The National Cha Hinpyoukai

The 73rd National Tea Competition of Japan Results (2019)

Here we are introducing the results of The 73rd National Tea Competition of Japan (Zenkoku Cha Hinpyoukai) in 2019, which includes the following awards.

Back to The National Tea Competition Top

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 - 9 winners
Area Award 3rd Place - 7 winners

The competition is the most prestigious competition for Japanese green tea. Take a look at the winners - these are essentially the best Japanese tea in 2019!

Results

Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Award - 8 winners

Category	Winner Area	Winner	Related Area Brands
Futsu-Sencha 10g	Kirishima City, Kagoshima	Koji Arimura (Arimura Seicha)	Kagoshima-cha
Futsu-Sencha 4g	Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka	Masataka Ota (Tenryucha Kenkyukai)	Shizuoka-cha
Fukamushi-Sencha	Omaezaki City, Shizuoka	Tsuyomi Masuda (Yamama Masudaen)	Shizuoka-cha
Kabuse-cha	Maizuru City, Kyoto	Shigemasa Hishida (Maizurucha Seisankumiai Okadashimoshibu)	Ujicha
Gyokuro	Yame City, Fukuoka	Goukichi Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi Isamu Seicha)	Yamecha
Tencha (Matcha)	Nishio City, Aichi	Hironori Inagaki (Yamafuji Seicha)	Nishio-no-Matcha
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha	Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki	Yuta Nakayama	Ureshino-cha
Kamairi-cha	Ureshino City, Saga	Yukiko Yoshimuta (Ureshino Nanbu Kamairicha Kumiai)	Ureshino-cha

Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Secretary Award - 12 winners

Category	Winner Area	Winner	Related Area Brands
Futsu-Sencha 10g	Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima	Takayoshi Fukuda (Chiranmeicha Kenkyukai, Chirantakeseicha)	Chiran-cha
Futsu-Sencha 4g	Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka	Katsunori Ota (Tenryucha Kenkyukai)	Shizuoka-cha
Fukamushi-Sencha	Kakegawa City, Shizuoka	Kakegawa Chuou Chagyou	Kakegawa-cha
Fukamushi-Sencha	Makinohara City, Shizuoka	Takaaki Ueda (Sugeyama Momimomi-kai)	Shizuoka-cha
Kabuse-cha	Maizuru City, Kyoto	Miyoko Hishida (Maizurucha Seisankumiai Okadashimoshibu)	Ujicha
Kabuse-cha	Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto	Kousuke Ida (Ida Seichajyou)	Ujicha
Gyokuro	Yame City, Fukuoka	Takaomi Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi Isamu Seicha)	Yamecha
Tencha (Matcha)	Uji City, Kyoto	Yoshitsugu Furukawa	Ujicha
Tencha (Matcha)	Jyouyou City, Kyoto	Hirofumi Ota	Ujicha
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha	Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki	Kousuke Nakayama	Ureshino-cha
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha	Ureshino City, Saga	Takayuki Mine	Ureshino-cha
Kamairi-cha	Ureshino City, Saga	Hatsuno Akizuki (Ureshino Nanbukamairicha Kumiai)	Ureshino-cha

Japan Tea Central Public Interest Incorporated Association Chairman Award - 8 winners

Category	Winner Area	Winner	Related Area Brands
Futsu-Sencha 10g	Kirishima City, Kagoshima	Tomoshi Arimura (Kukou Seicha)	Kagoshima-cha
Futsu-Sencha 4g	Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka	Misaki Ota (Tenryucha Kenkyukai)	Shizuoka-cha
Fukamushi-Sencha	Makinohara City, Shizuoka	Yoshitaka Ota (Hachiota)	Shizuoka-cha
Kabuse-cha	Maizuru City, Kyoto	Yoshiro Masumo (Maizuru Seichakumiai Okamotoshibu)	Ujicha
Gyokuro	Yame City, Fukuoka	Mitsuru Baba	Yamecha
Tencha (Matcha)	Uji City, Kyoto	Shinsuke Koyama	Ujicha
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha	Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki	Kazuhiko Onoue	Ureshino-cha
Kamairi-cha	Amakusa City, Kumamoto	Sumiko Ihara (Sumoto Seichakoujyou)

Japanese Association of Tea Production Award - 8 winners

Category	Winner Area	Winner	Related Area Brands
Futsu-Sencha 10g	Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka	Takashi Kurita (Harunocha Shinkoukyougikai)	Shizuoka-cha
Futsu-Sencha 4g	Shizuoka City, Shizuoka	Hirotoshi Ishihara (Nekuto)	Shizuoka-cha
Fukamushi-Sencha	Makinohara City, Shizuoka	Yasuo Suzuki (Hagimachagyou Kenkyukai)	Shizuoka-cha
Kabuse-cha	Yotsukaichi City, Mie	Kazuki Hagimura (Hagimura Seicha)
Gyokuro	Yame City, Fukuoka	Akio Kurihara (Kurihara Seicha)	Yamecha
Tencha (Matcha)	Uji City, Kyoto	Kazuhiko Koyama	Ujicha
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha	Ureshino City, Saga	Minoru Shirakawa (Ikariishi Meichakenkyukai)	Ureshino-cha
Kamairi-cha	Ureshino City, Saga	Kenji Akizuki (Ureshinonanbu Kamairichagyou Kumiai)	Ureshino-cha

