The National Cha Hinpyoukai
The 71st National Tea Competition of Japan Results (2017)
These are the results of The 71st National Tea Competition of Japan held in 2017.
The event took place at Omura City, Nagasaki between the dates of September 5th to 8th of 2017.
As a result of the competition, the following awards were given out.
Individual Awards
- Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Award - 8 winners
- Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Secretary Award - 12 winners
- Japan Tea Central Public Interest Incorporated Association Chairman Award - 8 winners
- Japanese Association of Tea Production Award - 8 winners
- National Tea Commerce and Industry's Association Award - 8 winners
Group Awards
- Area Award 1st Place - 8 winners
- Area Award 2nd Place - 8 winners
- Area Award 3rd Place - 8 winners
The National Tea Competition of Japan is the most prestigious competition for Japanese green tea. Learn more about this competition here.
Below we will introduce the Area of the winners of each category. For the individual awards, the actual names of the winners are also announced. However, since the proper instruction on how to read the names are absent, I have left it out and instead decided to only introduce the Areas of the winners. If you would like to know the actual winners, please refer to the resource at the end of the page. (Japanese)
Results
Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Award - 8 winners
| Category | Winner Area | Related Area Brands |
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Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka |
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Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka |
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Kakegawa City, Shizuoka |
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Ayabe City, Kyoto |
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Yame City, Fukuoka |
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Tencha (Matcha) |
Jyouyou City, Kyoto |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki |
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Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki |
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Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Secretary Award - 12 winners
| Category | Winner Area | Related Area Branda |
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Kirishima City, Kagoshima
*2 winners in Kirishima City for this award |
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Kirishima City, Kagoshima
*2 winners in Kirishima City for this award |
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Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka |
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Makinohara City, Shizuoka |
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Kakegawa City, Shizuoka |
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Ayabe City, Kyoto |
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Kyotanabe City, Kyoto |
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Tencha (Matcha) |
Jyouyou City, Kyoto |
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Tencha (Matcha) |
Uji City, Kyoto |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Sasebo City, Nagasaki |
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Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki |
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Japan Tea Central Public Interest Incorporated Association Chairman Award - 8 winners
| Category | Winner Area | Related Area Brands |
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Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima |
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Shizuoka City, Shizuoka |
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Kakegawa City, Kakegawa |
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Ayabe City, Kyoto |
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Yame City, Fukuoka |
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Tencha (Matcha) |
Uji City, Kyoto |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Sasebo City, Nagasaki |
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Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki |
Japanese Association of Tea Production Award - 8 winners
| Category | Winner Area | Related Area Brands |
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Kirishima City, Kagoshima |
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Fujieda City, Shizuoka |
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Kakegawa City, Shizuoka |
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Ayabe City, Kyoto |
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Yame City, Fukuoka |
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Tencha (Matcha) |
Uji City, Kyoto |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki |
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Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki |
- |
National Tea Commerce and Industry's Association Award - 8 winners
| Category | Winner Area | Related Area Brands |
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Kawanehonchou town |
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Kakegawa City, Shizuoka |
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Yame City, Fukuoka |
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Tencha (Matcha) |
Jyouyou City, Kyoto |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Sasebo City, Nagasaki |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Higashisonogi Town, Nagasaki
*2 winners in Higashisonogi Town for this category |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Higashisonogi Town, Nagasaki
*2 winners in Higashisonogi Town for this category |
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Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki |
- |
Area Awards
| Category | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
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Kirishima City, Kagoshima |
Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka |
Minami Kyushu City, Kagoshima |
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Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka |
Shizuoka City, Shizuoka |
Kawanehonchou town, Shizuoka |
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Kakegawa City, Shizuoka |
Makinohara City, Shizuoka |
Fukuroi City, Shizuoka |
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Ayabe City, Kyoto |
Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto |
Maizuru City, Kyoto |
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Yame City, Fukuoka |
Kyotanabe City, Kyoto |
Fujieda City, Shizuoka |
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Tencha (Matcha) |
Jyouyou City, Kyoto |
Uji City, Kyoto |
Kumiyama Town, Kyoto |
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Mushisei-Tamaryokucha |
Higashisonogi-gun Higashisonogi town, Nagasaki |
Sasebo City, Nagasaki |
Ureshino City, Saga |
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Nishiusukigun Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki |
Takachio Town, Miyazaki |
Ureshino City, Saga |
Summary by Chief Judge (Translation)
"
The 71st National Tea Competition was held between the 4 days of September 5 to September 8th of 2017. The venue was Seahut Omura in Omura City, Nagasaki. 20 Judges gathered around Japan to evaluate 841 products across 19 prefectures, 7 tea types and 8 categories.
