A specialty Japanese tea shop (Omuta City) that specializes in exquisite sweets made with premium sencha tea!

Hello. I am Yorimichi, the owner of the blog "Yorimichi's Fukuoka Introduction," which introduces delicious restaurants in Fukuoka.

I've found a shop that will be a great place to visit during the new tea season and learn about the charms of Japanese tea, so I'd like to introduce it to you.

Ocha no Hokoen, a specialty Japanese tea select shop (Omuta City)

"Houkouen Tea Garden" is located in Hanazonocho, Omuta City.

It is about a 5-minute drive from JR Omuta Station. There is a parking lot right next to the store.

Image: Detour

Founded in 1980, it reopened in 2021. It is a tea specialty store that offers not only Japanese tea and flavored tea leaves, but also tea-based sweets and tea utensils.

Image: Detour

From the moment you enter the store, you can smell the amazing aroma of tea.

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In the "tea incense burner," tea leaves are slowly roasted over a candle to release the aroma. By the way, tea incense burners and tea leaves for tea incense burners were also sold.

When you visit Ocha no Hokoen, you will first be greeted by a tea professional who will brew your tea for you.

Scooping hot water from this kettle,

Image: Detour

Warm up the teacup.

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Pour the slightly cooled water into the teapot.

In the case of "Sencha," the water temperature is 70-80 degrees to reduce the bitterness and bring out the umami components, while "Gyokuro," which wants to bring out the umami components, is brewed slowly at a low temperature of around 50 degrees. On the other hand, for "Genmaicha," "Hojicha," "Chinese tea (depending on the type)," and "Black tea," which are characterized by their aroma, hot water at 100 degrees is used to bring out the aroma and bitter components, and the temperature is changed depending on how you enjoy it.

Image: Detour

Before you even have a cup of tea in your hands, the owner will tell you all sorts of stories about the tea.

Well, let's eat.

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I don't know, it's kind of smooth and mellow.

This is something you can't really understand unless you actually try it, and even I couldn't shake the feeling, "Well, even if you say that, it's still just tea, isn't it?" until I tried it.

But it certainly tasted completely different from the tea I brewed casually at home.

Enjoy carefully crafted sweets made by tea professionals!

Don't miss out on the sweets at this shop. It is usually a take-out specialty shop, but you can also eat in if you make a reservation in advance.

Let's start with the "Luxurious Monaka Sandwich" (950 yen).

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The monaka was filled with sencha ice cream and sencha brownie, and edible tea leaves were sprinkled on top of the cream.

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When you put it in your mouth, you can really smell the aroma of sencha.

It's common for strong-flavored matcha ice cream to be dark in color and bitter.

This isn't bitter at all but has a strong flavor, so I think even children would find it easy to eat.

The brownies also have an excellent balance of sencha flavor and sweetness.

Image: Detour

This is a masterpiece created with great care by tea professionals.

Once you've eaten a certain amount of ice cream or brownie, close it up with a mochi.

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It's easier to eat if you put it in a bag.

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It's really delicious. I think it would be a big hit if it was in a tourist area.

The contents are different from the eat-in version, but they also have a take-out version (650 yen).

This is also an eat-in menu item, "Two new sweets made with Hokoen's original sencha" (900 yen). The one in the front is "Sencha Caramel Sandwich" and the one in the back is "Sencha Brownie". The "Sencha Brownie" is what was inside the monaka.

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Both have a subtle sweetness and a refined taste, allowing you to fully enjoy the aroma and flavor of Yame Sencha.

There is also a takeaway "Sencha Caramel Sandwich and Sencha Brownie Set" (850 yen). It was so delicious I wanted to keep it at home!

This is the original "Yame Sencha Ice Cream" (also available for purchase at the online shop). This handmade ice cream is made with a generous amount of premium sencha tea from Yame, which is known for its aroma and elegant sweetness. There are two types with different richness.

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As you can see, the "Koicha Ice Cream" (550 yen) is quite dark in color and has a strong sencha flavor.

Personally, I love this so much that I want to keep one at home!

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Next, how about the "Light Brown Ice Cream" (500 yen)?

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Ah, maybe I like this one.

You can really smell the aroma of tea, and the gentle sweetness that fades away afterwards is elegant, making you feel somehow luxurious.

How much does the way you brew tea affect its taste? We tried tasting different types!

When I first entered the shop and had freshly brewed tea, I was impressed by how delicious it was, but I thought that must be because the tea leaves were of high quality...but it turns out that there's actually a key point to the brewing method.

We had the opportunity to compare different types of sencha made with the same tea leaves and teapot, with the only difference being the brewing method.

The tea on the left was brewed just randomly, while the tea on the right was brewed by carefully warming the teapot and container beforehand and then pouring hot water into the teapot.

Image: Detour

The one on the left is the one I'm used to drinking. When I try the one on the right... it's completely different. It even feels luxurious.

Even people with poor taste will be able to tell the difference if they try them side by side. I highly recommend you try this for yourself.

You can learn how to brew delicious tea and get suggestions for a cup that suits the occasion and your mood, so your interest in Japanese tea will grow. It makes you look forward to drinking it at home.

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Although I arrived at lunchtime, it was already pitch black outside. I spent about three hours in the shop and became completely captivated by the world of tea.

It's a wonderful shop where lively conversation about tea can take place.

Be sure to make a reservation in advance and enjoy eating in the sweets. (Text by Yorimitsu)

＜Click on the store name for more details about the store ↓＞
■Houkouen Tea Garden
Address: 30 Hanazonocho, Omuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Business hours: 9:30-17:30
Closed: Every Wednesday, 2nd and 4th Sunday
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