Azuki prefers the warm climate and they are very susceptible. However, as strange as it may sound, the top producers of Azuki are Tokachi and Tanba( in Hokkaido) which are known to be very cold places. Azuki made in Hokkaido accounts for more than 80% of the total amount. And one made in Tokachi makes up more than 30 % of the one made in Hokkaido. Why that?

Warm day and Cold night.

Azuki produces the nutrition during the day, basking in the sun and it converts them into sugar. If the temperature in the night is high, Azuki will use this nutrition for their own growth and therefore it will not produce any sugar. The most optimal occasion that Azuki produce much sugar is where has the warm day and cold night.

needs wild field

The farmer can’t keep using the same field throughout the years because it causes the damage on the filed because of the pests or diseases. In order to prevent that from happening, they plant Azuki →potato → wheat→beet→Azuki. It takes four years to plant Azuki again. In other words, Azuki needs fourth times as wide field as others. And Hokkaido is huge!!

contains less tannin

How much tannin Azuki contains depends on how long it receives the sunlight. It is said that Azuki made in Hokkaido contains less tannin in comparison with one made in China and therefore much less bitter. Also Hokkaido Azuki absorbs more water. According to the survey, Hokkaido Azuki becomes 2.3 times as heavy as it used to be after soaking the water and turning to the Anko(red beans paste) while Chinese Azuki becomes 1.8 times as heavy as it used to be.

Editor Naoko Okada.
Morita Farm（A-Net Farm Tokachi Co.,Ltd ）Rie Morita.
URL http://www.azukilife.com/