Kamairicha | Ureshino

In Japan there are two styles of manufacture to obtain finished green tea, this is, detaining oxidation of the leaves: kamairicha (roasted) and sencha ( steamed)

Kamaricha is the traditional method. It consists in roasting the leaves just after they have been picked using a Kama (a pan or a iron wok) and was first introduced in the norh of Kyushu by the chinese during the XV century. It was not until 1738 that Japan invented the steaming method. About the origin, some say that monk Eirin Shuzhu introduced this methodnof production with the tea seeds in the temple Reiganji in Yameshi, prefectura of Fukuoka in 1406. Others give the credit to a chinese man called Ko Reimin that brought this style of roasting in China to Ureshino-shi, Saga prefectura in the year 1504.

As mentioned, for Kamairicha the leaves are roasted in an iron kettle at a high temperatura (300ºC on the Surface) stiring it and giving it its round form by hand.
This is very hard and laborious work and nowadays there are very few artisans to do this , most of them are old . Therefore, the production of kamairicha teas is very limited.