Iwai Seicha

株式会社磐井製茶磐井製茶

Iwai Seicha (株式会社磐井製茶) is a tea producer based in Iwasaki, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture, founded in 1974. The company specializes in premium shade-grown teas from the Yame region — Japan's foremost gyokuro-producing area, which has taken the regional prize at the National Tea Quality Evaluation Conference for over 22 consecutive years. Operating with fully integrated production — from crude tea finishing and processing through temperature-controlled storage — Iwai Seicha maintains strict quality control by keeping all stages under one roof. Their signature product is Yame Gyokuro 'Asagiri' (朝霧, 'morning mist'), a high-grade hand-shaded gyokuro prized for its concentrated umami and distinctive cover aroma. The company motto is 'a symphony of taste and aroma' (味と香りのシンフォニー), reflecting a commitment to delivering complex, layered flavor profiles rooted in Yame's terroir. While primarily known for gyokuro, they also produce kabusecha, deep-steamed sencha, and karigane (stem tea).