March 4, 2025. Adrian (myself), Chotaro-san 堀井 長太郎
During the Muromachi era(1336 - 1573), Shogun Ashikaga recognized the quality of Uji tea and designated seven excellent tea gardens in Uji, which would later be called the Seven Uji Mei-en 宇治七茗園.
Entering the Meiji era(1868), the tea industry in Uji was facing a major crisis. The protection of the shogun and feudal lords was gone, and while tea production was becoming more mechanized, the production of tencha - the ingredient for matcha and a specialty of Uji, was still mainly done by hand.
Horii Chojiro the third generation set out to mechanize the process of producing tencha. The first "Horii-style tencha furnace/dryer" was built in Taisho period 13th year in 1924. To this day, all tencha dryers used in Japan are based on this machine.
With 650 years of history, inherited by the Horii family in mid-Meiji period, Oku-no-yama 奥ノ山茶園 is the only remainder of the seven tea gardens.
Founded in 1979, Horii Shichimeien has been sourcing the finest quality teas from the Yamashiro region along the Uji and Kizu river.
Top shelf: Premium Narino, Narino, Mumon, Okunoyama have nearly been picked clean by the first shoppers.
Interaction:
March 4, 2025. Arriving around 10:30am, the store was lively with a line of shoppers queuing for Matcha, toward the standing refrigerator serving as the Matcha display.
Casual conversations filled the store, with early shoppers deciding between the available selection.
While picking a few as gifts and for myself, my family was soon noticed by staff and cautioned about a three item limit per group.
This means my family of four would need to decide whom to sacrifice and indemnified in the future, and the remaining three would each select just one Matcha.
Deflated, I mustered courage to communicate through the language barrier, before an English-speaking staff was summoned to facilitate conversation.
Hearing about our itinerary of tea farm visits, Chotaro-san welcomed my family and I to the tea table for some Todo Mukashi, which was storied as a Samidori blend. We had charitable conversations.
When discussing about Narino, the cultivar selected by Nobuo Horii, and named after his granddaughter, Chotaro-san expressed:
'なりのは他の店ではないのでぜひ楽しんでください Narino is like no other, so please enjoy it.'
Soon, the purchasing limit was lifted.
To Chotaro Horii with warmth, どうもありがとうございます!