Japanese Green Tea

• From Spring to Early Summer
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter
• Breeds of Japanese Green Tea
• Why is the tea produced in Uji in Kyoto so envied?
• Concentration Standard of Residual Agricultural Chemicals in Japan
  
  

  Visit to other relative pages:
  	- "2010 Shincha Newa Flash" - "What's Kuradashi Gyokuro"

From Spring to Early Summer

The year's first tea leaves, called Ichiban Cha, are harvested throughout May at Uji in the Kyoto region. In Kyoto, Ichiban Cha is harvested several weeks later than other regions, such as Shizuoka or Kagoshima, due to the difference in climate and geography. As a result, Kyoto Ichiban Cha is placed on the market later than other regions.

• Pruning and Spring Bancha
  To prepare for the first harvest, tea trees are pruned in March. There are many varieties of Bancha, but the leaves collected in March are used to make Spring Bancha. Every year, the plants are pruned not only in March, but also in October.

• Preparing to Harvest
  Twenty to thirty days before harvest, green tea trees for Gyokuro and Matcha are covered with special curtains. These curtains, called 'Kanreisha,' are used to shade tea trees from direct sunlight. Tea grown this way has a sweet and mild flavor, because without sunlight there will be few bitter tannins. Carefully grown in the shade for twenty days before harvesting, a cup of Gyokuro or Matcha has several unique features: an elegant aroma, a sweet taste and a light green color.

• Pictured here are the two different kinds of 'Kanreisha' : 'Tana' and 'Jikagise' . To produce top quality Gyokuro and Matcha, tea leaves are covered with 'Tana.'
• In contrast to Gyokuro and Matcha, tea leaves for Sencha are not covered. They are grown under full sunlight. Flooded with sunlight before harvesting, a cup of Sencha has a deliciously bitter flavor, a refreshing aroma and a golden-green color.

Shaded from sunlight by way of 'Tana'  before harvest.	Shaded from sunlight by way of 'Jikagise' before harvest.	Sencha tea farm before harvest. Not shaded.

• Harvest
  Harvest is the busiest time of the year for farmers. The best time to gather tea leaves is when the tea tree has three to five sprouts. The tea farmer must be careful not to pick the leaves that are too large or too small. If he gathers the leaves two to three days late, the tea's quality will be compromised. If he gathers the leaves too early, the amount will be too small. Therefore, the farmer must carefully ascertain the perfect time to harvest.

• Picked by Skilled Hands vs. Trimmed by Machine
  Today most tea leaves are trimmed by machine and traditional hand picked Gyokuro, Sencha, and Matcha are rarely grown and is therefore very precious. The flavor and aroma of hand picked tea is much more mellow and smooth than tea trimmed by machine.
  Tea trees for hand picked and for machine trimmed are grown in different ways, and tea sprouts of both types of trees grow differently. In the case of tea trees trimmed by machine, tea sprouts grow from the previously trimmed stubble. In contrast, in the case of tea trees picked by hand, tea sprouts shoot from the natural forks in the branches. The flavor and aroma of hand picked tea is much more mellow and smooth than tea trimmed by machine and the leaves are of higher quality.
  Even a skilled tea harvester can hand pick just up to 6 to 8kg of fresh tea leaves all through the day. The picked fresh tea leaves are processed and finished, at which point the total weight of the tea leaves is only about 18% of the fresh tea leaves. Even if about 20 skilled tea harvesters pick all through the day, we can only gather around 25 kg of finished precious hand picked tea.
  From the time the sprouts appear to the time the leaves become too large to harvest is just a few days. So tea leaves must be harvested as quickly as possible in one long stretch. Therefore it is never easy to pick large amounts of tea leaves by skilled hands in just a few days.
  Top grade tea, hand picked Gyokuro, Sencha, and Matcha are grown only in quite a small amount, because there is only one small place in all of the world perfect for farming this special tea - a tiny area of land located right here in the Uji region of Japan.
  Therefore, hand picked tea is very precious.

Tea leaves just before harvest.	Trimmed by machine.	Picked by skilled hands.

• Processing

• Gyokuro and Sencha
• After being picked, fresh tea leaves are processed the same day. Processing steps are 1) Steaming, 2) Drying and Crumpling, and 3) Shaping. It is said that the Steaming step is the most difficult and requires skill and experience, even though the steaming time is just 30 to 60 seconds.
  If tea leaves are steamed heavier, the astringency and refreshing aroma that characterizes Sencha is destroyed. On the contrary, if tea leaves are not steamed enough, the taste will not be good at all. Farmers arrange the steaming temperature and steaming time, considering the conditions of picked fresh tea leaves (thickness of tea leaves, how soft, and so on).
  

