Takaki san was born in 1973 in Hoshino Village, Yame (Fukuoka prefecture). He graduated from Yame High School and studied business and management for 7 years at Vancouver, Canada. As the first son of Takaki Green Tea Farm he naturally took over his family business in 1999 from his father. His dynamism, the excellence of his products and love of his area have raised Takaki san to the position of leading voice among young tea producers in the Yame area. His green tea has won some of the highest national awards during the recent years and many will follow in the coming years we are sure of that !

In  Takaki san's own words:  "We  believe that the foundation of making excellent tea is more than anything  else in making good soil. We encourage the making of soil using traditional  organic fertilizer and compost. We are committed to obtain a gentle mild  sweet taste.    

Regarding  gyokuro cultivation in particular, we started cultivation 100 years ago and  high-grade tea is our area of expertise. Even in pest control, we are working  on special cultivation that requires only a minimum of  chemical spraying.

In  addition, we are also working on cultivating green tea for exporting to  Europe. We cultivate tea based on the same standards as those approved in the  EU, which are several times more strict than the Japanese agricultural  chemical standards."

Yame Region is proud of its top production amount of gyokuro (Highest Quality). As much as 45% of all gyokuro available on Japanese market comes from Yame Region. That is the reason Yame is famous and known as one of the few production places of highest quality green tea in Japan.

Yame Gyokuro won Best Prize in the All Japan Green Tea Competition for 12 consecutive years from 2001 to 2012, as well as in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, Yame Green Tea won Best Prize in the sections of both Green Tea (Middle Grade) and Gyokuro Green Tea (Highest Grade).

In 2007, Yame Green Tea took the all the places from the 1st place to the 26th place in the Gyokuro Competition Section, showing its overwhelming excellence over green teas produced in other regions in Japan.

Gyokuro  from our 100-years-old tea plantation has a deep taste that brings out its  long history. Even in Hoshino village that boasts the largest production of  Gyokuro in Japan, our traditional breed "Dentou Hongyokuro" is very  rare and its taste is clearly distinct from other gyokuro.

By  blending “Tousui” cultivar, that has naturally a strong umami taste like all  gyokuro, and the “Oku midori” cultivar that possesses a rich taste, we were  able to develop a deep and unique flavor that cannot be found anywhere else.