Shuichiro Sakamoto

SAKAMOTO ORGANIC FARM LLC

Master Sakamoto has been cultivating organic gyokuro since 1985. He is a renowned expert in Japan, rightly nicknamed the 'gyokuro guru' for his vast knowledge and achievements. His teas, at any time, disprove the claim that you cannot grow good gyokuro without artificial fertilizers. Among other things, he has invented and produces his own kind of organic fertilizer, promotes organic farming and tries to help farmers who want to switch to it. His whole approach is based on a holistic view of soil, plants and human beings as part of a whole. 

The family tea history goes back 3 generations to Mr. Sakamoto's great-grandfather who grew and sold tea to the local people. Shuichiro Sakamoto, along with his brother, took over the tea farm in the mid-1980s. At that time, the farm grew conventional, or inorganic, teas. At that time, Mr Sakamoto considered all green tea healthy - until his mother and then his niece died of cancer. Both of them were great tea lovers and drank tea in large quantities.

Shaken by this loss, Shuichiro made a vow to himself that he would only produce tea that was truly healthy.

He converted the entire farm to strictly organic with a vision to produce the best teas. To focus on quality, he took a risk and reduced the size of the plantation by half. As he says, "good organic tea doesn't happen overnight." 35 years have passed since then and the quality of his teas continues to grow.

His specialty is Gyokuro and the unique matcha made from gyokuro