Awa-bancha is a traditional regional tea from Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku Island. It is mainly produced in the town of Kamikatsu in July after the rainy season. This tea has the very rare feature in Japanese teas of being fermented. Along with goishi-cha and ishizuchi-kurocha, awa-bancha is one of the three banchas from Shikoku Island to are made with lactic bacteria and anaerobic fermentation (without oxygen).
In the middle of the summer, the tea trees are picked of all their leaves, which are then boiled. Afterwards, the liquid used to boil the leaves is put aside, and the leaves are lightly pressed to break the leaf tissue. The fermentation stage begins next and will last between two to five weeks depending on the producer. The leaves are put in caskets along with the liquid that was put aside and the caskets are hermetically sealed. Lastly, the leaves are dried in the sun for two to three days. This last stage is very delicate and needs to be constantly monitored in case of rain. The leaves must be protected at this stage.

This is an example of a heavily fermented awa-bancha. The acidity of the lactic acid fermentation is very present in the nose. This acidity also appears in the mouth. The producer of this tea, Ms. Iwamoto Keiko still uses traditional boat-shaped wooden tool called “chasuri-bune” to press the leaves before fermentation.
The aromas evoke humus and fallen autumn leaves, and are accompanied by nuances of wood and medicinal herb.
Despite its acidity, this is an overall fluid and round tea with a sweet aftertaste.
This tea is very typical and is representative of anaerobically fermented teas.

Type of tea : post-fermented tea
Origin : Fudono, Kamikatsu town, Katsuura District, Tokushima prefecture
Cultivar : "zairai" indigenous species
　 Harvest : July, 2023
　 Fermentation time : 23 days