Genki Takahashi, also known as Gen-san, owns tea fields and the tea processing plant known as TEA FACTORY GEN in Sera District, located in central Hiroshima Prefecture. His fields feature native tea plants that are nearly 70 years old, and produce a unique kind of tea that is grown using natural farming techniques and without the use of fertilizer or pesticides.

In 2019, he took over a tea processing plant and opened his own tea shop, TEA STAND GEN, in an old house in the backstreets behind Onomichi’s Kaigandori. Gen-san had been producing his own tea by renting space in a factory since 2016, but as puts it, “I realized that I needed more than just a place to produce tea; I also needed a place to sell it.”

While the necessity of a place to sell one’s wares may seem fairly obvious, it is especially true in the case of a shop like TEA FACTORY GEN, which makes teas that are so distinctly unique from everyone else out there.

As Gen-san explains, “Most tea shops out there pride themselves on serving extremely flavorful tea, so many people are quite surprised when we serve them our tea. That’s because we’re not really marketing it as tea that goes down easily like water, so I think it catches them off guard at first.”

Tea that is like a cool, refreshing breeze

When tea leaves are grown without the use of fertilizer, they do not feature that concentrated burst of umami that hits the tongue, but rather a softer sweetness that permeates throughout your body. Upon trying various teas, I feel the one that best highlights this characteristic is the one called “Seicha.”

As the name suggests, the taste is both clear and refreshing. It features a unique aroma that comes as a result of the withering process (the tea leaves naturally begin to wilt after being harvested). Still, it also has a clean, refreshing flavor with no harsh aftertaste. Indeed, it is a tea that is much like a cool, refreshing breeze.

“I sometimes read books by Edo period tea masters such as Ueda Akinari and Oeda Ryuho, and I often see the word ‘seifu’ (a cool, refreshing breeze) in them. From such writings, I can somewhat imagine the kinds of tea available to people of that time period. I feel like the ideal tea that I’m striving for is like the tea brewed from fresh leaves that you tried at the factory (see Part 1 of this feature). Almost nothing has been done to them other than to pick the leaves and allow them to wilt. When I ask people if it is good, I usually get a more positive response from people who really like their tea. I find this tea quite delicious when cooled, and it also makes a great cold-brew tea. I think the most fascinating thing about this tea is that it’s even more delicious if you vacuum seal it and then store it in the refrigerator for a while. This process makes the changes that occur with aging—which are common in Chinese tea—more noticeable than you find with regular sencha. As such, I can see why the tea masters in China and Taiwan insist on not using fertilizer for their plants. It’s because tea grown without the use of fertilizers is allowed to ‘age.’ That is what I have learned from my personal experience.”

I imagine what these tea plants look like over the span of time and the ocean, as Gen-san tends to his fields in what almost seems like an impossible battle against the overgrown weeds. I suppose one could say that this “Seicha” is a tea that was created thanks to Gen-san’s work as a tea farmer.

He also features a number of other unique teas as well. To try the next tea he has prepared for me, we journey to his second shop, TEA STAND GEN YAMATE, also located in Onomichi.

Naturally grown tea flowers and the sea breeze in Onomichi

Upon arriving, the first tea that Gen-san brews for me is named “Chabanacha.” The tea plants bloom in autumn, and Gen-san individually handpicks the flowers and then infuses them with an externally sourced pesticide-free sencha tea from the Seto Inland Sea to give it its fragrance. Much like how jasmine tea is made, the tea leaves and flowers are layered so that the flowers’ scent is transferred to the leaves.

Next, I am served a cup of “Hamacha” tea. As you can imagine from the name, this tea is made using an original method that involves drying the tea leaves on the beach.

