Today was a day of support for Akky-San in a rare moment of sun during the rainy season. We harvested the tea in the Somada area, which is at a higher altitude than most of the Obubu tea fields. The view from here is fantastic and it is a very pleasant place to harvest tea.
On this day we harvested the Summer Tencha.
I recorded the harvest with my mobile phone to record it, but the wind made it fall over quickly…oh no! Almost all I could see was the netting for the covering, how unfortunate!
This looks nice 
…uhoh 
…aaaaaah 
…actually this is comfortable! :)
The picture is a bit disappointing, but we finished the harvest and took it to the Tencha factory… but it was quite hot!
In the afternoon we went to the factory to repair the bags for collecting the tea leaves. Some of the bags are 10 years old and some are even around 20 years old.
The bags, which can weigh up to 20 kg in the field, have been dragged between the rows, caught on the branches of the tea garden and piled up on the truck, causing a lot of damage.
I’ve taped up the tears and holes.
It looks like a patchwork blanket!
At this point we found a big fan in the factory! Tea harvesting machines usually send a strong breeze into the bags at the same time as they move the harvesting blades, so that the cut tea leaves go into the bags smoothly.
So this was the perfect solution in the factory!
Right! Let’s put it over the fan and inspect each piece!
It looks a bit like a big Tsuchinoko…
(Tsuchinoko is a mythical snake-like creature – wiki article here)
What a nice feeling to be able to check the bag so easily!
The factory, the machines, the materials, all of them are carefully taken care of to make delicious tea.
Akky also always handles the harvesting machines with care.
Obubu’s Matcha is also available, please try!
