Mie

Japan’s No.1 kabusecha producing area

Ise-cha

Ise Tea represents the core of Mie Prefecture’s tea identity and is one of Japan’s most recognized regional tea brands. The area is particularly renowned for Kabusecha, a shade-grown tea that highlights Mie’s signature style—balanced sweetness, rich umami, and a clean, refreshing finish.

Blessed with a warm climate, ideal rainfall, and sloped mountain fields, the Ise region offers excellent conditions for producing high-quality tea. Its Kabusecha, Sencha, and deep-steamed teas are widely valued by tea merchants and consumers alike for their consistency and craftsmanship.

Supported by skilled producers and a long history of innovation in shading cultivation, Ise Tea continues to expand its presence both within Japan and internationally, maintaining its reputation as a trusted and distinctive regional tea brand.

Mie’s warm climate, moderate rainfall, and well-drained slopes provide ideal conditions for tea cultivation. These natural advantages helped develop the region’s signature product: Kabusecha, a shade-grown tea known for its sweetness and smoothness.

Mie tea is highly regarded for its quality, particularly its naturally sweet and umami-rich Kabusecha, which is prized by tea professionals across Japan.

Mie remains one of Japan’s major tea-producing regions, especially renowned for its Kabusecha. However, it faces several challenges similar to other traditional tea regions. These include a shortage of successors, an aging farming population, and the reduction of tea fields due to changing land use and economic pressures. Declining domestic demand has also led to lower tea prices, affecting the stability of farm management.

To sustain and strengthen the Ise Tea brand, the region is working to preserve traditional cultivation techniques, improve product quality, deepen collaboration among growers, and explore new sales opportunities both within Japan and overseas.

Producers in Mie are particularly skilled in kabuse (shading) cultivation, covering the tea bushes for about two weeks to enhance sweetness and reduce bitterness. This technique is highly refined in the region, making Mie the leading producer of Kabusecha in Japan. The cultivars grown here are selected for their naturally mellow flavor and rich umami, ideal for shaded tea.

Sencha and deep-steamed teas are also produced, with careful attention paid to harvesting timing and steaming levels to maintain consistency in color, aroma, and taste. Mie’s cultivation style combines regional innovation with long-standing tradition, supporting its reputation as a major origin for high-quality Japanese tea.

• Kabusecha: Mie’s signature tea, grown under shade for about two weeks to enhance sweetness, soften astringency, and create a smooth, mellow flavor.

• Sencha: Lightly shaded or unshaded green tea with a balanced taste, reflecting the region’s clean aroma and gentle character.

• Fukamushi-cha (Deep-steamed tea): A hallmark of Ise tea, steamed longer than typical sencha to produce a richer body, deep color, and soft mouthfeel.

Mie’s tea fields are often located on sloped mountain terrain with ample sunlight and consistent rainfall. The Ise area, in particular, is known for producing some of the region’s finest teas.