Hiroki Sakata 阪田広樹 (5th Generation farmer), Adrian Young 楊冠峰 (Tenshin Matcha), Shunya Sakata 阪田峻也
A very warm welcome to this area.
Producer profiles are an introductory message and overview to honor sincere specialty tea producers.
Our tea plantation is located on the Kizugawa riverbed (Hamadai 浜台), and the tea grown on this land is called Hamacha 浜茶.
Hamacha 浜茶 has a history of over 350 years and has long been prized as high quality Uji matcha.
On the banks of the tea plantation is Nagare-bashi Bridge, a popular location for filming period dramas and movies, and the area is also registered as a Japan Heritage Site.
It is a well-known fact that gyokuro and matcha are grown under shading, but very few know that a great deal of technicality is involved in the shading of tea plants. For tea plants, shading is stressful, so you must be able to look after them. You also need to have keen insight into the weather to have the best results.
Our shelf-shaded naturally tailored tea plants are cultivated by utilizing traditional shading method, and their leaves are carefully picked by hand.
We believe that there is a certain quality that cannot be attained by machine harvesting but only by handpicking of the first harvest tea leaves, and that is why we are adamant not to change our ways.
"There’s no goal for tea cultivation.
The climate differs from year to year, and so does the land, and tea leaves show different faces to the changing environment.
Every year, we meet with our tea plants with original intention, which is part of our endeavor to produce tea that deserves the customer’s appreciation."
Hiroki SAKATA 阪田広樹, the 15th owner of MATABEI tea farm
Under 5th generation Hiroki Sakata's guidance and teachings, 6th generation Shunya Sakata works diligently to top ranks in Tea competitions.
- Award history -
79th National Tea Competition(2025)
To be announced ;)
78th National Tea Competition(2024)
2nd Rank 9th Place 阪田峻也 Shunya Sakata
77th National Tea Competition(2023)
1st Rank 5th Place 阪田峻也 Shunya Sakata
2nd Rank 8th Place 阪田広樹 Hiroki Sakata
75th National Tea Competition(2021)
1st Rank 1st Place 阪田峻也 Shunya Sakata
74th Kansai Tea Competition(2022)
1st Rank 2nd Place 阪田広樹 Hiroki Sakata
1st Rank 3rd Place 阪田峻也 Shunya Sakata