After the Tea Harvest: Rainy Season in Yame

Hello everyone, Shojiro here from Yame.

Located about 1,200 feet above sea level, these tea gardens are nestled between the deep valleys and ravines of Oku-Yame (奥八女), including Hoshino (星野村), Yabe (矢部村), Kurogi (黒木町), and Jōyō (上陽町). The rugged terrain is so steep and remote that large harvesting machines and vehicles cannot easily reach these gardens.

After the 2026 first flush harvest of Yame Hon Gyokuro（八女伝統本玉露）, every leaf was hand-picked to produce Yame tencha（碾茶）— the raw material used to create authentic Yame matcha（八女抹茶）.

After several intense weeks in the fields, the pace of life begins to slow. Across Yame, every tea-growing family celebrates the end of the harvest in its own way. Some gather for cozy backyard BBQs, others enjoy a relaxing trip to a nearby onsen (温泉, traditional Japanese hot springs), while some spend a quiet summer evening watching hanabi (花火, Japanese fireworks) together.

These intimate gatherings—known as ochatsumi-san no uchiagekai (お茶摘みさんの打ち上げ会, an end-of-harvest celebration for the people who helped pick tea)—have been part of Yame's tea culture for generations. They are not formal events, but warm, homegrown celebrations filled with laughter, good food, and gratitude.

In Yame's tea-farming communities, these celebrations are shared only among the people who worked side by side in the tea gardens (茶園) throughout the season—the farmers, their families, neighbors, relatives, and local harvest helpers. It is common to see everyone together, from one-year-old babies to grandparents in their nineties, celebrating another successful harvest as one community.

This is one of Yame's traditional brick tencha furnaces (八女の煉瓦の碾茶炉), where authentic tencha (碾茶, the leaf used to produce matcha) is still crafted using techniques passed down through generations.

Freshly harvested first flush tea leaves are gently steamed before entering one of Yame Yanajima's (八女柳島) traditional brick tencha furnaces in Yame. Rather than following a fixed recipe, the master craftsman carefully adjusts the steaming time for each harvest based on the day's temperature, humidity, the condition of the young leaves, and the cultivar. Every decision influence the character of the tencha—and ultimately, the matcha itself.

Yame's finest first-flush tea naturally develops an intense ooika (covering aroma 覆香) through careful shade cultivation. When those leaves are processed in a traditional brick tencha furnace（煉瓦の碾茶炉の炉香）, they take on the rich, roasted fragrance that defines authentic Yame matcha.

That aroma isn't created by the furnace alone—it is the result of exceptional tea leaves and generations of craftsmanship working together.

A Childhood Memory from Yame

I grew up in Fukuoka (福岡), the largest city in Kyushu (九州), where the sound of the ocean and nearby beaches was part of my childhood. But many of my most treasured memories come from Yame (八女), where my mother's family has lived for generations.

Almost every month, my mother would take me to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. During summer vacations, I often stayed with them, trading the sound of the waves for mountain streams, birdsong, and the quiet rhythm of life surrounded by tea gardens (茶園).

One memory has stayed with me ever since. Across Yame, even families who were not tea farmers often grew tea trees in their home gardens. They were not planted for business or commercial production. They were simply part of everyday life—cared for with the same pride as flowers or bonsai (盆栽), while providing fresh leaves for the family's daily tea.

Neighbors would stop to admire each other's tea trees, pour a fresh cup of tea, and smile as they proudly said, "Our tea is the best in the neighborhood. " No one was trying to prove anything. There was no competition and nothing to sell. It was simply how people lived.

Looking back, I realize those small tea gardens represented something much greater. In Yame, tea has never been just an agricultural product. It has always been part of family, community, and everyday life, a quiet culture I hope never disappears.

At Fukushima Hachimangu Shrine （福島八幡宮） in Yame's historic old town, handcrafted wind chimes (風鈴) decorate the grounds each summer. Surrounded by blooming hydrangeas, their gentle sound brings a refreshing sense of calm during Japan's rainy season.

Tho the 2026 tea harvest has now come to an end across both the historic Yame Plains (旧八女市平野部) and the traditional mountain tea villages of Oku-Yame (奥八女), the harvest is only the beginning in Yame.

Before becoming matcha, tencha (碾茶, the raw material of matcha) enters a carefully controlled maturation period. As the tea rests, its aroma deepens, its character softens, and its full potential slowly emerges.

Then Yame's master tea finishers begin their quiet work. Through hiire (火入れ, traditional finishing roast) and gōgumi (合組, the traditional art of blending tea), they carefully reveal the finest expression of what the farmers have already grown.

Living here in Yame, this is one of the most valuable lessons I continue to learn. Exceptional matcha is never created by one person alone. It is the result of generations of farmers, furnace craftsmen, tea finishers, and local knowledge, all connected through one continuous journey—from the tea gardens (茶園) to the final bowl.

If I could borrow the words of my grandparents, my aunts, uncles, and the people I grew up around in Yame, they would probably smile and say, "Of course Yame tea (八女茶) is the best in the world. "

Not because they wanted to prove anything. But because that was simply what they believed after spending a lifetime growing, crafting, sharing, and drinking tea with the people around them.

As someone whose family roots are in Yame, I understand those words a little more every time I return. The longer I spend here, the more I realize that the true value of Yame tea isn't defined by awards or rankings. It's found in the people, the traditions, and the generations of craftsmanship behind every harvest.

That's what Yame has taught me, and why it will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

-- Shojiro from Yame