This year's Ichibancha showed a 1 week delay due to the low temperature in March. The production saw drops in many areas including Shizuoka with a 10 percent decline. Kagoshima's production levels were normal. There were no weather disasters and the quality of the tea was high. The prices stood firm, with Shizuoka increasing at 10% and Kagoshima also showing a 1% increase as well. The items in the contest were of good quality, and I would like to pay tribute to the passion, efforts, and high skills of the producers.
Below are the summaries of the result of each category.
Futsu-Sencha 10kg
104 items from 8 prefectures including Kagoshima, Shizuoka, and Miyazaki were evaluated.
This category is limited to machine picking. The high-ranking products were of both great external visual score and internal quality score, and displayed high precision in their processes. The middle-ranking products were relatively weak in umami, and the lower-ranking products witnessed some hardening of the leaves due to late harvesting. There was a large quality drop compared to the high-ranking products.
Futsu-Sencha 4kg
98 items from 15 prefectures including Shizuoka and Kagoshima were evaluated.
The high-ranking products were both good in external visual score and internal quality score. The middle-ranking products also had many products of high quality, and the gap between the high-quality products and middle-quality products seemed small. The lower-grade items tend to have deduction points in the leaves themselves.
Fukamushi-Sencha
114 items from 5 prefecture including Shizuoka and Kagoshima were evaluated.
The high-ranking products showed the yellow-green luster and rich umami which are characteristics of the Fukamishi-sencha. Compared to the higher and middle-ranked products, the lower products' steaming was weak, and showed some raw smell and bitter taste.
Kabuse-cha
84 items from across 8 prefectures including Kyoto and Mie were evaluated.
The high-ranking items saw many products of good quality which showed a good balance of the unique aroma of the Ooicha and the characteristics of the Sencha. The middle-ranked products and lower-ranking products showed some quality difference compared to previous years. Especially the low-ranking products can be found with hardening of the leaves or insufficient shading from the son. Here was a gap in the quality of the high-ranking and low-ranking products.
Gyokuro
100 items from 4 prefectures - Fukuoka, Kyoto, Shizuoka and Kagoshima were evaluated.
The external visual score and the internal quality score of both the high-ranking and middle-ranking products were of high quality with a small variation in quality. The ooika, the ooiaji, and the umami were mixed in harmony for many of the products. Also, an overall high level of skill in maximizing the characteristics of the breed was demonstrated.
Tencha
102 items from 6 prefectures, including Kyoto, Aichi, Shizuoka and Fukuoka were evaluated.
The high-ranking products to the middle-ranking products were of very good quality with good light leaf color from sufficient shading, a classy taste which is a characteristic of Tencha, and a rich umami. On the other hand, The low-ranking products showed items with uneven shading, smell of damaged and hardened leaves, reddish or red-blackish water color or used tea-leaf color. Implied the need of better shading management and storage skills.
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha
135 items from 5 prefectures - Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, and Miyazaki were evaluated.
As this year's contest is being held in Nagasaki which is a production area of the Mushisei-Tamaryokucha, high quality teas has been observed even more so than usual years. The passion and efforts of the produces was evident. The high-ranking and middle-ranking products were good quality. Especially the high-ranking products showed a great blend of the freshness of the young buds and umami. Some of the lower-ranking products showed needs in the improvement of the storage of the tea leaves.
Kamairi-cha
104 items from 5 prefectures including Miyazaki, Kumamoto, and Saga were evaluated.
The high-ranking products were of great quality with a fresh young-bud aroma and the refreshing unique taste which is a characteristic of the Kamairi-cha. The middle-ranking products did not show any significant problems, with good quality tea showing clear tea water color. The lower tea showed too many particles in the tea, and indicated a gap in quality as compared to the high and mid-ranking products.