Steaming process	Drying and Crumpling process	Shaping process.

• Tencha (Matcha)
  Tencha are the freshly-picked tea leaves that will later be ground into Matcha. These tea leaves go through three steps: 1) Steaming, 2) Drying, and 3) Sorting. (See the pictures.)

Steaming process	Drying process of Tencha (Matcha).	Sorting process.

• Finishing

  Gyokuro and Sencha
  Tea leaves go through two finishing processes: 1) Sorting leaves and stems and 2) Drying.
  Most tea leaves are dried lightly over heat for a short period of time, but some are dried longer to give them a roasted aroma.
  'Fukamushi' Sencha is sometimes dried longer for a roasted aroma. This process is called 'Hiire.
  'Fukamushi - Hiire' Sencha has a very short brewing time and a roasted aroma. Therefore, it is suitable not only for a quick and perfect cup of hot tea, but also for Iced Sencha.
  
  Tencha (Matcha)
  Matcha tea leaves (Tencha) go through three finishing processes: 1) Sorting leaves and stems, 2) Drying, and 3) Grinding with a stone mill.
  It takes one hour to grind 40g (1.41 oz) of top-quality Matcha with a stone mill. The result is a finely-textured powder.

Grinding high quality Matcha	Stone mill	Traditional stone mill

• Houjicha
  The first three processing steps of Houjicha tea leaves are the same as for Sencha: 1) Steaming, 2) Drying and Crumpling, and 3) Shaping. But to make Houjicha, the tea goes through one special additional step: 4) Roasting.
  Like Sencha, tea leaves for Houjicha are grown with fully-flooded sunlight, so that Houjicha contains beneficial Catechin. And since Houjicha is pan-roasted, it is very low in caffeine. In Japan, Houjicha is commonly given to babies and people who are sick because it is both nourishing and low in caffeine. Besides, Houjicha is perfect for iced tea. It will cool you on a sizzling hot day.

Roasting facility	Tea leaves sending up smoke in the roasting facility	Tea leaves just completed roasting

• Preserving
  Freshness is one of Japanese green tea's most important qualities. Unlike dry oxidized teas such as black or oolong, it does not last forever! Therefore, Japanese green tea needs to be stored carefully to preserve it's essential freshness.
  Tea leaves gathered and manufactured in Spring to early Summer are preserved in a storehouse that is kept at 0C (32 degrees Fahrenheit) to 5C  (37 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the year.
  Tea leaves are used a little at a time as the need arises. During this time we are careful not to let condensation and moisture cause the tea leaves to deteriorate.
  In this very careful way, tea leaves are kept fresh through the year.

• Shincha
  Tea gathered in April and May is called 'Ichibancha,' meaning new tea or first tea of the year. In the Spring, the land is most fertile and that gives Ichibancha the best flavor. Japanese green tea is usually harvested between two and five times each year from Spring to Autumn. But the first pick, Ichibancha, is by far the best.
  Similar to the Beaujolais Nouveau of French wine, the name Shincha celebrates the first tea harvest of the year. However, not all Ichibancha is Shincha. Only the Ichibancha which is sold specifically in celebration of the first pick of the year is called Shincha. Sencha's aroma is the best just after harvesting. Shincha Sencha is very delicious.
  (For more information regarding Shincha, please click here. You can see Shincha News Flash!)

