Farmers
Fruit from one farm
at a time.
I have been visiting farms since the early days of Woodberry's. When the fruit is right, it does most of the work. The yogurt only has to step back and let it through.
Below are four of the farms we work with year after year.
— Tagawa, founder. -san is a Japanese honorific, used here as one would use a name.
Yamanashi · Nectarines
Fruit Studio Tanzawa
Tanzawa-san is one of the people who started growing nectarines in Japan. He grafts each tree by hand. In late July, his nectarines taste somewhere between a peach and an apricot.
Wakayama · Citrus
Kotatsu Farm
Otani-san trained at Japan's national fruit research institute before he came home to take over the family grove. He picks each mandarin twice — once at the tree, once at the table — to keep only the ones that are just ripe.
Yamagata · Tendō · Pears and cherries
Seki Farm
Seki-san studied agriculture at university. He calls himself a tree doctor. His Western pears are harvested late and rested longer than most. The taste is honey, slowed down.
Nagano · Strawberries
Komagane Strawberry Farm
Kasuga-san traveled around the world, took a job at a Tokyo company, then quit and went home to grow strawberries in Komagane, Nagano. He says the cold mountain nights are what give the fruit its sweetness.