Green tea leaves swept into a withering trough by a worker in a Japanese tea processing factory.

Oyama Seicha

Kumamoto, Kyushu

Founded in 1939, Oyama Seicha is a fourth-generation, family-run tea company in Kumamoto. The entire process is handled in-house, from growing and harvesting tea to processing it, as well as running a small shop and cafe. Run by just four members of the Oyama family, the company operates on a deliberately small scale, with careful, small-batch production.

Oyama Seicha is based in the misty valleys of Yamaga City, where fog filters the sunlight and shapes the tea-growing conditions. Clean air and clear water add to microclimates well suited to tea cultivation. Working with these conditions, the family grows different cultivars and offers them as single varietals so tea lovers can explore the differences.

Free from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, Oyama Seicha’s teas are "jouhin," or elegant, with rich umami, gentle sweetness, and a bright aroma unique to these highland teas.

Henry: I first met Natsuki Oyama at a food event at Japan Village in Brooklyn in November 2024. There were so many great products and people, but as I approached their table, I felt some energetic pull. They had already sold out of matcha, but still had a line. Oyama-san was working with his friend, Ryo. Ryo was making tea and engaging with customers, Natsuki-san was explaining tea to customers, pouring, and ringing up sales.

They were warm and friendly. They demonstrated expertise, respect, and professionalism, while also being friendly, open, and relaxed. Everyone just wanted to be there. To me, it felt like a modern approach to tea - authentic and thoughtful, but also easy and welcoming.

I invited Natsuki for lunch at the Lobster Pound in Red Hook the next day. After he returned to Japan, we kept meeting on Zoom, emailing, and messaging. I went to visit him in May 2025, arriving on the day of the first harvest of the season. Although his family's business is run by just four people, they manage to operate a small shop and cafe in the front of their factory. Natsuki pops in and out to meet customers, make tea, and teach his barista. Their approach is the same as what I saw in Brooklyn, caring, respectful, and deliberate, while still light, friendly, and relaxed.

We wanted Natsuki-san's trip and effort to be rewarded. We also wanted to share his story, tea, and approach with you. Natsuki and Ryo came back to NYC to the same show in Brooklyn in November, 2025. I joined them behind the table, and it was an honor and a joy.

- Henry

Located in the central-west of Kyushu, Japan’s southern island, Kumamoto is a small but highly respected tea-making region. Because of its steep mountains, tea production cannot be expanded as easily as in Kyoto, Shizuoka, or Kagoshima. However, mountains of Kumamoto provide clean water, sunlight filtered through frequent fog, cool air, and microclimates with dramatic temperature swings between day and night. These conditions allow the new leaves to mature slowly, creating mellow, aromatic teas with rich umami and natural sweetness, signature traits of Kumamoto’s renowned highland teas.

Oyama Seicha is a small family business with the third-generation owner, Reiji, passing on tea-making to his son, Natsuki, while the family of four, with their wives, shares in operations. The four of them work as a close team in the highland fields where every step takes extra care.