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| At last Kuradashi Tea is Now Available! |
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| - Kuradashi Tea |
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| Seasonal Topics & Items |
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| Dear Sir and Madam, |
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| 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 Kuradashi Tea is Now Available!'. |
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At last Kuradashi Tea is Now Available! |
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At last Kuradashi Gyokuro is now available! The Kuchikiri no Gi ceremony
was solemnly and mindfully held at Kosho Temple in Uji and people celebrated
Kuradashi Tea on October 5.
We took some photos at the Kuchikiri no Gi ceremony at Kosho Temple today. We will soon upload them to our website and newsletter. Details will be reported on the next issue newsletter. Please wait and see.
At this time, our Kuradashi Tea which has been stored for over a year was taken out from the granary. We have arranged three limited edition Kuradashi Gyokuro teas and one Kuradashi Sencha, as described below. They are limited edition of 850 packages each ONLY AVAILABLE this autumn season.
Celebrate Kuradashi Tea and enjoy the remarkable enriched flavor and sweetness which can only be experienced once every year! We are certain that the fine enriched flavor and sweetness will captivate you. |
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[Limited] Kuradashi Gyokuro Super Premium (40g/1.41oz): US$24.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 850 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this autumn season)
Kuradashi Gyokuro is different from ordinary Gyokuro in aroma and flavor. The superb enriched and sweetened flavor and aroma lingers in the mouth for a while. The aroma is full, but not too strong. The flavor is rich and subtle. The taste is both mellow and enhanced... |
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[Limited] Kuradashi Gyokuro Premium (80g/2.82oz): US$27.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 850 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this autumn season)
All Gyokuro does not gain an enriched flavor but only specific kinds of Gyokuro. It depends on some factors. We have enriched this highest grade of trimmed Gyokuro for one and a half years... |
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[Limited] Kuradashi Gyokuro Pinnacle (40g/1.41oz): US$35.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 850 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this autumn season)
Tea leaves for this special tea grow in the Ogura area in the Uji region, which is known as one of the foremost production centers of the highest grade of enriched Gyokuro. The Ogura area was the area in where Gyokuro and Matcha were firstly grown... |
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[Limited] Kuradashi Sencha (80g/2.82oz): US$24.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 850 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this autumn season)
Long time ago the quality and good conditioned Sencha in Autumn season must have been similar in taste and aroma to this fine Kuradashi Sencha. And that time, only few people could enjoy the excellent flavour... |
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Maturation of Kuradashi Tea (Efforts for Kuradashi Tea)
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It has been said since olden days that fine Gyokuro and Matcha gain an enriched flavor and deep noble aroma and sweetness over time, and so are best some months and up to two years after harvest. Not all green tea is suitable for this process, and only certain types of high-quality Uji tea produce the finest Kuradashi Gyokuro.
From a scientific standpoint, Japanese tea does not age in the same way as fine wine, and of course it does not become alcoholic. However, it is an indisputable fact that certain Japanese tea, specific breeds of high-quality Uji tea, gain an enriched flavor by a special traditional aging process.
We would like to explain more about Kuradashi Gyokuro. What flavor is created? What type of Japanese tea gains the flavor? And what is the aging procedure?
The features of green tea enriched and aged in good condition are:
- Deepened and gained smoothness and sweetness of flavor.
- Created and gained subtle enriched and noble aroma.
- Softened and rounded refreshing aroma, in contrast to Shincha's usual brisk and refreshing aroma.
All tea does not gain the enriched flavor. Only tea leaves which meet the following criteria can possibly gain an enriched flavor:
- Fresh, high-quality, and smooth-tasting tea leaves harvested at well-managed tea farms.
- Tea grown carefully in the shade by "Tana" (not "Jikagise"). With the "Jikagise" method, the tea plants are directly covered with a type of black fabric. "Tana" is not covering the tea tree directly but building a canopy.
- At processing, the tea must not be heavily steamed. However, farmers tend to steam tea leaves for Gyokuro more heavily to produce tea with a deep, smooth taste and vivid green color. Such Gyokuro can not be aged well.
Tea leaves meeting the above criteria are just a small portion of the highest quality tea leaves harvested in Uji, Kyoto. Tea leaves that do not meet these criteria just deteriorate when aged.
However, even with the correct type of tea leaves, it is not an easy task to properly age green tea.
Tea leaves are usually packaged in aluminum foil bags filled with nitrogen in order to keep fresh flavor through the year. And they are stored in a special refrigerator.
To create Kuradashi Gyokuro, the green tea must be allowed to "breathe". Over a period of time, the oxygen has an effect on the green tea which creates the enriched flavor.
If the tea is aged by an inappropriate procedure or inappropriate type tea is aged, it will simply deteriorate. In order to age and enrich well, tea leaves need air, oxygen. Though we put tea leaves in a foil bag, we don't seal the bag. The tea is carefully placed in a traditional wooden box (like below picture) in the special refrigerator. To enrich, the temperature in the refrigerator also should not be too cold. The air circulates in the bag, wooden box, and the refrigerator, allowing a flow of oxygen to constantly mix with the tea. In this way, the tea leaves are allowed to breathe over time.
However, because the bag is not sealed, and the temperature in the refrigerator is not so cold, tea leaves can easily deteriorate by absorbing moisture or odor. Therefore we always pay the closest attention to the tea leaves to ensure their perfection.
As above, it is not easy to enrich Gyokuro well, so many wholesalers and retailers these days are not willing to accept risks in order to enrich Gyokuro. However, the enriched flavor and subtle noble aroma and sweetness of Kuradashi Gyokuro are more than someone can dream. Would you enjoy it once?
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| Shaded from sunlight by way of 'Tana' before harvest |
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| Shaded from sunlight by way of 'Jikagise' before harvest |
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| Processing factory using traditional machines |
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| Tea leaves processed for Kuradashi Gyokuro by traditional way |
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| Kurashi teas put in wooden box are enriched in the special cold storage chamber. |
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| Enriched Kurashi tea just taken out from the storage chamber |
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| 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. |
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| Sincerely yours, |
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| Atsushi Yasui |
Seasonal Topics & Items
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Yunomi and Tea Accessories (New / Limited: Autumn and Winter) |
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We have arranged for 17 limited edition and 3 new tea ware items. The 17
limited edition items are all available only this autumn and winter season.
The new and limited edition tea ware includes Yunomi (teacups), and Tea
Accessories. New and limited edition Matcha Bowls will be informed separately
soon.
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. |
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[New] DARUMA TAME CHATAKU (handcrafted saucer: pair): US$65.00 (Now Available)
These Chataku are especially remarkable in their elegant shine, color and form. DARUMA is a Japanese traditional auspicious motif reminding us of the sayings that "Life is full of ups and downs" or "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."... |
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[New] Tea Scoop HAGOITA (Sami): US$5.50 (Now Available)
Our Tea Scoop is very useful for measuring tea leaves from Chazutsu or other tea container and when placing tea leaves into the Kyusu teapot. HAGOITA is a wooden paddle used in HANETSUKI Japanese battledore, a traditional game historically played on auspicious occasions like New Year's holiday in Japan... |
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| Teapots / Cups shopping category: click here |
| Matcha Bowls / Accessories shopping category: click here |
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(Notice) Price Reduction on All Merchandise (Sep. 5th)
We reduced our prices approximately 5% to 10%, averagely 8.5% on all merchandise on our website due to recent exchange rate fluctuation. The updated price
was effective on and after September 5, 2014. We will continuously make
efforts to provide genuine Japanese tea and culture to our customers. |
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