The story of Royal Blue Tea
- Founders
- 佐藤節男 (Setsuo Sato), 吉本桂子 (Keiko Yoshimoto)
- Founded
- 2006
- HQ
- Tokyo, Japan
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Origins & Story
Founding. Royal Blue Tea Japan Co., Ltd. is the corporate entity behind the Royal Blue Tea brand. According to the company, it was established in May 2006 with Setsuo Sato and Keiko Yoshimoto serving as co-representatives, and began producing its premium bottled tea in wine bottles in May 2007. The company celebrated its 15th anniversary on May 25, 2021. The bottled product was developed out of a stated desire to let people enjoy premium tea without having to brew it, and it has been positioned since launch as a high-end non-alcoholic beverage.[1],[2],[3]
Headquarters & production sites. Royal Blue Tea Japan Co., Ltd. has its headquarters and factory in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, a sister city of the State of Hawaii. Beyond the Chigasaki factory, the producer operates production studios in Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture, at the western foot of Mount Hakone, and in Chigasaki City. The company reports building a Hakone West Foot Mishima Atelier, scheduled for completion in spring 2025, sited with views of Mount Fuji and Suruga Bay. Queen of Blue Deluxe and Fall in Love Imperial have been produced at the Mishima Atelier.[4],[5]
Boutiques. Royal Blue Tea opened its first directly managed boutique store in April 2016, adjacent to its headquarters and factory. Its flagship boutique is located in Roppongi, on land historically known as 'Ryudo-cho' (龍土町), where it operates a boutique bar called THE T BAR that opened on November 11, 2017. The company also operates a Chigasaki Boutique where customers can taste before buying, and a Takanawa Boutique on the 3rd floor of NEWoMan Takanawa MIMURE within Takanawa Gateway City.[6],[7]
People & Founders
Setsuo Sato & Keiko Yoshimoto — co-founders. Royal Blue Tea Japan Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 with Setsuo Sato and Keiko Yoshimoto as co-representatives. Keiko Yoshimoto serves as President and CEO. Setsuo Sato became Representative Director and Chairman of the 'Royal Blue Tea, Cha-en, and Yucha Promotion Foundation,' established in Yokohama City on October 26, 2021 to mark the company's 15th anniversary.[1],[8]
Philosophy & What Sets Them Apart
Tea in the academic sense. Royal Blue Tea defines 'tea' in the academic sense: hand-picked leaf made exclusively from Camellia sinensis, distinguished from other beverages colloquially called tea. The company uses only single-garden, hand-picked leaf as its raw material and requires that all leaf used in its wine-bottled teas be hand-picked. It handles all development, manufacturing, and sales in-house.[5],[9]
What They Make
Four leaf categories. Royal Blue Tea's bottled lineup spans four categories drawn from the Chinese classification: green tea (緑茶), blue tea / oolong (青茶), black tea (紅茶), and scented / flower tea (花茶). It offers over 20 varieties across Japanese green tea, oolong, black tea, and floral tea, produced in small batches. Selected products are also sold as loose-leaf tea (茶葉), with King of Green MASA and King of Green HIRO available loose-leaf at Premium tier.[10],[11]
How the drinks are made
Jasmine scenting. Jewel of Flowers HANA is made by repeatedly scenting rare 'Mingqian tea' — young buds with abundant white down, harvested before the Qingming solar term — with fresh jasmine flowers, using leaf sourced from Fujian province, China.
Taste & Serving
Service. Royal Blue Tea recommends serving its bottled teas in a wine glass, straight and without ice, at approximately 17–18°C, noting that as the tea approaches room temperature its refined aroma becomes more pronounced. The company sells a handmade logo-engraved wine glass manufactured by Hungarian Table Top Kft. in Hungary, designed to enhance the visual presentation of the tea.[12],[13]
Pairing & the CHAEN experience. Several teas are positioned as culinary companions: King of Green RIICHI Premium is recommended as an aperitif tea for entertaining, IRIKA Kamairi Ryokucha is described as pairing with any cuisine owing to its non-intrusive flavor, IRIKA Ruby with oily dishes and Western confections, and Jewel of Flowers HANA with Chinese cuisine. At the Roppongi Boutique's THE T BAR, the reservation-only 'CHAEN' (茶宴) experience pairs tea served in wine glasses with a seasonal three-tiered Japanese cuisine box and wagashi. The producer frames CHAEN as a technology-enabled reinterpretation of the '茶礼' tea ceremony that Zen master Eisai used to convey harmony after introducing Zen and tea to Japan and authoring 'Kissa Yōjōki.'[14],[15]
Collaborations
Tan-etsu — CHAEN cuisine. The seasonal three-tiered Japanese cuisine box served in Royal Blue Tea's CHAEN pairing is prepared by the Japanese restaurant Tan-etsu (淡悦), according to an April 2024 interview posted to the company's Instagram.[16]
Taiwanese Oriental Beauty producer. The company reports partnering with the Taiwanese producer of Dongfang Meiren (Oriental Beauty) since May 2007, before Royal Blue Tea's own launch.[17]
Hamamatsu City visit. To commemorate the release of King of Green MASA Super Premium, Royal Blue Tea paid a courtesy visit to Mayor Yasutomo Suzuki at Hamamatsu City Hall together with tea farmer Masataka Ota.[18]
Recognition
State-guest banquets. Royal Blue Tea products were adopted as the official non-alcoholic beverage at banquets hosting state guests, including the G7 Ise-Shima Summit and the G20 Osaka Summit.[3]