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 'At last Shincha is Now Available!'.
|
Share
|
|
|
We have been following the green tea sprouts from early spring when the tea trees put out their first new buds to the harvest of Shincha, the first tea of the year. Now, we bring you the latest breaking news and information from Hibiki-an's tea farm in Ujitawara in Kyoto!
Around May 9: (Harvest at the Birthplace of Uji Tea)
 |
 |
 |
| Obuku is the first place where tea trees were planted in the Uji region of Japan. |
|
Tea sprouts, which would be picked a few hours later |
 |
 |
 |
|
Sencha grown in the Obuku area was presented to the Japanese Emperors for many years. |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Sencha Pinnacle and Sencha Super Premium, which are grown at Obuku area and specially picked by skilled hands |
 |
 |
 |
| Lunch is one of pleasant times for hand-picking ladies. |
|
Cooling kettle of tea in a nearby brook |
Now is the time for the Shincha (Sencha) harvest that we have all been waiting for! Shincha harvest started in the Uji region some days ago.
Obuku, where is located in mountain ravines, is the first place where tea trees were planted in the Uji region of Japan. Sencha produced in the Obuku area was presented to the Japanese Emperors for many years.
Today most tea leaves are trimmed by machine and traditional hand picked Sencha is rarely grown and is therefore very precious. The flavor and aroma of hand picked Sencha is much more mellow and refreshing than tea trimmed by machine.
Even a skilled tea harvester can hand pick just up to 6 to 8kg of fresh tea leaves all through the day. The picked fresh tea leaves are processed and finished, at which point the total weight of the tea leaves is only about 18% of the fresh tea leaves. Even if about 20 skilled tea harvesters pick all through the day, we can only gather around 25 kg of finished precious hand picked Sencha.
From the time the sprouts appear to the time the leaves become too large to harvest is just a few days. So tea leaves for Shincha (Sencha) must be harvested as quickly as possible in one long stretch. Therefore it is never easy to pick large amounts of tea leaves by skilled hands in just a few days.
Top grade tea, hand picked Sencha is grown only in quite a small amount, because there is only one small place in all of the world perfect for farming this special tea - a tiny area of land located right here in the Uji region of Japan. Therefore, hand picked Sencha is very precious.
At last, we can celebrate the first tea harvest of the year with Shincha and enjoy its wonderful fresh flavor!
(The tea leaves for our Sencha Pinnacle and Sencha Super Premium are grown in the Obuku area, the birth place of Uji tea, and picked by skilled hands.)
[Updated] Pre-ordered Shincha Shipping Schedule:
All Pre-ordered Shincha teas (except Organic Sencha Premium) have now been
packaged and are at the final stage of shipping preparation. We expect
that they will be shipped on May 13 or 14. Organic Sencha Premium will
be available some days or a week later. Please wait and see!
Shincha teas:
Shincha (the first tea of the year) is now available. We have arranged
to add four limited edition Shincha items only available this Shincha harvest
season, featuring a few regular Sencha items with especially enjoyable
Shincha flavor. Celebrate our first tea harvest of the year with Hibiki-an's
Shincha and enjoy the remarkable fresh flavor, which can only be experienced
once every year!
The harvest of Shincha (the first tea of the year) is just around the corner!
We, at Hibiki-an, started to accept pre-orders of Shincha today. We have
been arranging four limited edition Shincha teas and three regular Sencha
teas with especially enjoyable Shincha flavor for pre-order sales as described
below. We anticipate that each Shincha will be shipped in order of precedence
as soon as it is harvested. To pre-order, please go through the usual order
process.
Celebrate our first tea harvest of the year with Hibiki-an's Shincha and
enjoy the remarkable fresh flavor, which can only be experienced once every
year!
Limited edition Shincha teas
All four Shicha teas below are limited edition of 1,200 packages each ONLY
AVAILABLE this harvest season. We have arranged various types of Shincha,
which will be specially finished to enjoy Shincha's refreshing aroma and
flavor.
