This autumn, each autumn intern had the chance to harvest and process a batch of bancha from the Blue Forest Tea Garden (Aoimori) with either Miwako-san, Pau, or Katrina. In the mornings of these special tea-making days, interns would go with one or two of the staff members in a keitora through the forested road to Aoimori and harvest the large, dark green autumn leaves. Interns had the rare chance to drive the harvesting machine, which typically is only driven by Akky-san when they support him in the fields. Around 11:00, they would arrive at our sencha processing factory and unload the leaves. After a lunch break, they returned to the factory to steam, roll, shape, and dry the leaves.
This special opportunity to see and take part in the tea production process from start to finish is one of the unique aspects of our internship programme. Learn more about our Japanese internship experience here!
Shannon (#210) and Katrina shaping their autumn bancha (left) and Lotte (#215) harvesting bancha with Flor in Blue Forest Tea Garden. (Photo by Katrina).
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