Beyond the Wholesale

Tea Culture Activities

Beyond our commercial work as a tea wholesaler, our president Takayuki Tatara is personally involved in several tea-related activities. These are not commercial product lines, but they reflect a deeper engagement with Japanese tea culture that shapes how we approach our work.

Activity I

Bancha Research Society

晩茶研究会

Bancha is the tea that Japanese households have long made for their own use, processed at home in pots and pans. Because the goal was to harvest as many leaves as possible from a small number of plants, bancha is produced from summer onward, when the leaves have grown fully. Distinct from the green teas standardized for export, bancha is the everyday tea that developed locally, region by region, as the common drink of rural Japan.

The Bancha Research Society was founded in 2019. Takayuki Tatara, president of Nagamine Seicha, serves as its vice-chair. The society holds two workshops each year.

Summer

Lactic-Fermented & Boiled-Liquor Bancha

We produce lactic-fermented teas in the style of Awa Bancha, and teas finished with boiled liquor in the style of Mimasaka Bancha, among others.

Lactic-fermented bancha workshop — leaves being pressed in the Awa Bancha style Summer bancha production workshop Lactic-fermented bancha in progress Bancha Research Society summer workshop Preparing bancha leaves for fermentation Bancha fermentation — Awa Bancha style workshop Fermented bancha leaves after processing Detail of lactic-fermented bancha Summer bancha workshop — finished tea
Winter

Kancha — Winter Bancha

Kancha — bancha harvested in the depths of winter.

Kancha — winter-harvested bancha leaves Kancha processing in winter Kancha — deep winter bancha harvest Winter bancha workshop — Kancha production Finished kancha — winter bancha
Collection

Dobin — Earthenware Teapots

The society's work extends beyond making tea. We also explore the wider cultural context of bancha, including the everyday vessels surrounding it. Our collection and exhibition of dobin (the earthenware teapots traditionally used for bancha) is one expression of this.

Dobin earthenware teapots from the Bancha Research Society collection Traditional dobin teapots used for bancha — Bancha Research Society exhibition
Activity II

Takakusa-yama Project

高草山プロジェクト

A project to restore the abandoned tea fields of Takakusa-yama in Yaizu, Shizuoka. Leaves are hand-picked from the semi-wild tea plants and used in two ways.

Wild Tea

Takakusa Black Tea (wildtea)

Hand-picked from naturally grown plants — no pesticides, no fertilizers. The leaves are lightly oxidized, producing a tea with greenish, vegetal notes reminiscent of a Darjeeling first flush. The character is soft-edged, reflecting the wild conditions of the plants.

Semi-wild tea field on Takakusa-yama, Yaizu, Shizuoka — Takakusa-yama restoration project Hand-picked wild tea leaves from Takakusa-yama — no pesticides, no fertilizers
Tea Dyeing

Natural Fabric Dyeing

Natural fabric dyeing using leaves and branches from the Takakusa-yama tea fields. Each piece is hand-dyed with care, producing the gentle colors and traditional textures characteristic of natural dyes. The spent tea leaves are returned to the mountain after dyeing, where they become rich soil. The cycle continues.

Tea dyeing process — natural fabric dyeing with Takakusa-yama tea leaves and branches Tea-dyed fabric — gentle natural colors from Takakusa-yama tea leaves Spent tea leaves returned to Takakusa-yama mountain to become rich soil
Get in Touch

Interested in these activities?

If you are interested in any of these activities, please feel free to reach out.