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Mellow Monk owner Paul Kotta has helped a tea-growing family in Japan to be featured in an upcoming French documentary. 

The 52-minute program will focus on Japan's southernmost island, Kyushu, including a trip to the tea estate of the Nagata family outside the city of Aso. Director Eric Bacos expected the as-yet-unnamed documentary to air in his homeland on television channel France 5 this month, and be available a couple weeks later in English.

Bacos said the purpose of the documentary was to go beyond the traditional tourist destinations of Kyoto and Osaka and give European audiences a more authentic, familiar view of Japanese culture.

"In my mind, I wanted to have a little focus during our documentary on green tea," Bacos said. "Different from the 'official' tea ceremony that tour operators are serving you in Kyoto."

That led him to Paul Kotta, owner of Mellow Monk teas, an online retailer of Japanese specialty teas based in Livermore, Calif.

Kotta is no stranger to the film industry. Last year, he played translator, tour guide and gopher to a French and German documentary film crew that followed him on one of his tea-buying trips to Kyushu. (Kotta blogged extensively about that experience; click here for a sample post.)

Bacos saw that program when it aired last year and was inspired by the breathtaking scenery around Aso, as well as the Nagata family. He contacted Kotta, who acted as an intermediary between the film crew and the growers to set up the two-day shoot in March.

"The French have a deep appreciation for good food, the rural environment, the artisanal aspect of the small family farm," Kotta said. "The director was really impressed with that aspect of the Nagatas, so he decided to include Aso on his list of locations."

The Nagata family, he explained, has been growing tea on their 100-percent family owned and operated tea farm in Aso for generations.

Bacos added, "They are dedicated to green tea, but with a lot of respect. I have been impressed by their passion, their knowledge and their kindness. I am sure this will give spectators another feeling about green tea."

Kotta, who buys approximately three-quarters of his tea from the Nagata farm, started his business in late 2003 after he and his Japanese wife grew frustrated by their inability to find high-quality Japanese teas in the United States. Having lived together in Aso for eight years, the couple saw a business opportunity in the unfilled market niche.

Mellow Monk buys all its teas direct from growers like the Nagatas, who run family-owned, eco-friendly farms. Most participate in the Japanese government's Eco Farmer program.

"There is a lot of tea out there," he said. "It's important to stand out."