Japanese Green Tea

• Elements of Tea Flavor
• This Month's Tea - Tasting Sets
• [Limited] Tencha is Now Available!
• [Tea Recipes] Matcha Cocoa
• (Notice 1) Improved Customer Review Posting by Nickname and Picture
• (Notice 2) Price Reduction on All Merchandise (Sep. 1st)

Dear Sir and Madam,

We at Hibiki-an THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your continued patronage and support. We are pleased to offer useful information for your healthy life and continued enjoyment of Japanese green tea. In this issue, we talk about 'Elements of Tea Flavor'.

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Elements of Tea Flavor

The most important elements which create the taste and aroma of Japanese green tea are Catechin, Theanine (amino acid), and Caffeine

1. Flavor and Features of Each Element

	Flavor	Water Temperature for Extraction	Healthy Benefits (*)	Related Japanese Tea
Catechin	refreshing aroma, astringent taste	extracted best at over 167 - 176F (75 - 80C)	removing free radicals, reducing cholesterol and fat, antibacterial and sterilizing	Much Catechin is found in tea leaves that are grown in bright sunlight. Sencha and Houjicha (Bancha) are rich in Catechin.
Theanine	mellow aroma, sweet taste	equally extracted at low and high temperatures	relaxes body, brain and nerves, restores mental balance, moderates the effects of Caffeine	Much Theanine is found in leaves of young tea sprouts or tea shaded from sunlight before harvest. Ichibancha (first pick of the year), Gyokuro, and Matcha are especially rich in Theanine.
Caffeine	mild bitter taste	extracted best at high temperatures	stimulates the central nervous system, increases energy and alertness	Caffeine is found in Sencha, Gyokuro, and Matcha. Houjicha has very little Caffeine.

(*) For more information, please visit Green Tea for Health page.

2. Tips to Modify or Adjust the Flavor
- If you would like a softer and mellower flavor, we recommend you brew with lower temperature water for a longer time. In this way, more Theanine is extracted and less Catechin and Caffeine are extracted.
- If you would like a sharper or more astringent flavor, we recommend you brew with higher temperature water for a shorter time. In this way, more Catechin and Caffeine are extracted. However, please be careful not to use water that is too hot, as the flavor can become quite bitter.

"How to Enjoy Green Tea" page: click here

Are you enjoying your green moments? Hibiki-an encourages those who love to drink green tea. If you have any requests or questions regarding our teas or services, please don't hesitate to contact us. We sincerely hope that you enjoy genuine Hibiki-an Japanese green tea direct to you from Kyoto, Japan.

Sincerely yours,

Atsushi Yasui

This Month's Tea - Tasting Sets

We would like you to rediscover the value of our Tasting Set items for monthly recommendation. Our tasting sets feature our most popular items and are all excellent values. They are ideal for those who would like to try a taste test to learn which is their favorite tea, or who would like to enjoy less quantity of some kinds of tea. These tea set items are especially perfect for those who are new to green tea to learn the differences between each type of tea.

"What is Tasting Set?" page: click here

[Limited] Tencha is Now Available!

Both Tencha teas below are limited edition of 600 packages each ONLY AVAILABLE this summer season. We hope you will enjoy the pure and elegant flavor of Tencha!

[Limited] Tencha Pinnacle (30g/1.06oz) US$31.00 Out of Stock

[Limited] Tencha Super Premium (30g/1.06oz) US$23.00 (Now Available: Out of Stock Soon ) This Tencha Super Premium has specially been arranged in order to be brewed in the same way as Gyokuro or Sencha. The taste is deep and mellow, and the subtle noble aroma lingers in the mouth for a while...

What is Tencha?: click here

[Tea Recipes] Matcha Cocoa

We plan to introduce one Tea Recipe each week, including sweets, ice cream, drinks, and so on - all made with Matcha or other Japanese tea - on our Newsletter. In this issue, we share with you our Matcha Cocoa recipe. Click below and take a look!

Matcha Cocoa How to make Matcha Cocoa...

(Notice 1) Improved Customer Review Posting by Nickname and Picture

We improved our website by adding an option to use a nickname and upload a picture when you post a customer review. Now you can enter a nickname when posting a review in order to remain anonymous. Previously our customer review page requested the reviewer’s real name.
And now our customer review page also allows you to upload and add a picture to your review. Please post your candid review with a picture of our tea and your family, pet, lovely landscape, or anything meaningful to you. It surely would be a great help for other customers to enrich the enjoyment of Japanese tea!

(Notice 2) Price Reduction on All Merchandise

We reduced our prices approximately 4% to 6% on all merchandise on our website due to recent exchange rate fluctuation. The updated price was effective on and after September 1, 2013. This is the second price reduction in the past 6 months and the total reduction range is approximately 15% to 18%. We will continuously make efforts to provide genuine Japanese tea and culture to our customers.

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Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an
36 Shimonoto Yuyadani
Ujitawara, Kyoto 610-0221
Japan
http://www.hibiki-an.com