2014.07.08
Shincha Festival “100-yen Green Tea Shop” 「百円茶屋」at Kagoshima International Airport
On April 27, 2014, SAKURAJIMA attended the tea ceremony and the introduction of new tea in the “100-yen Green Tea Shop” event the Kagoshima international airport.
In late April, the tea farmers in Kagoshima started to cut the first young tea leaves of the year. The new tea or “Shincha” in Japanese will have nice aroma, delicious flavor and beautiful green color. This is the time that green tea lovers have been looking forward to.
To inform people in general that the new tea festival in Kagoshima had arrived, the green tea manufacturer association and the Japanese tea instructor association of Kagoshima set up the “100-yen Green Tea Shops” (「百円茶屋」) at different locations such as the airport and train stations where tourists were travelling.
For only 100 yen, each person would get one pot of new green tea or Shincha and one piece of Japanese snack. The Nihon-cha adviser or Nihon-cha instructor would be the one who made delicious tea for them.
The Japanese snacks which would be eaten with the new tea were made by high-school students in the area who studied food economics and invented their own desserts. In the event, there were 2 types of Japanese snacks from 2 schools: “Chadora” 「ちゃーどら」and “Charukang”「茶るかん」. They were delicious, soft and nice-smelling and therefore were popular among tea drinkers in this event. Some bought them home, causing the snacks to be sold out before the schedule.
The “100-yen Green Tea Shops” Shincha event was promoted on TV, newspapers and other media. There were many customers or participants who loved green tea and had been waiting for the new green tea. Many of them drove a long distance to attend this event in particular.
In the future, if the opportunity arises, SAKURAJIMA would like to present the Shincha festival and organize a “100-yen Green Tea Shop” in Thailand so that Thai people can try new tea and enjoy delicious snacks like this as well.
