Mr. Ogose Haruo, the owner of the tea plantation, told me about the work he does at the Tea garden throughout the year.
April and May is the season for harvesting the first tea leaves. At my tea garden, we harvest sencha ( green tea ) , black tea, and hojicha ( roasted green tea ) in that order: late April to early May for sencha, mid-May for black tea, and late May for hojicha.
As the temperature gets warmer, the buds of the tea plants start to open up and are harvested according to how open they are. Sencha tea tastes best when the buds are just beginning to open. Black tea is best when the buds are a little more open.
If the buds are at this level of opening, the tea leaf will ferment evenly for black tea. For hojicha, it is better to harvest the tea buds when they are fully opened and slightly hardened, so that they will have a better aroma when roasted.
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