marutamaen

A 70-year old tea shop in Yaizu City, marutamaen

They have two shops in Yaizu

↓Toroda branch runs as a cafe too

↓Hojicha parfait

Parfait with Hojicha aroma. You can see ice cream, bean paste, sponge, and soft mochi (soft rice cake), from the top layer.

↓Matcha tiramisu with hot Sencha.

I interviewed President Keisuke Masuda.

President Masuda “marutamaen has a tea processing factory in which Aracha, unrefined tea, is purchased and refined by our own hands, and we sell the tea at our shops. We consistently process and sell it on our own, especially focusing on the quality so we commit to process sweet and thick tea, most suitable for the climate and culture of the Yaizu region. For roasting, the determinant of the tea taste, we adjust it following the seasonal climate of Yaizu. In this way, we make an effort to offer the most delicious tea of each season.”

President Masuda “We provide a wide variety of teas, mainly tea from Shizuoka like Fukamushicha, deep-steamed tea. Cold brew Sencha and some other products are Yutakamidori of Kagoshima. As a president, I stand in the shop as much as possible and directly explain tea guests would like.”

↓The main shop on the Yaizu Station road

President Masuda “We have two marutamaen shops, the main shop on the Yaizu Station road and Toroda branch. We build a close relationship with the community in Yaizu, offering all-you-can-carry sale regularly. We heard some young people felt hesitant to enter a tea shop. To make it easier for them, we also opened up a cafe at the Toroda branch. I hope we catch the younger, leading to our sales, by offering a sample and cafe menu. The menu changes by season. In summer, shaved ice while parfaits and tiramisu in other seasons. For a drink, we also offer various cultivars of tea, flavored tea, and matcha latte.”

New brand SANOWA was launched in October 2018

President Masuda “Our 70th anniversary is coming in 2020. Since my grandfather founded marutamaen, I am the third president. Customer’s needs for tea are changing over time.

‘Trend that the young generation doesn’t have tea’. The phrase often appears from the media, but it’s not always true. When they are thirsty, they drink bottled green tea of major beverage companies, and matcha latte and matcha sweets fly out of cafes in the afternoon.

Analyzing the situation, we realized that the young generation just lost ‘culture where they brew and savor delicious tea at home’.

So, we should make deeper insight into the abstract presence of the ‘young generation’, considering WHO we want to deliver a new brand tea for. Our project members concluded that it should be ‘women working and raising a child hard’.

Nowadays, women are extremely busy, and their elbow room has disappeared from their lives. I thought I could contribute to such an issue as a tea master.

Exploring the worries of young women, three keywords came out, which could connect them with tea.

If even one keyword is missing, it’s impossible to spread the brand into their lives.

Easy, tasty, and classy.

Based on these three keywords, we were developing products while discussing among staff again and again and listening to external opinions.

Cafe menu to discover the pleasure and a tea bag to discover the convenience.

Leaf to discover the deliciousness and flavored tea to discover the novelty.

Numerous products are wrapped in a sophisticated design package, which are ‘rewards’ for women to heal their tired heart and body.

SA in SANOWA represents 茶 (tea).

We gave the name with a wish that tea would create a circle of people and tea.”

Hoping that the new brand SANOWA will be a reward to heal many people, marutamaen keeps processing and providing delicious tea while closely connecting to our hometown Yaizu.

Thank you for reading the report of marutamaen by our chief editor.

marutamaen Toroda branch

marutamaen main shop on the Yaizu Station road