A long time ago in ancient Japan, green tea was considered a precious medicine. With the advent of new harvesting and processing techniques, it soon became the country's most popular beverage. Today, green tea is enjoyed around the world for many reasons. Thanks to a wide variety of foods and nutritional information now available, people are more selective about what they chose to eat and drink. Because of this, people are choosing to enjoy the healthful benefits and wonderfully fresh flavor of Japanese green tea.
Hibiki-an is surrounded by the rolling hills of Uji, in the ancient city of Kyoto, where the Japanese tradition of green tea began over 1,000 years ago. Today, in Japan, when people think of high quality green tea, they think of Uji. The misty climate, sloping hills, warm days and cool nights provide an ideal setting for tea plants to thrive. If you take a train to Kyoto, you will pass many beautiful green tea farms in Uji, and you can sample the wide variety of delicious green teas that are available at specialty shops and restaurants in the area.
In the past, it was nearly impossible to distribute fresh green tea outside Japan, because it was more difficult to preserve than black tea or Chinese green tea.
But now, you can experience the taste and health benefits of fresh Japanese green tea anywhere in the world! All of our teas are grown, harvested and packaged right here on our family tea farm in Uji. Through meticulous quality control procedures, we have made it possible for international customers to receive fresh green tea in excellent condition.
Online direct sales enable us to offer you a lower price by eliminating the extra costs associated with wholesalers and distributors. You will not find a Japanese green tea of this superior quality for a lower price anywhere.
We named our site "Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an" in wishing that Japanese tea culture will gain more popularity throughout the world. "Hibiki" in Japanese means "touching someone's heart." It brings us great happiness to know that Japanese tea culture can touch people's hearts around the world.
Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an
36 Shimonoto Yuyadani
Ujitawara, Kyoto 610-0221
Japan
US Branch Office: Hibiki-an Corporation
3654 Hardwick Hall Way
Las Vegas, Nevada 89135
United States |
Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an
Owner: Atsushi Yasui |
Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an
Farm Owner: Tatsumi Yasui |
"I've been working hard to harvest good tea leaves at our family tea farms. I hope our tea leaves will be enjoyed by as many people as possible all around the world," said Tatsumi Yasui, the owner of the tea farms.
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The tea farm owned by Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an received a letter of appreciation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, in honor of our cooperation with their food safety policy. |
The Letter of Appreciation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan |
Obuku is the first place where tea trees were planted in the Uji region of Japan. They were planted by Kohken, a Buddhist monk, around A.D.1271, after Eisai popularized the idea of tea drinking in Japan around A.D.1191. (For more information, click here.)
Hibiki-an is located in Uji near Obuku, the birth place of Uji green tea.
Sohen Nagatani (1681-1778) is the inventor of the present-day green tea process that is used throughout Japan. We, Hibiki-an, are located very near to the house where he was born.
In Uji, Sohen Nagatani developed a new process of steam drying tea leaves (A.D. 1738). The new process, known as the Uji method, resulted in fresh, flavorful tea. It quickly replaced the traditional method of roasting and drying tea leaves.
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| The birth house of Sohen Nagatani has a traditional thatched roof |
The portrait of Sohen Nagatani |
The original storage pot (big enough for a large man to bathe in) |
Quality of Products
Japanese green tea usually deteriorates when it is transported out of Japan,
because of poor quality control procedures. Green tea sold at grocery stores
and tea shops is often dry, stale and flavorless -- not at all like the
fresh and flavorful green tea you would enjoy in Japan. But our teas are
shipped fresh to you directly from our tea farm in Uji, as shown in the chart below.
When you open the packet of Hibiki-an green tea, you can experience the fresh aroma of the many beautiful green tea farms in Uji, and taste the delicious green tea available at specialty shops and restaurants in Kyoto, without traveling all the way to Japan.
In general, it is extremely difficult to keep Japanese green tea fresh. But, we at Hibiki-an have very strong quality control standards at every step of the way, from harvesting and processing, to packaging and shipping the tea from our tea farm to your doorstep. These quality control procedures enable us to send our products in the best possible condition to customers all over the world.
Please read "How to Enjoy Green Tea" for tips on how to best preserve your Japanese green tea once it arrives!
Prices
Because our tea is shipped directly from Hibiki-an to you, we can offer you the freshest and highest quality tea for the lowest possible price. Online direct sales enable us to offer you a lower price by eliminating the extra costs associated with wholesalers and retailers.
What sets us apart from most online tea shops is the fact that we own our tea farm. Because we own our farm, we have complete control over quality and pricing. You will not find a Japanese green tea of this superior quality for a lower price anywhere.
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Our wholesale prices are almost the same as in Japan, because of direct sales as shown in the above chart.
We offer wholesale prices to regional tea shops, certain types of stores, restaurants and cafes. Green tea sold at retail shops outside Japan is often dry, stale and flavorless because of poor quality control standards. We have very high quality control standards throughout the entire process of growing, harvesting, packaging and shipping to our customers. Therefore, to ensure that our customers consistently receive a fresh and high quality product, we unfortunately cannot sell to wholesalers, or internet retail stores.
If you are a regional retailer or restaurant owner who would like to sell high-quality Japanese tea, and are willing to keep our tea in excellent condition, we would certainly consider selling our tea to you wholesale and provide you with instructions on how to properly store the tea to retain its quality and freshness.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Retailers and restaurant owners, in your message, please let us know the kinds of tea you would like, the quantity, and your business name, type, location, and contact information. To contact us through our website, please go to the "Contact Us" page.
UNICEF
We donate a part of every month's sales revenue to UNICEF (The United Nations
Children's Fund) and support the activities in over 190 countries for children's
rights, survival, development, and protection.
(For more information regarding activities of UNICEF, please click here.)
Development and Promotion of Uji Tea
Atsushi Yasui, owner of Japanese Green Tea Hibiki-an, works for the vice chairman of the Junior Ujitawara Tea Industry Union. His efforts activate the tea industry in Uji, helping to ensure the success of local tea farms, which support the entire Uji region, by raising the level of tea production and teaching farmers new growing techniques, as well as preserving local tea history and traditions. Green tea farming has been an important part of life in Uji since A.D.1271 and these development works help ensure that this tradition can continue for many years into the future.
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| Training scene of traditional hand processing |
Training scene of tea discrimination |
Completion ceremony of renovation of the birth house of Sohen Nagatani, who is the inventor of the Uji cha processing method |
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