.e., Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System). Therefore, tea bushes are cultivated in the traditional Japanese chagusaba method where grass is used as mulch to protect and flavor the tea leaves. Please note that no flavorings and additives have been used. About the Farm: The Matsumoto family has been farming for more generations than there are records. The farm was officially established around 1870 in the City of Shimada, in the Prefecture of Shizuoka in Japan. They established their first tea processing factory in the 1930s. Today, 3rd generation tea master Hiroki Matsumoto is pioneering the production of smoked black teas. "We have cultivated tea generation after generation since the Edo Era. The location of our farm on the Makinohara Plateau, celebrated as the best tea cultivation region, is particularly propitious for tea culture. We have grown our tea on this plateau from the very moment it was opened to agriculture in the Meiji Era" Kaneroku Matsumoto Farm constantly uses a “Traditional tea-grass integrated tea culture”, recognised as a Globally Important Agriculture Heritage System to benefit the future generations. Susuki/Miscanthus sinensis and Sasa/dwarf bamboo cut at the end of Autumn are spread between the tea tree rows without any worry of soiling the earth. By continuing this agriculture system, we help a healthy growth of the tea trees as well as more than 300 vegetal and animal species. Hiroki Matsumoto is the third generation to continue this tradition.