Summer

Pruning after harvesting Shincha As soon as we finish harvesting the Shincha, we begin pruning the tea trees. There are two different ways to prune according to different needs. The first way is in order for tea trees to stop growing and rest. In this case, Tea trees are more deeply pruned. Most of the tea leaves are pruned, so the trees almost stop their photosynthesis and stop growing too. So the Tea trees can rest. The benefit of this way is less strain on the tea trees and the expectation of a good harvest for the next season. However, in this case, tea leaves are harvested only one time in the year, so this is a luxury. The second way is used for preparing Nibancha, the second harvest of the year. In this case, the tea trees are more shallowly pruned. It is possible to process these pruned tea leaves into premium grade Houjicha, which is made from Ichibancha, the first harvest of the year. Even Houjicha made from Ichibancha, premium grade Houjicha, can be made from tea leaves only after the harvest of high grade Sencha, which has an excellent refreshing aroma. Only about five percent of Houjicha is made in this way and can therefore be considered to be premium grade Houjicha. But Hibiki-an's Houjicha is premium grade and is made in this way.
Nibancha The second tea harvest of the year, Nibancha, is harvested from the end of June to the end of July in Uji, Kyoto. In Uji, tea leaves can be harvested up to Nibancha, the second harvest, though teas in Shizuoka or Kagoshima can be harvested up to Sanbancha, the third harvest or Yonbancha, the Fourth harvest. It depends on the climate. Generally speaking, Nibancha harvested in June or July has a less smooth, mellow taste and subtle aroma than Ichibancha, the first tea of the year. In contrast, Ichibancha, which slowly and thoroughly absorbs the nutrients from the previous autumn and through winter until spring, tea leaves for Nibancha grow quickly just after the first harvest in May for only 1.5 months or so. Sanbancha, the third harvest grown in Shizuoka and Kagoshima, is much less flavorful. Like Ichibancha, there are many good quality Nibancha teas. To produce two tea crops, Ichibancha and Nibancha, the tea trees must be healthy and the tea farm must be properly managed. June and July is rainy season in Japan, so the weather is extremely hot and humid, therefore the Nibancha harvest is not only difficult for tea trees but also for farmers. However, Nibancha is an important source of income for farmers. And insects, who like eating tea leaves, swing into action in June. In rainy season the sun is blazing hot and the air is damp with humidity and the conditions along with the plentiful fertilizer fed to the tea plants creates favorable conditions not only for the tea plants, but for weeds as well. Farmers must struggle with weeds. Farmers must take defensive action to protect their tea trees, in order for the Nibancha tea leaves to survive the attack by insects in summer.

The Struggle with Harmful Insects and Disease In Japan, the rainy season called TSUYU is in June and July. Harmful insects start buzzing around the tea farm, late in the rainy season. This is also a critical time for tea farmers to take care to prevent tea tree diseases. Autumn is the season when the most amount of fertilizer is fed to the tea trees. If tea trees are not healthy in autumn due to damage by harmful insects or disease, the tea trees can't absorb enough of the nutrition of fertilizer, and unhealthy tea trees will not produce a good crop next spring. Therefore, farmers must struggle with harmful insects and disease in July and August in order to keep tea trees healthy. The work under the hot sun in mid-summer is terribly hard and sweaty labor, but necessary to keep the tea trees in good health. It is said that there are a hundred or more kinds of harmful insects. They are divided into roughly three categories: MAKI MUSHI (rolling insect), UNKA (mosquito), and HADANI (mite). It is said that tea tree diseases are caused by bacteria or viruses that attack trees and plants. TANSO and MOCHI are common diseases that we must avoid. As you can see in the images below, the diseases look quite bad, which is why we at Hibiki-an take great care to prevent them. Of course, these tree diseases are not harmful to humans. Tea farmers frequently check their crops to see if any problem is developing, and if so, they must immediately take appropriate action. To prevent and exterminate harmful insects and diseases, farmers often use mild chemicals. Needless to say, because the concentration standard of residual agricultural chemicals in Japan is the toughest in the world, chemicals are strictly controlled and used cautiously and sparingly. Much more strict management for preventing harmful insects and diseases is required for hand-picked tea which is the highest grade. As you know, tea trees for hand-picked tea and for machine-trimmed tea are grown in different ways, and tea sprouts of both types of trees grow differently.(For more information, click here.) If tea leaves of tea trees for hand-picked tea are damaged once, new sprouts will immediately appear from the root of the damaged tea leaves, and the sprouts will be a branch. Under ideal conditions, tea trees for hand-picked tea should grow straight upward without any branches. Therefore, farmers must check the tea leaves for hand-picked tea almost every day. Above is one of the reasons why hand-picked tea requires enormous efforts by the farmer to create the excellent flavor.
MAKI MUSHI (rolling insect) rolls tea leaves roundly and is resident in it..	Lime green color tea leaves, which are central part on the picture, are damaged by UNKA (mosquito).	MIKAN TOGE KONAJIRAMI on the underside of tea leaves.

Brown color parts are damaged by TANSO disease.	Tea leaves damaged by MOCHI disease.	After rain, it is not unusual to see frogs at the tea farm. The frog eats many insects and is therefore very beneficial to the tea farm ecosystem.

Tea tree for hand-picked tea. It is sprouting new branch from the root of damaged tea leaf.	Tea trees for hand-picked tea under ideal conditions. They grow straight upward without any branches.	Chemical dissemination.

