Benihikari Wakocha

Black tea from Mr. Iwata's small garden, functioning in an organic farming regime. Spring picking from the bushes of the cultivar Benihikari. Dark brown, lighter rolled, and mostly oxidized leaves with a pleasant, coolly sweet, slightly woody, and nutty aroma with tones of paste honey and resin. Red-orange infusion of a beautifully balanced, creamy soft taste with a strong fruity component with tones of dried apricots, orange peel, frozen rose hips, and a slight citrus astringency in the aftertaste.
In recent years, the whole farm would use only organic fertilizers from local sources. Harvesting from local shrubs takes place only once a year, in the spring. The tea dates from 2020 and has great potential for long-term maturation.

Origin: Yama no shita danchi garden, Tsukigase, Nara
Area: 0.2 ha
Altitude: 250 m
Subsoil: igneous rock
Soil: a mixture of clay and sandy soils
Farmer: Fumiaki Iwata
About the Benihikari cultivar

Brewing Suggestions

Use 4 g of tea and infuse it with 98℃ hot water, let it steep for 90 seconds. You can male up to four infusions. Brewing at a hotter temperature will better release the tea’s unique fragrance in the brew.

About the Benihikari cultivar

The Benihikari cultivar was bred at the Makurazaki Research Institute in Kagoshima and registered in 1960 under number # 28. The mother plant would be the cultivar Benikaori, which was pollinated by the original Kagoshima variety. The resulting species was subsequently crossed with the Makura Cn1 cultivar of the original Chinese tea tree. The Benihikari cultivar was subsequently selected from various descendants of this hybrid with the best characteristics for the production of black teas and oolongs. In short, the Benihikari cultivar is the perfect combination of proven black tea cultivars from India, China, and Japan, developed to meet international quality standards. Benihikari teas sprout later than Yabukita and are valued for their good yield and ability to grow quickly.

About the farmer

Fumiaki Iwata was born in 1974, he graduated from the Agricultural University in Tokyo and since 2001 he has been working as a family business ̶ growing tea.