On Day 2 we continued our Japanese tea exploration with Kayoko Ikeya from Sayamaen. This session was dedicated to one special region: Sayama, in Saitama Prefecture – just 1 hour from Tokyo. You can check out Day 1: A Tale of Two Teas – Japanese Sencha Tasting post to journey through both Shizuoka and Sayama teas!
Sayama is one of Japan’s smallest tea-producing areas at just 2% of Japan’s tea production. It’s known for its bold, rich Sencha and has a long history, a proud tradition, and some unique characteristics.
Sayama Tea’s Historical Background
Tea cultivation in Sayama dates back over 800 years, with the Edo period often referred to as the golden era for both production and tea culture. Back then, Sayama was renowned across Japan for its Sencha, and production was thriving. Kayoko shared that in her grandfather’s time, Sayama produced much more tea than it does today. Sadly, natural disasters, war, and changing agricultural priorities led to a decline. But now a new wave of passionate tea producers are breathing life back into the industry.
Sayama’s production model is unique in Japan in that most tea stays within the region under their own brand. Rather than being sold under supermarket brands, much of it is grown, processed, and sold directly by the same small companies, a true farm-to-cup approach.
Sayama’s Unique Climate
Located in a colder part of Japan, Sayama’s climate affects both the tea plants and the harvest cycle. While many Japanese tea regions harvest four times a year, Sayama typically has only two harvests. This slower growth results in thicker tea leaves and stronger flavour. In the regions with four harvests, the first and second are reserved for high-quality Sencha, while the later picks often go into bottled teas.
The colder climate has also given rise to Sayama’s signature production method: Sayama Hiire – a traditional strong roasting process designed to bring out the best in these unique tea leaves, resulting in its distinctive flavours and aromas.
Traditional Production Methods
Most modern Sencha in Japan (around 99%) is machine-processed, but in Sayama, the art of Temomi-cha (手揉み茶 – hand-rolled tea) is still kept alive for cultural preservation.
It’s a painstaking process: starting with 2kg of fresh leaves, artisans spend over 5 hours continuously rolling by hand until only about 400g of finished tea remains. The result is incredibly rare and expensive. I had to ask, and Kayoko estimated that 3-5g can cost about US$50, and is mostly produced for annual competitions rather than everyday drinking.
Kayoko showed us a video from one of the annual competitions and described how each step of the rolling process serves a purpose: shaping the leaves, encouraging even drying, and preserving aroma. While the hand-rolled method is now largely symbolic, I think it’s really special and an important reminder of the human skill that underpins Japan’s tea history.
top – leaf only, bottom – leaf & stem (kukicha)
“the last golden drop” of Sencha
Japanese Tea Tasting: Sayama Sencha and Black Tea
We tasted three very different types of Sayama tea, two of which were brewed both hot and cold (it was another sweltering day in Helsinki, so cold brews were a welcome relief!).
For tips on how to brew the perfect cup of Sayama Sencha, check out this guide from the Day 1 tea tasting.
Sayama Sencha “Honoka” (leaf only)
To start, we had a reminder of Sayama Sencha “Honoka”, the same amazing tea that we tried on Day 1. It still packed a punch flavourwise, with the warm, toasty, nutty aroma coming through, and the sweetness nicely balanced with a touch of bitterness.
We also tried a cold brew version using 15g with about 700ml water, and a short 1-minute steep. This worked really well. We’re fortunate to have nice soft water here in Helsinki which helps to release the flavours. The cold brew was really refreshing and well-balanced, with a beautiful long aftertaste.
cold brew
hot brew liquor
Sayama Sencha “Honoka” (kukicha)
The next tea was a kukicha version of “Honoka”, with both the leaf and stems. I was really surprised at the difference. It made the tea much softer with a sweeter flavour profile. I actually preferred this Sencha over the leaf-only version, it was more mellow and chill, but still had the amazing aromas and flavours.
The cold brew was just as lovely – sweet, refreshing, and held the flavours really nicely. This was made with iced water (about 500ml) with 8g of tea, and left to steep for 60-90 seconds.
Sayama Black Tea (Wakocha)
The Sayama Black tea (Wakocha) is a blend of two Saitama cultivars, Sayamakaori and Fukumidori. It had an amazing, strong, sweet aroma of caramel and molasses that continued on into the flavour. The texture was velvety soft and smooth, with a chewy and lingering aftertaste. A really great flavourful black tea!
To brew up a perfect cup of Sayama Wakocha, use 6-8g of tea with 240ml of 100°C water and leave to steep for 1 minute. It can be infused 3 or 4 times. For a refreshing cold brew, Kayoko recommended 10-15g of tea with 1 litre of water.
Wrapping Up Day 2 of My Japanese Tea Tasting Adventure
Day 2 was a deep dive into one of Japan’s smallest but arguably most characterful tea regions. Sayama may not produce tea on the same scale as Shizuoka or Kagoshima, but I love its bold flavours, artisanal competitions, and farm-to-cup approach.
It also has a special link to Finland – Moominvalley Park on the shores of Lake Miyazawa in Saitama Prefecture, the only Moomin park outside of Finland! So now I have the perfect itinerary for visiting Japan during tea-picking season: Tokyo & Sayamaen teashop – Sayama tea fields – Moomins 😀