We hope you will enjoy the refreshing aroma and smooth flavor of Shincha!
|
|
(Now Pre-orders Taken: Anticipated to be shipped around on May 12 or 16)
These tea leaves are finished in the traditional Uji/Kyoto style. Therefore
the astringent refreshing aroma and mellow flavor are prominent, and the
harmony is excellent...
|
|
|
(Now Pre-orders Taken: Anticipated to be shipped around on May 9 or 13)
As requested, we have added this new Shincha tea. With Shincha AOTE, the astringent refreshing aroma and bitter taste is moderated, the tea color is greener, and the taste is mellower...
|
|
|
(Now Pre-orders Taken: Anticipated to be shipped around on May 9 or 13)
Saemidori breed brings us pleasure in the springtime, to consider the unique flavor and early-ripening. Enjoy the sweet and smooth taste unique to this tea, as well as the fresh aroma...
|
|
|
(Now Pre-orders Taken: Anticipated to be shipped around on May 12 or 16)
Enjoy the natural taste and refreshing aroma of this "Aracha" Shincha at an affordable price. "Aracha" is unprocessed tea that Japanese farmers have been enjoying for centuries...
|
Regular Sencha teas with especially enjoyable Shincha flavor
For pre-orders, we chose three regular teas especially recommended to enjoy
Shincha's remarkable refreshing aroma and fresh and smooth flavor.
|
|
(Now Pre-orders Taken: Anticipated to be shipped around on May 9 or 13)
Sencha Pinnacle, which is the highest quality Sencha produced in Japan,is the same type of tea which has been presented to the Japanese emperor
for many years. This item is grown at the same tea farm with tea that has
been presented to the Japanese Emperor, and harvested in the same way,
picked by skilled hands...
|
|
|
(Now Pre-orders Taken: Anticipated to be shipped around on May 12 or 16)
Sencha Super Premium, along with our Sencha Pinnacle, is the highest quality Sencha produced in Japan. Each leaf is specially selected and carefully picked by our farmers' skilled hands. With this special tea, you can enjoy the same Shincha flavor enjoyed by Japanese Emperors...
|
|
|
(Now Pre-orders Taken: Anticipated to be shipped around on May 17 or 21)
Organic Sencha's harvest generally starts 7 to 10 days later than conventional grown Sencha. The feature of the flavor is very simple and traditional. We imagine that the Shincha flavor enjoyed hundreds of years ago in historical Japan was just like this. Would you enjoy the simple Shincha flavor that was enjoyed long, long ago?...
|
(Note)
If you pre-order the above items together with regular Hibiki-an items, all items from your order will be shipped together at the same time when they are all available. The above shipping dates are good estimates, but the actual shipping date may be a few days earlier or later due to unpredictable weather conditions for the harvest.
What is Shincha?: 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
We have arranged for 10 limited edition, and two new Matcha Starter Sets.
The 10 limited edition Matcha Bowl are all available only this spring and
summer season.
Some of the items are designed with modern, sophisticated style, while others use traditional handcrafted techniques for a more traditional design.
We have chosen items that are of exceptional quality yet reasonable in price. They will certainly enrich and enhance your green moment.
|
|
HAJIRAI of this name means bashfulness in Japanese. White glaze and pink color on the base, both outside and inside, and its unique form, remind us of the blush of a maiden. It also reminds us of the breezy and carefree springtime...
|
|
|
This Matcha bowl is graceful and dignified. The combination of the paintings and the decoration of gold brings an extremely elegant atmosphere. The harmony and contrast of natural soil and the elegant decoration are very rare and unique...
|
|
|
ORIBE is a green color used in traditional pottery. MENTORI describes the surfaces created by carving away the clay. The traditional green color glaze, ORIBE green, is named after historical tea master, Oribe Furuta...
|
|
|
This porcelain Matcha Bowl creates an aura of elegance and unique pleasant cooling sensation. HANA of this name means flower and KESSHO means crystal in Japanese. This item is finished by the technique called Crystal glaze...
|
|
|
AYAME of this name means iris in Japanese. Traditional drawing patterns on this Matcha Bowl are dynamically and elegantly shaped with a unique and ingenious form. Orange patches called GOHONDE deepen the atmosphere...
|
|
|
(Temporally Out of Stock: Sold more than our expectation. Anticipated to get available again around
May 13 or 15.)
