Hoshinomura: a village shaped by tea

Hoshinomura is a name many matcha drinkers have come across. It is a village in Yame, Fukuoka, with a tea history that reaches much further back than its matcha production.

A tax record from 1603 lists tea alongside persimmons and paper, showing that tea was already part of local livelihoods.

Gyokuro trials began in 1904. In 1917, villagers travelled to Uji to study tea production and brought that knowledge home. Working with gyokuro meant learning how shading, harvest timing, and the condition of the shoots could shape colour and taste.

The village's first tencha factory followed in 1937. Tencha is the leaf tea that is ground into matcha. In 1989, a tencha factory equipped with 50 stone mills marked a further step in local matcha production.

How the fields are managed

Today, Hoshinomura has both naturally shaped tea bushes, known as shizen-shitate, which are picked by hand, and pruned fields harvested by machine. Direct covering, where shade material is placed over the bushes, has become more common.

Yabukita, Saemidori, and Okumidori are among the cultivars grown here. They tend to become ready at different times: Saemidori earlier, Yabukita in the middle, and Okumidori later.

This helps spread the work of picking and processing. Growers have more room to harvest each tea when it is ready.

There is more than one Hoshinomura flavour

Some teas have warm aromas that remind us of nuts, grains, or chocolate. Part of this character comes from heating the tencha. This firing aroma is called hika. Producers adjust the heat and time to suit the leaves and the result they want.

But a tea does not need a strong roasted aroma to come from Hoshinomura. Some producers bring forward ooika, the aroma associated with shaded tea, along with sweetness, umami, and the character of the leaves themselves.

Both fuller roasted styles and more delicate expressions can belong to the same place.

There is also interest in cultivars such as Tsuyuhikari, Kirari 31, and Seimei. Japanese research suggests that Seimei may offer better cold tolerance than Saemidori, with potential for tencha production and a vivid green colour.

How these cultivars perform in the field, in yield, and in the cup is something to keep following. Hoshinomura's story is still developing through the choices of the people who grow and make its tea.