Soderstrom Pottery Blog

As many of you know by now, Sarah and I have started a new business, importing and selling Japanese green tea. Some of you had heard the story of why and how we began this new endeavor. For those who haven't, I would like to share my story with you:

I first became interested in Green Tea while living in Japan. One day while strolling through the streets of Akita, I happened upon a small shop that made traditional Japanese shoes. When I went inside, the shop’s owner, Taka san, was working to attach new straps to a pair of richly lacquered wooden geta. He spoke virtually no English, but his daughter who was visiting was able to translate for us. Mr. Taka told me he wanted to share Japanese culture with me and invited me to return in a week to have tea with his family at their home which was in the back of the store. There I was given my first taste of Japan, in a small cup. We spent the afternoon together sharing small sweet bean cakes and fresh Green Tea. I was invited to return many times after that day, and friendships were formed despite our lack of a common culture or language. It was only later, while studying Japanese Tea Ceremony that I was able to realize that serving tea is a way of sharing oneself with others.

After returning to the United States, I spent years in vain trying to recapture the taste of Japan. I looked everywhere trying to find the teas that I grew to love in Akita. They were not the same. I went to specialty tea retailers and wholesalers and bought many teas, but found they were not the same. I thought about contacting my friends in Japan to ask them if they could send me fresh, authentic, high quality Japanese tea, but soon realized that my tea consumption would eventually become a burden to my friends. One day I had an epiphany; I would seek out a small tea garden and import the tea direct from the grower. After sampling a mountain of tea from many tea producers, I found the tea I had been searching for…

Information about our Tea
Our tea comes from a small family owned tea farm in Shizuoka, Japan. Their tea farm was established in 1790 by the Matsuda family and is named Shinchaen, meaning “True Tea Garden.” The tea garden has been passed down through eight generations in the Matsuda family. The current owner of the tea garden, Masahiko Matsuda has been awarded “Number One Tea Taster in Japan” by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Shinchaen is one of few tea estates in Japan to do everything by hand. They do not use automated machinery to process the tea leaves as almost all tea farms in Japan do now. The tea is dried and rolled using traditional processes, in order to preserve quality and tradition rather than to maximize efficiency and profit. In addition, the family uses organic fertilizers and natural pest controls.

As a small family owned tea garden, Shinchaen was very happy to be partners with us, a small family owned pottery. We both value quality, tradition and craftsmanship. It is a tremendous honor for me to be able to import and sell their high quality tea.

Please visit our website at www.teafox.com