KYO of this name means KYOTO and HARU means spring in Japanese. SAKURA cherry blossoms, painted on this Matcha Bowl, are well-loved flowers, symbolizing springtime, in Japan. Considering the price and quality, this Matcha bowl is an outstanding value...
|
|
|
This Matcha bowl is one of the most traditional and standard called IRABO CHAWAN. This style features a yellow IRABO glaze and the typical form called IDO GATA...
|
|
|
This Matcha Bowl has a tranquil, elegant, and a little cute atmosphere, and when held in both hands, creates a calming effect. Matcha Bowl having such character is quite rare, but sought after...
|
|
|
HYO RETSU, which means cracked ice in Japanese, is a very traditional Japanese glazing technique. This technique intentionally creates an intricate network of thin surface cracks in the glaze...
|
|
|
(Temporally Out of Stock: Sold more than our expectation. Anticipated to get available again around
May 13 or 15.)
This Starter Set is the minimum set including only the essential tea ware for a perfect bowl of Matcha. And this includes KYO no HARU handcrafted Matcha Bowl, painted elegantly by typical Kyo Yaki style...
|
|
|
This Starter Set is the minimum set including only the essential tea ware for a perfect bowl of Matcha. IRABO handcrafted Matcha Bowl and KUROCHIKU Banboo Whisk create the WABI SABI atmosphere...
|
Teapots / Cups shopping page: click here
Matcha Bowls / Accessories shopping category: click here
YOHKAN sweet bean jelly is one of the most popular and classic confections
in Japan along with OHIGASHI candy and OKAKI rice cracker. Indeed AN bean
jam, which is the main ingredient of YOHKAN, is the most essential ingredient
of WAGASHI traditional Japanese confections. It has a unique texture and
sweetness which pairs well with all kinds of Japanese tea.
We developed four flavors of YOHKAN with an established AN bean jam manufacturer
located in Kyoto. Our four flavors of YOHKAN are manufactured with careful
attention to quality and domestic ingredients...
(visit the shopping page: click here)
 |
 |
 |
| Starting from the left to right, OHSHIMA, OGURA, YUZU, and UME |
|
Wrapped and decorated with WASHI Japanese paper |
YOHKAN (sweet bean jelly) US$17.50 shopping page: click here
Japanese Snacks / Candy shopping category: click here
(Notice) Hibiki-an.com will be temporarily unavailable on May 15 as we
launch our new site
Our website will temporarily pause for about 6 hours starting at 14:00 on May 15 (THU) Japanese time as we launch our brand new website. After that, please visit our site to see our new design and enjoy the enhanced customer experience. Please wait and see.
Account info
You can view your account info, including your order history, as well as change your email, password, or home address or add a new shipping address to your address book by clicking here.
Or if you prefer, we are happy to update your account info for you. Just let us know. Please don't hesitate to contact us!
To unsubscribe from Hibiki-an Newsletters
You can remove your email address from the mailing list by clicking here.
Or if you prefer, email us with your FULL NAME and we will immediately remove your email address from the mailing list.
Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an
36 Shimonoto Yuyadani
Ujitawara, Kyoto 610-0221
Japan
http://www.hibiki-an.com
![[New] IRABO (handcrafted Matcha Bowl): US$85.00](http://www.hibiki-an.com/images/upload/thumbnail/IRABO_A01.jpg)
![[Limited] HYO RETSU (handcrafted Matcha Bowl)](http://www.hibiki-an.com/images/upload/thumbnail/HyoRetsu_A01.jpg)
![[New] KYO no HARU Matcha Starter Set](http://www.hibiki-an.com/images/upload/thumbnail/KYO no HARU Starter_A01.jpg)
![[New] IRABO Matcha Starter Set](http://www.hibiki-an.com/images/upload/thumbnail/IRABO Starter_A01.jpg)