A journey through Mie Prefecture, Japan
Between Mountain & Sea
An Underrated Tea Region
This lunar new year, we travelled to Mie Prefecture, Japan to meet our Japanese tea maker and to explore and learn about Mie's tea culture. Often overlooked yet quietly one of Japan’s largest tea-producing regions, Mie Prefecture is known for its refined green teas and exceptional Kabusecha.
For our upcoming event at our teahouse, we shine a light on this remarkable region, exploring its shaded teas and the balance, softness, and depth that define Mie green tea. It’s something we’ve been wanting to share through the teas and how the feeling of the place stayed with us through what we tasted, walked through, and brought back.
Tea as a daily practice
Kabusecha sits somewhere between sencha and gyokuro. The tea plants are shaded for a short period before harvest, just enough to deepen sweetness and umami without becoming overly dense. The result is a tea that feels balanced and grounded.
Umami is present but restrained, leaning more earthy than marine. A gentle sweetness comes through, rounded by a slight bitterness that keeps it anchored.
Much of this character comes from where it is grown. Mie’s tea fields stretch between mountain and sea.
Cool air descending from the hills, humidity drifting in from the coast, and a landscape that shifts subtly with elevation. These conditions slow the growth of the leaves and deepen their flavour, while also shaping how tea is farmed: smaller plots, closer attention, and an attunement to season and terrain.
In Mie Prefecture, this kind of tea feels especially at home. Made by smaller growers and guided by everyday drinking, kabusecha reflects the rhythm of the region, where lifestyle is measured, unhurried, and consistent.
A tea not made for occasions, but for living with.
A Place of Pilgrimage
At the heart of the region lies Ise Jingu, one of Japan’s most sacred sites.
Pilgrimage routes have, for centuries, brought people through this landscape, season by season. The act of travel and movement towards something meaningful, is deeply embedded here.
Along these routes, tea and food were never separate from the journey. Simple teahouses and rest stops developed to support pilgrims. Tea was often brewed and offered to rest with, rehydrate, and reset before continuing.
Simple meals like Ise Udon (伊勢うどん), a thick, soft noodles in a dark, concentrated sauce were also popular. Historically prepared for travellers arriving at Ise Jingu, its softness and richness made it easy to eat after long journeys. Comforting, direct, without excess.
Ise Udon (伊勢うどん)
We also enjoyed Akafuku Mochi (赤福餅) as we ate it in the place of it's origin. A Japanese confectionery established in 1707, during the Edo period, still run by the founding family. The mochi is formed to reflect the nearby river, linking it closely to the landscapes travelled by pilgrims.
And in the dry, delicate crumble of Rakugan (落雁). A pressed sugar wagashi that keeps well, making it something that could be carried over distance, offered, or shared.
Akafuku Mochi (赤福餅)
Rakugan(落雁)