Kaneroku Matsumoto is a family tea-producing company based in Shizuoka, one of the emblematic places of Japanese tea culture. Although they have chosen to develop unique teas, such as Japanese cherry smoked black tea or cedar smoked hojicha tea, the cultivation of tea plants is tradition. The tea plants are cultivated according to the "chagusaba" method which involves growing grass next to tea fields to then use it as natural mulch. This protects the soil, retains water and fertilizer, but also helps control weed growth and flavors the tea. Kaneroku Matsumoto seeks through smoking to go beyond the cultivation of traditional flavored teas in which it is necessary to add ingredients for flavor and thus create teas that are new to Japan and the world.