Forthees

Forthees is a matcha project that was initiated by Fukuda Shinya (from Fukuda En) in 2018. Fukuda had been brooding on the idea of a matcha/tencha factory for many years, and finally it was brought to life with the help of three fellow tea farmers. (Tencha is the half-product from which matcha is produced after grinding.) Initially, Ohyama Yoshitaka, Nakayama Kosuke and Onoue Kazuhiko were sceptical about starting a tencha factory as matcha is not Nagasaki’s specialty and there were no traditional tencha producing factories in the whole prefecture. Matcha consumption had been consistently increasing in Japan (as well as overseas), and matcha production looked promising especially when compared to regular green tea consumption domestically. All four tea farmers seized the opportunity to collaborate and in 2019 the very first traditional style brick furnace tencha factory in Nagasaki was born.
The collaboration of the Forthees farmers is a great example of the community-driven and collaborative spirit of the Sonogi tea region.

The vision conveyed by Forthees is to transform Nagasaki matcha into a casual and delightful drinking experience. Ever since the start of the company, Fukuda and fellow Forthees farmers have been doubling down on constantly perfecting their craft with the aim to creating the very best matcha quality while reaching out to a broader audience.

These collaborative actions have created a new momentum for Sonogi tea in a challenging economic climate. Forthees is a way to move towards the future with more environment friendly farming methods, constant improving of tencha processing and the creation of new matcha products – such as matcha popcorn. Is is only the beginning of the adventure as Forthees is slowly gaining traction in the region and abroad. We are keeping a close an eye on this innovative project with many ideas still to be developed.

At Ikedoki Tea, we selected two types of matcha for you to discover. One high grade that can either be drunk pure or works great in a latte (or how about a thick matcha to pour over your vanilla ice-cream like a matcha affogato?) and one cooking grade that works well for all your baking projects.