I’m excited to be back on the farm and looking forward to learning more about how tea is harvested and processed. Learning how a tea farmer makes decisions about harvesting and processing with regard to weather and crop conditions is also something I intend to explore. Experiencing the different seasons is something else that I’m interested in, with respect to how this affects the final product. I was glad to be able to travel home for a short time to spend time with my family. It’s looking to be a fun-filled year with many new experiences and faces here at Obubu.
The first few months back have been quite an amazing time. It’s always so peaceful in the valley, even in the midst of the busy spring season. As an intern, I did quite a bit of traveling but have been contented to enjoy rural Japan village life these first few months back. Time seems to pass more slowly here, and yet the time has already flown by.
It’s been good to see some old faces, and exciting to meet a few new ones. Equally, it’s been great welcoming our first few groups of interns; it’s exciting to see them learn about tea, grow as people, and prepare to share their tea knowledge with the world.
I’m learning quite a bit about harvesting and really hope to develop this skill further during the rest of the year. I’m also learning more about processing, and what it takes to make high-quality tea. I hope to use both of these skills in my own tea ventures someday, but am content to absorb as much information as I can at the moment.
I’m looking forward to doing a bit of traveling later in the year to some new prefectures, and perhaps spend some time with family visiting Japan. It’s already been an amazing year and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store, while I continue on this wonderful journey through the world of tea.
