Shizuoka Matcha Sweets Factory Nanaya Is Swayed by Customer Demand, Opens its First Tokyo Store!

Nanaya (managed by Marushichi Group) is a confectionery store that produces sweets using matcha grown in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture. In January 2016, Nanaya teamed up with the famous tea shop Suzukien in Tokyo's Asakusa district to offer its matcha delights to Tokyoites, and business is booming. In fact, there are some days when the store receives far more customers than it can possibly cater to. In order to provide as many customers as possible with delicious matcha treats, from Friday, Aug. 19, Nanaya's super-rich premium matcha gelato will be available at Nanaya's first ever Tokyo store! The Omotesando and Aoyama area of Tokyo is renowned for its confectionery stores, and the new Nanaya store will be located in Aoyama. Nanaya's second most popular sweet, matcha daifuku, will also be available outside of the company's Shizuoka store for the first time ever.

The seven levels of matcha gelato

■ Super-Rich Matcha Gelato Made Using the Finest Quality Matcha

The Tea & Spoon Nanaya Aoyama Store is the first Nanaya store in Tokyo, and customers will be able to enjoy an unprecedented lineup of the popular matcha gelato including all levels of matcha intensity from No. 1 to No. 7.

Nanaya is a pioneer when it comes to rich matcha sweets, and it first created its "unbelievably intense matcha gelato" (made using only the finest matcha) in 2010. The vast number of people wanting to experience the ultimate matcha flavour means that sales of Nanaya's matcha gelato have increased by 50% every year since its release. It's now so popular that people travel from all over Japan to get in line to try it.

The flavour of Nanaya's matcha gelato goes beyond the realms of gelato - it's like eating pure matcha! It's so strong that you might find yourself exclaiming, "No way! It's so matcha-y!" Many customers are so captivated by the intense matcha flavour that they just can't stop coming back for more. Nanaya was also runner-up in the Japan Gelato Association's Japan Gelato Competition, and it received the highest possible praise for the quality of its gelato. Nanaya overcame great hardships during the creation of its gelato, so much so that its gelato machines broke time and time again. It continues to aim for an even higher quality gelato by using secret techniques that haven't even been broadcast on television.

■ Welcome to Tea & Spoon Nanaya Aoyama Store
Grand Opening: Friday, Aug. 19, 2016 from 11:00 a.m.
*Pre-opening: Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016 from 11:00 a.m.*
Address: Shibuya 2-7-12 1F, Shibuya, Tokyo
Telephone Number: 03-6427-9008

Matcha Gelato Premium No. 7 is the most intense matcha gelato in the world, and this store is the first place in Tokyo where you can experience it for yourself (except for the Suzukien collaboration shop in Asakusa). At Tea & Spoon Nanaya Aoyama you can also enjoy a variety of sweets made using generous helpings of the finest Fujieda matcha, including matcha daifuku, matcha cookies, and matcha chocolate, plus Japanese tea direct from the tea factory in Shizuoka.

Tea & Spoon Nanaya Aoyama is located in the chilled out Omotesando and Aoyama area, which is also known as 渋2 ( Shibu-ni ). A team of young designers and artists helped with the design of the store. From now on, Nanaya will continue to push the boundaries of Japanese tea from its new location in Aoyama.

Matcha daifuku

■ An Appeal for the Matcha of a New Era
A great number of military commanders during Japan's Sengoku period (around 1467 - 1603) were fascinated by the tea ceremony, and people like Sen no Rikyu who were involved in the tea ceremony influenced a variety of aspects of Japanese culture as well as Japanese arts. Marushichi Group believes that the properties of matcha had an effect on such people and on this time in Japan's history. The caffeine in matcha stimulates the brain and brings about a state of excitement, while theanine (of which matcha is an abundant source) is said to have a hypnotic effect. Thanks to its balance of these two substances, matcha encourages a state of extreme relaxation and also activates the brain, promoting a state in which alpha waves are released.

This effect is also recognised as boosting learning abilities. With the hope that its products will prove beneficial to the youth of Japan who bear the future of the country on their shoulders, the Fujieda Honten Store has held a picture drawing contest aimed at local elementary school children every year since it was first established. The company's first ever Tokyo store was opened in Aoyama thanks to collaborations with people who are sure to be involved in a variety of artistic and cultural ventures in the future. From the trendsetting area of Aoyama, Marushichi Group wants to let everyone know about the magic of matcha through the high-quality and intense matcha products that are available at Nanaya.

Aoyama is packed with people getting up to all kinds of creative activities, and Marushichi Group aims to quietly support Japan's creative scene by offering matcha products that are perfect for today's society, like gelato, chocolate, and so much more!

■ Nanaya's Matcha Grown in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture
While it may be small in scale, the export of Japanese tea is booming. Although the domestic market has been in decline since its peak in 1975, the Japanese tea beverage market is currently expanding while the traditional loose tea market continues to decline. The mountainous agricultural areas were in a particularly bad way in the past, and in order to salvage the situation the company collaborated with local farmers, and in 1988 matcha production in Shizuoka began for the first time ever. The only company to use 100% contract farming, Marushichi Group overcame a great number of hardships during the matcha production process, and it's promoted a new way of making matcha by introducing the latest technology as well as using traditional techniques.

In order to show a whole new side to matcha, on July 7, 2010 Marushichi Group opened Matcha Sweets Factory Nanaya, a store that adopts the mindset of a tea house to create its homemade confectioneries. It seems a shame for something as delicious as tea to only be used as a drink! Making the most of the things that it first understood by attempting to create sweets, Marushichi Group reviewed the flavour of tea, from the preparation of the soil itself to cultivation techniques and the manufacturing process. It promotes the creation of delicious tea (the Fujieda region's local speciality) as the creation of something you can eat as well as drink.

In addition to sending its products all around Japan, Marushichi Group has established separate cultivation techniques for countries across the world, including the U.S., European countries, and Asian countries. It's also created products designed to suit the different preferences of each country. It endeavoured to acquired kosher and halal certification as soon as possible, and it's involved in the export of matcha, sending high-quality Japanese matcha to matcha-lovers near and far!

In March 2015, Marushichi Group became the first company in Japan to be certified by the Rainforest Alliance (based in New York, U.S.), proving that its cultivation techniques have been recognised as a way of producing agricultural products that are kind to both the regional community and the environment.

Nanaya Official Site
Marushichi Group Website

Source: @Press

The seven levels of matcha gelato
The seven levels of matcha gelato
Matcha daifuku
Matcha daifuku
Matcha Gelato Premium No. 7
Matcha Gelato Premium No. 7
Matcha Gelato No. 1
Matcha Gelato No. 1

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