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| Why Do Farmers Grow Competition Grade Tea? |
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| - Competition Grade 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 'Why Do Farmers Grow Competition Grade Tea? (Competition Grade Tea)'. |
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Why Do Farmers Grow Competition Grade Tea? (Competition Grade Tea)
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Of all the tea farms in Japan, only a small number of tea farmers grow competition grade tea. If the tea contributed to Japan's National Tea Competition wins the award of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, it brings extreme and deep honor for the farmer. However, growing competition grade tea requires a surprising amount of money and effort. So, why do farmers grow this special tea? If a farmer grows competition grade tea, through his experience growing the tea, along with having the tea critiqued by experts at the National Tea Competition, he gains much knowledge about how to perfect not only his competition grade tea but his entire tea crop. The quality improves across all kinds of tea produced by the farmer.
It usually takes at least a decade to perfect a tea worthy of submitting to Japan's National Tea Competition. Once the farmer starts growing competition grade tea, all of his agricultural processes, even daily tasks that before seemed repetitive or unimportant, become filled with concentration and intensity. To grow excellent tea, every step is important. The farmer must try his best at all times.
The most vital steps which must be done extremely cautiously are: seeking out new types of fertilizer, and in the case of Gyokuro and Matcha, shading the tea plants from sunlight. Fertilizing techniques advance at a rapid pace, even in modern agriculture, so farmers must discover which new fertilizers work best. Before applying a new fertilizer to the tea crop, it is not uncommon for the farmer to taste the fertilizer to gauge its effect on the tea plant. The farmer knows the tea plant well enough to understand if this fertilizer is what the plant needs. For example, if a fertilizer is too salty, it is generally not good for the tea plant.
In the case of Gyokuro and Matcha, one of the most difficult issues is knowing exactly when to shade the tea leaves from sunlight. If too early, tea leaves can't absorb nutrition and the flavor is weak. If too late, the noble mellow aroma is weak. Through growing competition grade tea, the farmer acquires the ability to tell the best time to shade from sunlight. The farmer that truly knows his tea plants gauges the best time to shade from sunlight not by the calendar, but by looking closely at the tea leaves. Our tea farmer says that when shade is required, the tea leaves talk and ask him to provide shade from sunlight.
Competition grade tea production requires a surprising amount of money and effort. About three times the amount of fertilizer is used to grow competition grade tea. And all growing processes must be carefully completed. In addition, the yield amount is about one fifth of common tea, because competition tea is harvested when the tea leaves are very young. Though competition grade teas bring high prices, the extra money earned does not cover all the costs involved in growing and production. But, farmers do not grow competition grade tea for profit. Farmers grow this special tea to gain knowledge and expertise, with the goal of producing the perfect tea.
After winning a national award from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for his competition grade tea, one experienced farmer, who has grown competition grade tea for more than 10 years, said he feels the most delight when his tea plants grow the way he intends. While honored by the recognition and award, the farmer's greatest satisfaction is knowing that his efforts resulted in such a special, memorable tea. |
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[Limited] Competition Grade Tea / Blended Sencha Items |
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| Competition Grade Tea is limited edition of just 450 packages each and Blended Sencha is limited edition of just 600 packages each ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season.
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Competition Grade Tea |
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[Limited] Competition Grade Gyokuro Pinnacle (30g/1.06oz): US$38.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 450 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season)
This Competition Grade Gyokuro Pinnacle has an excellent, deeply mellow taste. The National Tea Competition is held in order to improve Japanese tea agricultural and manufacturing techniques, and to congratulate and encourage those that have produced outstanding tea... |
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[Limited] Competition Grade Sencha Pinnacle (40g/1.41oz): US$30.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 450 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season)
Competition Grade Sencha Pinnacle is available only at the National Tea Fair, attended by tea connoisseurs and those within the Japanese green tea industry. This fine green tea has an excellent, deeply mellow taste... |
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[Limited] Competition Grade Matcha Pinnacle (20g/0.71oz): US$46.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 450 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season)
This Competition Grade Matcha Pinnacle has an excellent, deeply mellow taste. The National Tea Competition is held several times a year in Japan. Sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and attended by executives of the Japanese tea industry... |
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[Limited] Competition Grade Matcha Pinnacle Refill (60g/2.12oz): US$115.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 450 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season)
This Competition Grade Matcha Premium Refill package is an excellent value. The price is actually discounted 17%. This has an excellent, deeply mellow taste. The National Tea Competition is held several times a year in Japan. Sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries... |
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Blended Sencha |
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[Limited] Blended Sencha Premium (80g/2.82oz): US$20.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 850 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this autumn season)
Blended Sencha Premium is a blend of Sencha and Gyokuro. This tea is composed of four breeds of green tea: Kanayamidori, Sayamakaori, Yabukita, and Okumidori... |
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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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Japanese Snacks / Candy items |
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Japanese "Amuse-Bouche" (Foods to Amuse the Mouth)
Traditional Japanese Snacks / Candy pair beautifully with any kind of Japanese tea. Like the French "Amuse-Bouche" their purpose is to amuse the mouth or palate, in this case, while drinking green tea. Since 16th century Japan, they have been refined and improved upon over hundreds of years to create absolute harmony of flavor between the green tea and the delicious sweet confection or savory snack. Such as the feeling you get when you have green tea and sushi together, your palate understands that this is an ideal match of flavor... (more info) |
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OHIGASHI (handmade confectionary): US$23.00
OHIGASHI is one of the most traditional Japanese confectionary which is often served at Japanese tea ceremony and pairs very well with Japanese green tea. At last, we added OHIGASHI which is made at Tsuboneya, a confectioner in Kyoto well-known for their beautiful confectionary made by hand with careful attention to quality and detail...
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YOHKAN (sweet bean jelly): US$16.50
YOHKAN sweet bean jelly is one of the most popular and classic confections in Japan. We developed 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...
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OKAKI (handmade rice cracker): US$23.00
OKAKI rice cracker is one of the most popular and classic snacks in Japan. At last, we added OKAKI which is made at Fujisawa Eiseido known for creating OKAKI using a traditional manufacturing process with careful attention to quality and natural ingredients. This OKAKI is traditionally-made by hand using only natural ingredients sourced only in Japan...
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[New & Limited] Teapots / Cups, Matcha Bowls / Accessories |
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| We have arranged for 20 limited edition and new teapots / cups, and 16 limited edition and new Matcha Bowls / Accessories. The 13
limited edition items are all available only this autumn and winter season. |
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| Teapots / Cups shopping category: click here |
| Matcha Bowls / Accessories shopping category: click here |
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(Notice 1) New Shopping Page Design
New shopping page design was recently implemented on our website. It enables you to change the shopping page to display our products as a vertical list of item details, or as horizontal rows of product image tiles, depending on how you prefer to shop. You also can sort our products by price, grade, popularity, and so on. We hope this will make your visit to our website even more enjoyable. Would you please try it and see? |
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(Notice 2) 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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