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| History of Houjicha |
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| - This Month's Tea |
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| Main Topic |
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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 'History of Houjicha (This Month's Tea)'. |
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History of Houjicha (This Month's Tea)
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It is said that the origin of Houjicha is Kyo Bancha. Kyo Bancha was originally made by pruned tea leaves from the tea tree for the highest grade, hand picked Matcha and Gyokuro.
Machine trimmed tea trees are shaped into a uniform semicircle. In contrast, tea trees picked by hand grow upward naturally, as shown below. Hand picked tea trees grow to a height of 1 to 1.5m (3.28 to 4.92ft) around harvest season. Just after harvest, farmers prune around the base of the tea tree (about 40cm / 1.31ft). The pruned tea leaves and stems are steamed, dried in the sun, and then roasted. It is traditional Kyo Bancha and the origin of Houjicha. Now, Houjicha is made by roasting Sencha.
Houjicha is everyday tea for people living in Kyoto. Houjicha is enjoyed at every meal, with an afternoon snack, near bedtime, and so on. Hot brewed Houjicha warms not only the body but the heart and spirit during cold winters. And in the summer, Iced Houjicha is very cooling and refreshing.
The highest grade Houjicha, like our Houjicha Super Premium and Houjicha Karigane Super Premium, is used at Tea Ceremony schools. The highest grade Houjicha is enjoyed at special occasions to open the heart and spirit. Houjicha is an essential part of daily life for the people of Kyoto. |
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| Machine trimmed tea trees |
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| Hand picked tea trees |
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| Tea leaves of traditional Kyo Bancha. The flavor is uniquely smoky. |
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| Comparing traditional Kyo Bancha and today’s Houjicha. Brewed infusion of traditional Kyo Bancha is a little more yellowish than Houjicha. |
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| Tea leaves of today's Houjicha |
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| Water color of today's Houjicha |
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This Month's Tea - Houjicha |
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We would like you to rediscover the value of our Houjicha items for monthly recommendation. You are sure to delight in the unique sweet and roasted flavor of Houjicha. The flavor is very smooth and the aroma lingers nicely for a while.
At the same time we arranged two special Houjicha items, Houjicha Super Premium and Houjicha Karigane Super Premium. Each item is the limited edition of 450 packages only available this winter season. |
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Special Houjicha (Limited) |
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[Limited] Houjicha Super Premium (100g/3.53oz): US$15.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 450 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season)
To make this Houjicha Super Premium, we use only young sprouts. And a small amount of stems from the highest grade Matcha are added in order to create the unique noble aroma... |
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[Limited] Houjicha Karigane Super Premium (100g/3.53oz): US$15.00
(Now Available: limited edition of 450 packages ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season)
The stems contained in this tea are usually used for Sencha Karigane, not Houjicha Karigane. Stems from the highest grade Matcha are added in order to create the unique noble aroma... |
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Regular Houjicha |
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Houjicha (200g/7.06oz): US$18.00
Houjicha, also called Bancha, is made by roasting Sencha tea leaves over high heat. It is a brown tea with a toasted nutty flavor, and is low in caffeine... |
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Houjicha Karigane (200g/7.06oz): US$19.00
Houjicha Karigane is made from the stems of high grade tea leaves and roasted in the same way as standard Houjicha. The flavor is deeply sweet and roasted, which is quite unique among Japanese tea... |
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Organic Houjicha (200g/7.06oz): US$20.00
This Organic Houjicha is certified by Japanese administration. This, also called Bancha, is made by roasting Organic Sencha tea leaves over high heat. It is a brown tea with a toasted nutty flavor, and is low in caffeine...
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Teabag Houjicha (5g*28 / 0.17oz*28): US$19.00
Each specially-designed nylon bag is filled with whole-leaf Houjicha, so you can enjoy the rich flavor of Houjicha in no time at all! Houjicha, also called Bancha, is made by roasting fresh green tea leaves over high heat. It is a brown tea with a toasted nutty flavor...
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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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[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
(Out of Stock Soon)
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 Matcha Pinnacle (20g/0.71oz): US$46.00
(Out of Stock Soon)
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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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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[Valentine's Day Gifts] Gift Idea: Hibiki-an's Tea Bags |
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We would like you to rediscover the value of our Teabag items for Gifts. At Hibiki-an, we use only the highest quality tea leaves in our tea bags. Each specially-designed nylon bag is filled with whole-leaf tea, so you can enjoy the elegant flavor of genuine Japanese tea in no time at all. The individual tea bags are much larger than standard paper tea bags - over 2 x 2 inches in a unique pyramid shape.
We have designed our Teabag teas to brew quickly and easily in the shortest possible time, while still retaining the fullest flavor and aroma, even when brewed in a teacup and not a teapot. We finished each kind of tea leaf for our tea bags in a special way, so that they will brew easily with teacups in a very short time. Of course, like all our teas, our tea bags may be reused three times. Each infusion will have a unique flavor and aroma.
If you want a quick and easy way to enjoy genuine Japanese tea, our Teabag teas are perfect for you. And we are certain that it is also perfect for the office, taking along on a trip, and so on. Teabags are also a great way to introduce genuine Japanese tea to beginners who may not own a teapot!
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| We use only the highest quality tea leaves in our tea bags. |
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| Our Teabags allow enjoyment of genuine Japanese tea flavor anywhere. |
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| Teabags are also a great way to introduce genuine Japanese tea to beginners who may not own a teapot. |
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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) Employment Information
We are now recruiting for a job position of ministrant of online store manager and wholesale. For details, would you click here? (Employment Information) |
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(Notice 2) 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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