National Tea Commerce and Industry's Association Award - 8 winners

Category	Winner Area	Winner	Related Area Brands
Futsu-Sencha 10g	Kirishima City, Kagoshima	Yoshiki Sueshige (Sueshige Seicha)	Kagoshima-cha
Futsu-Sencha 4g	Haibaragun Kawanehonchou town, Shizuoka	Yoshikazu Kawasaki	Kawane-cha
Fukamushi-Sencha	Makinohara City, Shizuoka	Kazuhiro Kinumura (Higashihagima Mikakuencha Nougyoukyoudoukumiai)	Shizuoka-cha
Kabuse-cha	Ayabe City, Kyoto	Yoshitaka Nakata (Ryoutan Iki-iki farm)	Ujicha
Gyokuro	Yame City, Fukuoka	Tsutomu Kurasumi	Yamecha
Tencha (Matcha)	Uji City, Kyoto	Yoshikazu Furukawa	Ujicha
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha	Ureshino City, Saga	Chiaki Mine	Ureshino-cha
Kamairi-cha	Nishiusukigun Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki	Yoichi Kouroki

Area Awards

Category	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place
Futsu-Sencha 10g	Kirishima City, Kagoshima	Minami Kyushu City, Kagoshima	Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka
Futsu-Sencha 4g	Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka	Haibaragun Kawanehonchou town, Shizuoka	Shizuoka City, Shizuoka
Fukamushi-Sencha	Makinohara City, Shizuoka	Kakegawa City, Shizuoka	Omaezaki City, Shizuoka
Kabuse-cha	Maizuru City, Kyoto	Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Toyota City, Aichi	-
Gyokuro	Yame City, Fukuoka	Kyotanabe City, Kyoto	Fujieda City, Shizuoka
Tencha (Matcha)	Uji City, Kyoto	Nishio City, Aichi	Jyouyou City, Kyoto
Mushisei-Tamaryokucha	Higashisonogi-gun Higashisonogi town, Nagasaki	Ureshino City, Saga	Shibushi City, Kagoshima
Kamairi-cha	Ureshino City, Saga	Amakusa City, Kumamoto	Nishiusukigun Gokasecho Town, Miyazaki

Summary by Chief Judge (Translation)

"

The 73rd National Tea Competition was held in the Nishio Convention Center of Nishio city, Aichi prefecture for the duration of 4 days between Aug 27th to Aug 30th 2019. 920 products produced in 19 prefectures across 7 tea types and 8 contest categories were carefully evaluated by 20 judges coming from all over Japan.

It was assumed that this year's Ichibancha would be harvested earlier as the temperatures from January to March was higher than normal. However, The temperature dropped from late March to early April and the buds didn't grow as expected. As a result, the plucking timing seemed to be difficult.

Despite this, the tea products in the contest were of good quality, and I would like to pay tribute to the passion, efforts, and high skills of the producers.

Futsu-Sencha 10kg

105 items from 7 prefectures including Kagoshima, Shizuoka, Fukuoka, and Miyazaki were evaluated.

This category is limited to machine picking. The high-ranking products were of both great visual and taste, 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

104 items from 14 prefectures including Shizuoka, Miyazaki Aichi, and Kagoshima were evaluated.

The high-ranking products had the fresh scent of the young buds and tastefulness, and the quality remained similar up to the middle-ranked products. The lower-ranked products showed late harvesting or problems during the manufacturing or storage process, having a large quality drop from the high and middle-ranked products.

Fukamushi-Sencha

134 items from 5 prefecture including Shizuoka, Kagoshima, and Saitama 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 lighter, and showed a gap in quality.

Kabuse-cha

111 items from 7 prefectures including Kyoto and Aichi were evaluated.

The high-ranking items were good quality which showed the fresh green luster of Kabuse-cha, a harmonious mix of ooika and freshness, and umami. The middle-ranked products showed some quality difference compared to the high-ranking products, however many were high quality. The low-ranking tea showed insufficient shading.

Gyokuro

99 items from 5 prefectures - Fukuoka, Kyoto, Shizuoka, Kagoshima, and Saitama were evaluated.

The visual and the taste of both the high-ranking and middle-ranking products were of high quality. The ooika, the ooiaji, and the umami were mixed in harmony. Many of the low-ranking products didn't have enough ooiaji.

Tencha

137 items from 7 prefectures, including Kyoto, Aichi, and Shizuoka were evaluated.

The high-ranking products were of very good quality with class. They had great color and a defined ooika. The low-ranking products had insufficient ooika.

Mushisei-Tamaryokucha

121 items from 5 prefectures - Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, and Miyazaki were evaluated.

The high-ranking and middle-ranking products were good quality. Many of the high-ranking products showed richness in the tea color, and mixed the fresh sent of the young buds with the umami. The lower-ranking products included items which showed scents which come from damaged leaves.

Kamairi-cha

109 items from 6 prefectures including Miyazaki, Saga, and Kumamoto were evaluated. Many high quality products were high-ranking showing the brilliance and tightness of young buds, sent which is unique to Kamairi-cha, and good umami. While the middle-ranking products were a little lower in quality as compared to the higher-ranking products, the differences were small and had good quality products with uniform shape. The low quality products had problems such as insufficient compactness, hardening of the leaves, and too much sediment.

Resource Link

https://www.pref.aichi.jp/uploaded/attachment/306644.pdf