“Hamacha is a tea that has never been rolled. After harvesting the tea leaves, I spread them out on the sand to dry in the sun for about ten days. I got the inspiration for this process from “debera,” which is a popular dried fish that’s served here. In wintertime, they dry the fish by exposing it to the sea breeze. I first started making this Hamacha tea back when I didn’t have my own processing plant. Every year, we try to make a tea that is unique to us, but I feel like our first few ideas were probably the wildest (laughs). I think that even if you look around the world, you won’t find anybody making tea like this. Those are the kind of teas that I want to continue to make. Something that screams, ‘Only in Japan!’ We have received inquiries from Australia and the United States, and are selling our tea there through wholesalers. Apparently, it’s referred to as ‘Sandy Beach Tea.’ Well, if you literally translate Hamacha, you get ‘beach tea,’ so I guess it makes sense!

This “Hamacha” features the relaxing, soothing taste typical of bancha tea. Furthermore, tea grown in winter apparently contains more sugar, giving the drink a subtle and pleasant sweetness. I begin to wonder if the somewhat salty smell I’m picking up is just my imagination, or is it a result of how the Hamacha is made?

“Does it smell like the ocean? That’s pretty interesting, don’t you think? When you realize that it is actually coming from the tea, I find that to be quite fascinating. You can take the same person working in the same field and still come up with a completely unique tea like this. That’s one of the many wonderous things about tea. This is not the kind of flavor that usually comes to mind for people when they think of tea. It’s almost as if this tea needed those ten days out in the sunlight in order to be created.”

Gen-san continues, “The more traditional pan-roasted tea is also quite interesting.” He recommends that I enjoy my tea at my leisure, as is usually the case at TEA STAND GEN YAMATE.

On the shop’s second floor is a Japanese-style room that totals roughly 20 tatami mats. The room also features windows on one side overlooking the ocean and the rest of the Shimanami region.

“We brew the first cup of tea while also explaining it. With the second pouring, you can add the hot water at your leisure and enjoy the tea however you like. There still aren’t many people who are extremely knowledgeable about tea, so I like to give them this type of experience.”

I have to agree with this statement, as whether you’re a tea connoisseur or not, everyone can enjoy spending a relaxing moment such as this over a nice cup of tea.

“A core pillar of my life”

After starting at the tea processing plant and fields, it is nearly time to wind up our interview. In closing, I ask Gen-san what role tea has played in his life.

“I think that tea is an important part of our culture as Japanese people and for Asian people in general. It’s integral to our identity. Japanese people are often said not to be very religious, but we do embrace traditions from other cultures, such as Christmas. As such, I’ve thought there is no core Japanese identity per se. Additionally, I am from Hiroshima, so I had a bit of a complex about growing up in a city that was somewhat run-down and also had lost much of its past due to the atomic bomb. Yet amidst all that, I was still able to find tea, which became a core pillar of my life. I feel the world we live in today needs tea, but at the same time, there are still many people who aren’t really aware of it or don’t have a very favorable impression of it. Therefore, and I don’t mean to exaggerate, but I feel like it’s my duty in life to help convey the wonders of tea to people. So to that end, I do my best to try and constantly surprise them.”

With those words, I find myself pondering just what kind of tea he’ll serve me for our next encounter.
I can already feel the sense of excitement building up within me.
As dusk falls, I take one final look out at Onomichi as I enjoy my last few sips of a tea that feels like I could keep drinking it forever.
I hope that as many people as possible can experience this one-of-a-kind tea time that can only be found here.

Genki Takahashi
Born in Hiroshima in 1988. He established TEA FACTORY GEN in 2016, which grows and produces native tea varieties in the Sera District of Hiroshima Prefecture. In 2019, he opened TEA STAND GEN in Onomichi City, followed by his second shop, TEA STAND GEN YAMATE, in 2023.
tea-factory-gen.com
instagram.com/tea_factory_gen (TEA FACTORY GEN)
instagram.com/tea_stand_gen.onomichi.yamate (TEA STAND GEN YAMATE)
instagram.com/ochatotaiyaki_mirume (TEA AND TAIYAKI MIRUME)

Photo by Yuri Nanasaki
Text by Yoshiki Tatezaki