Abandoned Green Tea Field
Posted by admin on Mar 28, 2010
Few young Japanese wish to live the life of a tea farmer in the beautiful and remote mountains of central Honshu. As a result, many farms are abandoned and left untended after the aging farmer dies or decides to retire. This tea field was likely abandoned within the last year as the shape of the plants is still distinct yet the rows are clearly overgrown and no tea has been harvested. Within another year the tea plants will likely be completely overgrown and the site barely recognizable as a tea field. I sometimes happen across such fields which have been completely reclaimed by the forest, with the only sign of man’s former presence being the distinct stone walls of the field’s terrace.
After I filmed this video I wandered down the road another 100 yards to a dead end where a lovely old farm house was found. The home was modest yet full of charm and life, all of which was the doing of a spry old woman who is the home’s sole occupant. I would not have troubled the woman had she not been outside tending her garden when I passed by. She was very happy and talkative and clearly delighted to have a visitor. Her garden was lovely with a modest vegetable plot and many potted plants and assorted bonsai. Water from a nearby stream trickled through pipes to fill a small carp pond. And a small cemetery plot could be seen above her home which is often a sign that the family has been living in this spot for a very long time. I was a bit uncomfortable as I feared I was intruding so I did not try to film or ask her any prying questions though I gathered that the abandoned tea field in this video may belong to her, and as it seems she was living alone I suspect that her husband may have passed recently and this may be the reason the field is untended. This is speculation to be sure though the pattern is one I have seen unfolding often in the remote villages of these high mountains.
Duration : 0:2:8
Green Tea Japan Trailer!
Posted by admin on Mar 21, 2010
Director:Zhang Yuan
Cast:Zhao Wei,Jiang Wen
Duration : 0:2:2
Machine-Harvesting Japanese Green Tea (shin-cha)
Posted by admin on Jan 8, 2010
This short video shows how machines are used by Japanese tea farmers to cut Green Tea leaves from the plant. The cutter is operated by two people and it is very common in our part of Japan (Shizuoka, near Mt. Fuji) to see husband and wife pairs working together at this job. The couple in the video likely own the tea field where they are working and may process the tea themselves if they have the proper equipment. Such tea may then carry the family’s own label and display their company or family name. Alternately, the tea they harvest may be brought to a nearby tea processing facility operated jointly by the various tea farmers in the area. Tea processed in this fashion will usually then carry a brand which is common to all of the members of the tea collective.
Duration : 0:0:36
Green Tea Flavor Coca Cola
Posted by admin on Dec 19, 2009
The beverage industry in Japan is fiercely competitive with vending machines on nearly every street corner and new and interesting concoctions and campaigns being placed before the consumer every month. One of the most interesting results of this fight for market share is the periodic release by the big names of Coke and Pepsi of unique and interesting variations on their traditional cola flavors. The most recent to appear is Green Tea Flavor Coca Cola which is being reviewed with this video. However, the first prize in the uncanny category must go to Pepsi for their short-lived summer release of Cucumber-flavor Pepsi. As if the name alone was not enough to twist your lips the light green bottle was an eye-opener to every cold beverage fan who happened upon this drink during the summer months of 2007 (I may be wrong about the year).
Duration : 0:3:1