Sencha Karigane
Niikawa Organic

Tea Farm

This tea farm, now in its third generation, is led by Yūhachirō Higuchi, a highly esteemed tea master and competition judge. Committed to strict organic cultivation, the farm operates with a deep respect for nature. Its remote and hard-to-reach location means only minimal machinery is used. The family also produces their own special organic fertilizer, based on a traditional recipe that has been carefully refined over the years.

Sencha Karigane

Karigane refers to fine green teas obtained from the higher-quality stems, leaf veins and small leaf portions of select senchas and gyokuros. It is naturally low in caffeine and rich in amino acids, the latter of which lend to its sweet, creamy character. Karigane is often called the "tea of tea farmers" because it is considered a bit of an insider secret that high-quality stem teas outshine basic and middle-rate senchas, gyokuros and hoijchas. The word Karigane itself means "wild goose" and originates from a traditional Western Japanese folktale. The story tells of a wild goose flying over vast expanses of water with a twig in its beak. When it grows tired, the goose places the twig on the water and rests upon it.

Yoshi En

World's Finest Organic Teas

We go to great lengths to identify the finest organic tea farms across the world’s most celebrated terroirs. All our teas are sourced directly from the farmer and, with a few exceptions, are certified organic or come from pesticide-free farms. Each batch of tea for every harvest is tested for pesticides and other pollutants in an independent German lab to ensure they meet our strict quality standards as well as HACCP food safety requirements. Likewise, all the regions of Japan from which we source our teas are tested for radioactivity for every harvest.