Simply put...

A wonderfully rich but mellow, sweet high grade Sencha Fukamushi

In more depth...

Family: Takeshi Iizuka with over 50 years experience of organic tea & Mitsuo Iizuka, his eldest son.  

Name of tea garden : Sukemune [JAS Organic] Tea Garden

Production method : This garden follows the tradition of "deep-steamed" tea.   Mitsuo Iizuka continues to evolve this method by developing his own unique method of deep-steaming (approximately 110 seconds) creating beautiful mellow tea

Region : Sukemune tea is grown in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture an area with many producers who do not use pesticides or chemical fertilizers.  Due to the volume of organic producers in this community, the impact of 'pesticide drift' is reduced, making it easier to practice organic farming. The area does not only produce tea - you will find mandarins, strawberries, rice, vegetables, and more.

Tea Name : A wonderfully rich but mellow, sweet high grade Sencha Fukamushi

Size : 8.5 hectares.  3.5 hectares dedicated to Sencha, 3.5 hectares dedicated to powdered tea and 1.5 hectares dedicated to black tea

Experience : Wonderfully sharp prominent flavour.  Beautifully refreshing.

Last visited by Comins : November 2025, Michelle Comins

How to prepare [Kyusu]

Amount of tea per cup (200 ml): 2g 

Temperature of water: 80 C 

Infusion time: 30 seconds to 1 minute

Number of infusions: Up to 4*

How to enjoy: No milk, no sugar

*Possible number of times you can re-brew using the same leaves.  

This tea can be infused/brewed multiple times, just place the leaves to one side and reuse. 

Sukemune Organic Tea Garden
Father: Takeshi Iizuka Owner:
Minoru, the eldest son, grew up drinking the organically grown tea his father produced. He has no experience with cultivation using pesticides or chemical fertilizers. He pursues the deliciousness of tea with a palate nurtured by an organic diet.

All about the Iizuka Family

From the family : their commitment : The owner's commitment:
"I want to make tea that people will say, 'Delicious!!'" The Iizuka family are dedicated to researching cultivation management that produces sweet-tasting tea. With over 50 years of organic farming experience, it is one of the longest-running tea gardens in Japan, and also one of the longest-running tea gardens in Japan for black tea production. In addition to stable black tea production techniques, they are also working on fertilization design for raw leaf cultivation for black tea, aiming for a black tea that is sweet and delicious when enjoyed straight.

Takeshi Iizuka has been making black tea for over 50 years. "If black tea can be made from the same tea plants as green tea, I wonder if I can make it myself?" he thought, and put the freshly picked leaves in his pocket and kneaded them by hand while they fermented. As he occasionally took the tea leaves out of his pocket to observe them, his interest in fermented tea grew, and he became engrossed in making black tea. He is a tea craftsman with a well-established reputation for his tea production techniques, from green tea to black tea. Currently, he is in charge of planning the farm work to support his eldest son's production.

Minoru Iizuka The eldest son of Takeshi Iizuka. Following in his father's footsteps and his commitment to organic farming, he dedicates himself to organic agriculture. He also focuses on domestically produced black tea, which has a good reputation both domestically and internationally. Since the quality of all tea is affected by the quality of the raw leaves cultivated, he conducts research on cultivation methods specifically for black tea and works on soil management [attending workshops on cutting-edge organic farming techniques]. In recent years, he has also added a tencha kiln and is working on the production of tencha, the raw material for organic matcha.