Overlooking central Nagasaki's Ōmura Bay is Sonogi tea cooperative—a 400 hectare plot run by 4 forward-thinking tea producers. Without the regional pedigree Uji holds, the Sonogi 4 leverage their combined tea making perspectives to turn out Japanese standards that are anything but.
Sonogi is a fully integrated operation, with tencha making and milling facilities on-site. Organic certification is impossible, here—their tea trees are fertilized with a fermented compost of wild-caught fish from the bay, making for richly nourished teas that are uniquely Nagaski.
Matcha SONOGI is the peak of their output, and a vivid representation of the seaside terroir.
Sonogi tea cooperative is the collective tea making expertise of:
Shinya Fukuda (soba-loving manga enthusiast)
Yoshitaka Ohyama (7" LP collector)
Kosuke Nakayama (lifetime angler)
Kazuhiko Onoue (also a fisherman)
"Making tea to connect people, and soften their hearts."