Homemade tea by tea farmers from Ise

Another destination on the Mie trip was Ise. In Ise, there is a very famous shrine called Ise-jingu, which has a 20,000 year history. Actually Ise-jingu is a general name of the cluster of 125 shrines. The main shrine has been rebuilt every twenty years since 690 BC. I think it helps to inherit the architectural technologies and maintenance techniques. The next reconstruction ceremony is going to be in 2013.

Ise-jingu is in the nature.

These are not the main shrine, sorry.

Ise-jingu website >>> http://www.isejingu.or.jp/shosai/english/index.htm




There are the streets called Okage-yococho next to Ise-jingu. You will find many shops like cafes, restaurants, or gift shops there. There are also some tea shops. The tea which is produced in this area is called Ise-cha. Ise-cha is not as well-known as Shizuoka-cha, Uji-cha, or Yame-cha. But Actually Mie prefecture is the third largest tea production region in Japan, and makes good teas.

I found interesting tea at Isecha-dokoro, one of the tea shops. Tea farmers usually take their picked tea leaves to a tea factory. So, generally tea is usually produced in factories. But the tea I found was the tea farmers’ homemade tea. I thought it’s very unique, and each farmer would have his or her own commitment and love to their tea. I guess the tea will taste simple and homely. I bought a set of tea from three different farmers. Each package is 30g, and the set was 1,000yen. I’m looking forward to trying them (^-^)

Isecha-dokoro webpage (Japanese) >>> http://www.okageyokocho.co.jp/shop/noasobi.html#isecha