Origin Spotlight : Nishi Farm

O R I G I N S P O T L I G H T

NISHI FARM

The Nishi family is celebrated throughout Japan for their exquisite quality teas. They are especially recognized for their dedication to organic cultivation techniques and masterful cultivar selection. Rishi has partnered with the Nishi family for 15 years of sustainable tea farming and has worked with them to establish some of the first organic tea farms in southern Japan. The Nishi family are truly the pioneers of organic tea farming in Japan and one of the most successful high-quality organic tea producers in the world.

Rishi and the Nishi family have a true collaborative spirit that spans many projects in our portfolio. We see this partnership in our Kirishima Blend, a single-origin matcha that highlights the regional character of Kirishima Mountain. Kirishima Blend is a collaboration project between Rishi buyers, the Nishi family tea farm and our tencha milling partners in Shizuoka, who all gather each year to dial in the blend based on seasonal cultivar performance. We have also worked in tandem to produce an exceptional organic gyokuro and several cultivar specific green teas that can be found in our Garden Direct series.

Toshimi San, son of the late elder Nishi San, is a master of compost development and soil management. In the forest, Toshimi and his family cultivate shiitake mushrooms on a labyrinth of logs. Every few years the logs are rotated out, chopped into smaller pieces and added to the compost that will eventually nourish the tea gardens. This process enriches the bacteriological activity and primes the compost to fertilize the tea bushes. The piles must sit for three years to ferment before being used on the fields. Sometimes the beneficial bacteria in the soil of that garden is so ripe and active that you can witness the soil surface bubble. Rishi Founder Joshua and Toshimi San are like minds when it comes to the seasonal approach to the tea harvest. Each tea cultivar that the Nishi family propagates has its own nuanced timing. Some cultivars tend to reach peak harvest earlier than others. Clear and timely communication is essential for success during the prime tea season. Depending on the seasonal weather patterns we may request to adjust our ordering plan at a moment’s notice. It is all about timing the cultivar’s tea leaf maturation with favorable weather patterns. Occasionally these factors misalign and the result is a challenging harvest year. The extensive and historical relationship that Joshua and the Nishi family have developed allow us to embrace the positive side of seasonal variance and to roll with the rhythms of nature, season after season.

KYUSHU ISLAND

NISHI FARM, MT. KIRISHIMA

The brother of Toshimi San operating a state-of-the-art mechanical harvester.

The Nishi family cultivate shiitake mushrooms on a labyrinth of logs that will be chopped into smaller pieces and added to the compost that will eventually nourish the tea gardens.

The Nishi family is celebrated throughout Japan for their exquisite quality teas and for their dedication to masterful cultivar selection.

MOUNT KIRISHIMA - KAGOSHIMA, JAPAN