On Thursday, August 1, 2024, we held a design workshop in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, for elementary school students, where they drew original designs on chittö's Kakegawa tea.
The instructors will be chittö staff members who have many years of experience in after-school care and primary education.
This event not only involved designing tea-themed packages, but also introduced the process of tea from harvesting to delivery, making it an event that also incorporated food education.
■ Observing tea trees 
I have prepared a miniature version of the tea tree.
Tea trees are hard to find in Tokyo.
I was very curious about the tea tree I was seeing for the first time!
"There are hard and soft tea leaves! The higher up you go the softer they get!"
"New buds are coming out between the leaves! They're baby leaves!"
And there were various discoveries.
■Virtual Tea Factory Tour
We took a virtual tea factory tour using videos filmed at the tea fields and tea factory of chittö's contracted farmers.
"It looks like it's hot inside the factory, isn't it hard on the farmers?"
"Watching the plucked tea leaves being collected is similar to how fishermen catch fish and take them to the market!"
"The tea leaves moving inside the machine look like they're being controlled by a ghost and dancing, it's a little scary."
There were many new discoveries to be made as we watched tea farmers picking tea in the tea fields and working in the tea factory . 
■Observing product designs We observed the designs of everyday products and what they were trying to communicate.
When I looked at various products with a renewed focus on design, I realized that the world is full of designs that are filled with a lot of thought. 
■Create an original designAfter looking at various designs, we immediately started creating our own original design!
At first, she seemed a bit unsure, worrying a lot and saying things like, "What kind of design should I make? It seems difficult to draw...", but once she started drawing, great ideas came one after another!
"I like kanji, so let's try to use kanji to describe tea!"
"Summer is the season for fireworks, so let's create a design that will make people think it's beautiful!"
Many ideas were expressed, such as: 
The participants were able to take the tea they designed home and give it as a gift to their families.
After the program, a report summarizing the day's activities was given to the parents so that they could reflect on it with their families at home to deepen their understanding, and so that they could also use it for their summer vacation homework.
Chittö will continue to promote food education using Japanese tea as a subject.
