T44

LAUNCH · May 21, 2026

KOCHI · NIYODOGAWA — RARE MOUNTAIN TEA

Not from the lowlands.
Born in the mountains.

Terraced slopes, sharp diurnal swings, the clear streams of Niyodogawa. A leaf — and a quiet that lingers — born here, and nowhere else.

Join the first tasting

COMING · May 21, 2026

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COMING SOON

Soon to be unveiled.

The full brand and product reveal — soon. This year's first flush ships from late May 2026. Retail tea leaves and bottled tea are in development.

Loose-leaf tea (Sencha / Kabusecha / Yui-cha)

First flush, late May to late June

Bottled tea

Late June to July, in development

Tea field experience

Reservation system in preparation

FIRST RELEASEMay 21, 2026

ABOUT T44

T44 — Tea for Four.

Beyond Sanpō-Yoshi — a classical Japanese philosophy of shared prosperity — we add a fourth. A cup from Niyodogawa finds its full quiet only when all four are bound — the drinker, the table, the hands, and what comes next.

01FOR THE CUP

For the Cup

A pause that lingers longer than usual. A quiet that settles on the tongue and stays.

02FOR THE TABLE

For the Table

Composing the silences in a meal. A seat is not poured — a seat is designed.

03FOR THE HANDS

For the Hands

A fair return to the hands that work the slope. So three decades of fields can carry on.

04FOR THE FUTURE

For the Future

Japan's satoyama landscape — where people and nature coexist — passed to the next hand. So Niyodogawa, as a place, holds together.

Only when all four are bound does the tea become Yui-cha.

STORY

Why this leaf grows only here.

Altitude, mist, and the clear stream — the leaf answers them all.

The Niyodo River, known for its miraculous clarity. In the mountain valleys at its source, sharp temperature swings and mist slowly deepen the leaf's umami. On slopes no machine can reach, only One Bud, Two Leaves are hand-plucked. This is where we begin.

01TERRACED SLOPES

Slopes Cut into the Mountain

The patience and labor that flat ground cannot give.

02DIURNAL RANGE

Day-to-Night Swings

Brings delicate umami and a refined aroma.

03CLEAR STREAM

The Air of a Pure River

A quiet finish that meets the silences of a meal.

HERITAGE

Chosen for over three decades.

The Ikegawa Tea Growers' Association — founded in 1993 to pursue low-pesticide tea that is genuinely good. Since then, recognized at Japan's highest tea competitions, year after year.

Consistent recognition at Japan's major competitions signals a region with reliable terroir. (MAFF = Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)

1993
Ikegawa Tea Growers' Association founded (8 farms)
2001
MAFF Minister's Award (Kochi Prefecture Tea Competition)
2002
MAFF Minister's Award — 2nd consecutive year
2004
MAFF Minister's Award
2008
MAFF Minister's Award (Kansai Tea Competition)
2013
Kochi Governor's Award — perfect score
2018
Kochi Governor's Award / Nihoncha Award — Fine Product Prize
2019
Kochi Governor's Award — 2nd consecutive year
2021
Kochi Governor's Award — 2nd perfect score
2023
Kochi Governor's Award — top prizes swept

FOUR CUPS

Four cups, four kinds of work.

To balance, to mark a moment, to bind, to linger. Four teas, raised in the mountains of Niyodogawa.

Ⅰ

THE CUP THAT BALANCES

Sencha

Cool freshness with a measured astringency. Resets the palate, ushering in the next bite.

Ⅱ

THE CUP THAT MARKS THE MOMENT

Kabusecha

Umami and sweetness, with a soft aroma. A sense of occasion, an echo that stays.

SIGNATUREⅢ

THE CUP THAT BINDS

Yui-cha

Yui-cha · Signature

A raw, unfinished tea — once kept out of the market — raised to our signature. It binds people, gatherings, and new beginnings through the space it leaves open.

HOJICHACOMING SOON

COMING SOONⅣ

THE CUP THAT LINGERS

Hojicha

Hojicha · Coming Soon

Roasted warmth, with an aftertaste that stays. A quiet companion after a meal, or at the end of the day.

Yui — to bind people, gatherings, and the moments of a new beginning.

Two hands holding two teas. Left: the rustic aracha of Yui-cha. Right: the soon-to-be-released Hojicha.

LEFT: ARACHA (YUI-CHA) / RIGHT: HOJICHA (COMING SOON)

YUI-CHA & HOJICHA

Unfinished, and kept for the table.

Left: a humble, unfinished tea, once kept out of the market — Yui-cha. Right: Hojicha, coming soon.

Leaving something unfinished makes room for what gathers around it. That is where Yui-cha begins.

RITUAL

A quiet finish for the Iwai moment.

Tea, arranged in three acts. A seating is not poured — it is composed.

01WELCOME

The Opening Iwai

Cold Kabusecha

Begin the seating with a quiet toast.

02MIDDLE

The Iwai that joins course and conversation

Warm Sencha & Kabusecha pairing

Resets the palate, lifts each bite.

03FINALE

The Binding Iwai

Yui-cha (aracha)

Not an ending — a binding, kept in memory.

KOCHI · NIYODOGAWA

PRODUCER

The hands that carry on.

Facing the mountain. Listening to the soil. Touching the leaf.

The Ikegawa Tea Growers' Association — eight farms, founded in 1993 to pursue low-pesticide tea that is genuinely good.

Three decades on, the work remains unchanged. So does the taste.

PROCESS

A path built for the slope.

One Bud, Two Leaves.

Carried down by monorail, the leaf reaches the factory the same day.

From pluck to finish — a conversation with time.

PLUCK

One Bud, Two Leaves

Hand-plucked, on steep slopes.

CARRY

Monorail Transport

Down to the valley, leaf intact.

STEAM

Steaming

The same day, without delay.

FINISH

Finishing

The aroma, held in.

A dim factory aisle lined with sorting and drying machines. — FACTORYLines of machines, a conversation with time.

Hands feeding leaves into the steamer; rising vapor. — STEAMSteam, a measure at a time.

Finished tea leaves dropping from the line into a yellow drum. — FINISHThe dried leaf, ready to rest.

LAUNCH PARTNER

The first seating, from Bangkok.

Sushi Iwai — a house that designs every detail of the Iwai moment.

Niyodogawa tea joins their three-act seating as one carefully placed cup.

BANGKOKSushi Iwai

EXPERIENCE · COMING SOON

Tea in the field where it grows.

Walk the misted fields with the grower.

Pluck. Brew. Taste.

A seating overlooking the Niyodogawa — details to come.

Reservations for the field experience open soon.

TEA FIELD WALK · BREWING · TASTINGCOMING SOON

A mountain, in a single spoonful.

Niyodogawa tea is more than a drink.

The mountain, the clear stream, and three decades of handwork — all held quietly within a single leaf.

Not from the lowlands.Born in the mountains.