Japanese tea-maker Kazunori Handa-san talks legacy, family and the art of tea-making.

It is hard to think of a tea that embodies a nation’s culture as matcha does for Japan. The specialty green tea powder has strong and deep connections to Japanese practices, from religion, art and architecture, to flower-arranging and dress.

For Kazunori Handa-san, it is a legacy his family has carried for about three centuries. The 16th generation tea master is continuing a historical practice of harvesting Sayama tea in Saitama Prefecture, which his clan has done since the Edo period of the 1800s.

“Since I had a family history with it, it was natural for me to be involved in tea. At a young age, I went to study at the National Tea Institute and met many tea growers and manufacturers throughout Japan,” he recounts. “Our family has always been focused on spreading the Japanese tea culture throughout Japan and also worldwide. Since I was very young, I have wanted to follow in their footsteps.”

The Handa family’s cultural outreach started early. They were, says Handa-san, “the first to export Japanese green tea to the Paris Expo in 1867”, no doubt contributing to the French interest in newly opened Japan that became the Japonisme movement. More recently his grandfather, a writer and an artist, “created the Sayama-style sencha tea ceremony, as well as worked with Unzen-style pottery”.

Handa-san’s work takes him around Japan where he visits different tea fields. “When I find good tea leaves, I purchase them directly from the farmer, and mix different tea leaves to create a perfect blend,” he says. The job is more challenging than the word ‘blending’ implies, however. Tea masters need to control variation to ensure consistency and quality “to create a product that customers can trust”.

Handa-san adds: “Sometimes different teas that come from the same grower can taste differently, depending on when and where they were harvested. Also, how the leaves are processed can change the outcome, so you need knowledge and understanding about tea to control it.”

The entirety of Handa-san’s role is to purchase raw materials, create different tea blends, control production and quality and manage distribution within Japan. In the interests of work-life balance, however, he has taken up the motto to ‘enjoy new challenges’, “spending equal amounts of time working and enjoying life in general”.

As for the tea he enjoys drinking most? Handa-san is diplomatic on the subject. “There are many different types of tea within Japan and also worldwide which I enjoy. Also, there are many teas I have not yet tried. Tea can be enjoyed on its own, but pairing it with food is another wonderful way to enjoy. I try all teas and don’t have one single favourite.”

In 2005, Handa-san partnered with John Harrison partnered to develop high quality matcha for international sales, launching the brand DōMatcha.

This article originally appeared in AUSTCS enews 17 July 2020. Mailchimp no longer allows external links to the original newsletter.