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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 'Tea Farm News - Winter'. |
Preparing for Winter
To keep the tea trees warm in winter, farmers cover the ground around the tea trees with dried grass, fallen leaves, straw, and so on. They help to keep temperature and humidity in the soil around the tea tree roots. They also help to keep moisture in soil, and become good fertilizer over time. Young tea trees around 0 to 5 years old are especially cared for elaborately because they should be protected well from cold and dry weather. These efforts, which are not easy, prevent tea trees from freeze and frost injury and other diseases in the winter season. |
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| Dry straw among young tea trees |
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| Dry leaves and dry bamboo |
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| Rice husks retain heat and moisture very well |
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Tea Trees in Winter
During the long, cold winter months, tea trees are dormant as though they are hibernating. In that time, tea trees store nutrition in order to sprout vigorously in the spring. Both tea farmers and tea trees look forward to the coming of spring.
Snowy Day
We do have some snowy winter days in the Uji region, although snow does not usually accumulate. Even if snow accumulates, it is generally less than 10cm (4 inches) in depth. The tea trees rest patiently waiting for the spring during these snowy days too.
In the extremely rare case that snow accumulates over 20cm (8 inches) in depth, tea trees for hand-picked tea could be damaged under the weight of the snow. In this case, the farmer must carefully brush the snow from each tea tree. Tea trees trimmed by machine are not damaged by the weight of accumulated snow because of the branch formation. |
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Winter Tea Farm Work
During the cold winter months, the roots and leaves of the tea trees hardly grow at all. Tea trees save up nutritional elements from the fertilizer which they received last autumn, so they wait and make ready to grow vigorously in the spring.
In order to survive winter safely, farmers have to take special care of young trees under four years old. For example, if the ground temperature at the tea farm becomes very cold, farmers put dry straw or other protection from cold around the base of the young trees. However, the main work for farmers in the winter season is the preparation of Organic fertilizer or readying the ground for a new tea farm, and taking care of other projects to help the farm run more efficiently. Farmers can complete these necessary tasks only during the winter season. |
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| Young tea trees protected from cold with dry straw |
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| Creating new tea farm |
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| Improving water facilities at the tea farm |
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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] Blended Sencha Items |
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| Blended Sencha is limited edition of just 600 packages each ONLY AVAILABLE this winter season.
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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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[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) 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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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!
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