Our Team
Akira Hojo - Founder of HOJO Tea, Production Manager & Liaison
I was born in 1971, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. My parents run an apple orchard in Nagano. I was trained by my parents from childhood to become a professional farmer. It had always been my father’s wish that I follow his footsteps and take over the family business. Unfortunately for him, I chose to follow my own dreams and ambitions, to this day doing what I like the most.
Bachelor in Agricultural Chemistry (Japan)
Master in Food Science and Nutrition (Japan)
Worked in Japanese food industry for 10 years.
R&D Manager and later Factory Manager for the Malaysian subsidiary of a Japanese spice and herbs manufacturing company.
I have loved tea and everything about tea since I was young and developed my own knowledge of tea drinking. But I felt that I was not good enough professionally. After leaving my corporate life, I spent 2 whole years furnishing myself and gathering advanced knowledge of tea. To get first-hand knowledge and to learn directly from tea experts and professionals, I have spent a lot of time visiting tea gardens in Japan, China, Taiwan and India that grew:
Japanese Tea (Green Tea)
Taiwanese Tea (Oolong Tea and Black Tea)
Chinese Tea (Green, White, Yellow, Oolong, Puerh, Black and Flower Tea)
Indian Tea (Darjeeling Black Tea)
I am familiar with Japanese and Chinese tea ware and its effect on the various kinds of tea. In particular, I am very familiar with purple clay, red clay and tetsubin (cast iron) tea ware.