"Toyoka" by Nakajima-en
In Negishi, one corner of Kaneko plateau in Iruma City, Saitama, Nakashima-en is located. It is one of the pioneering tea farms that started to produce tea at the end of Edo Era. Now, the 16th owner, Mr. Katsunori Nakashima, cultivates and produces tea with passion. In 2009, he was given the Prize from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries at the National Tea Exhibition.
‘Toyoka’ is an old brand developed by Saitama Tea Research Institute. Although it was developed to be used for highest quality tea (gyokuro), this brand is disappearing, because gyokuro was not produced so much in Sayama. You can call this tea a brand that is in danger of extinction. Nakashima-en is cultivating such a brand with love.
As you can tell from the fact that ‘Toyoka’ was first produced for use n gyokuro, Toyoka is rich in umami taste and deep in astringency. The merits of this tea is: the brewed tea is beautiful green: its aroma smells like raw vegetation. You can take this as hot tea after meals or as afternoon tea. It is also nice to enjoy the fresh aroma by drinking this as cold tea.
