A tea wholesale store based in the city of Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, has developed a technology to ensure a tea stem floats vertically — an omen of good fortune widely believed by Japanese.
Green tea bags from Fukuko, which are sold by Jorakuen, are gaining popularity, with sales increasing nearly tenfold in the last six years, attracting buying as a lucky item for a variety of events — from passing school entrance examinations to closing a business deal with customers.
A tea stem floats upright in the cup by chance if one of the stems mixed with the tea leaves passes through the mesh strainer of the teapot when tea is poured.