• Our Organic Tea Farm in the Summer Season
  Bugs start to rush around with vivacity in June. The brown portions of tea leaves shown in the picture have been eaten by harmful insects. In contrast, the tea leaves on the right side picture taken at a non-organic tea farm at the same time have not really been eaten by harmful insects. These brown portions of tea leaf ruin the tea's excellent taste and aroma, so of course we do not use these portions in our tea.
  But fortunately, spiders and other insects come to the rescue to prevent our special organic teas from being damaged. You can see a spider's web among the tea trees on the organic tea farm. Spiders, lizards, mantis, and ladybugs are natural enemies of harmful insects, and they carry out important duties on the organic tea farm. When a non-organic tea farm is changed to an organic tea farm, the natural enemies begin thriving in the area about 3 years later.
  Second harvests start around the beginning of July. Farmers at non-organic tea farms feed chemical fertilizers just before the second harvest in order to expedite the second sprouts to grow quickly and lighten the tea trees' burden. However organic tea trees cannot be fed chemical fertilizers. So, the second sprouts grow much slower than non-organic.
  We, Hibiki-an, don't harvest a second organic crop at all, so all the organic tea you enjoy is from the first harvest, which is the best anyway. We do this in order to lighten the organic tea trees' burden without using chemical fertilizers. It naturally brings out an excellent taste and aroma for next year's harvest.
  Rampant weeds grow close together at organic tea farms in the summer season. Farmers must mow the weeds day after day. It is the hardest work at an organic tea farm. There is a special saying here in Japan that refers to this situation: "Daichi tono Kakuto" which means that farmers must struggle with mother earth. But through this struggle we are able to bring you some of the finest organic green tea available in the world!

Tea farm having been changing to organic in July	Non organic tea farm in July	Organic tea farm on which tea leaves don't eaten by harmfulinsects.

Spider's web among the tea trees on the organic tea farm	Mantis on the organic tea farm	Rampant weeds growing close together

• The Struggle with Weeds
  In the tea region of Uji during the long summer months, the sun is blazing hot and the air is damp with humidity. These conditions along with the plentiful fertilizer fed to the tea plants creates favorable conditions not only for the tea plants, but for weeds as well. For weeds, a tea farm in the summer season is a very comfortable environment indeed.
  The pictures below are typical weeds that farmers must struggle with. The picture on the left side is a vine plant. It is a hassle to pluck vines away from the tea trees because long vines insistently entwine with the tea trees. The right side of the picture is the foliage of the vines entwining with the tea trees. To the right of that is a picture of a felon herb at the tea farm. Again, to the right of that is a type of fern.
  Most weeding work is done not by machine but by the hands of farmers. The tea farm under the scorching sun is like a sauna bath. It is a struggle with mother earth herself - but a struggle with wonderful rewards.
  Autumn will come soon. Farmers make soil in the tea farm in late summer to autumn, which is the most important season.

The right side of the picture is the foliage of the vines entwining with the tea trees.	Felon herbs at the tea farm	A type of fern

Autumn

• Adjusting soil pH / Soil aeration
  Autumn is a critical season for tea farmers. Tea trees grow best in autumn, farmers work diligently to enrich the soil in late summer and early autumn. This work promotes new root growth production in tea plants. The work includes enriching the soil by, adjusting soil pH to the proper acid levels, soil aeration by deep mechanical tillage, and application of autumn tea plant nutrients.
  Originally there are many acidic soil tea farm in Japan and fertilizing makes tea farm more acidic. Tea bushes are acid soil absorbing plants. It is necessary to adjust the soils to the appropriate pH. To adjust acidity, farmers distribute lime between tea trees, then disk or cultivate the lime deep into the soil.
  Deep tillage not only works the lime into the substrate soils, but also aerates the soil to promote a fresh environment for a new stronger root system to develop. The aeration also allows air, water, and nutrients to reach the new root system. A tillage machine cultivates the soil about 12 inches (30 cm) deep. Once the soil is treated and aerated the tea tree roots grow rapidly and produce small hair like roots. The care and nurturing of the tea plantation is vital during the autumn season because it ensures the well being of the tree and the future of tea production and ultimately the quality of the tea produced for your green tea enjoyment.
  

Post lime distribution	Tillage machine use	Post tillage results

• Fertilizing in autumn season
  Roots of tea trees grow best in autumn, so it is very important for farmers to fertilize during the autumn season. Generally they use eight to fifteen varieties of fertilizer about ten times per year. Most farmers fertilize mainly (30 to 40 percent of the annual amount) in the autumn so that the fertilizer can slowly enrich the soil over a period of six months.
  Ichibancha, the first harvest of tea, is higher in quality than Nibancha, the second harvest and Sanbancha, the third harvest because Ichibancha fully absorbs the nourishment of the fertilizer which was applied the previous autumn.
  The fertilizer is comprised mainly of rapeseed, cotton husks, and fish lees, calcium minerals, and other natural nutrients and elements which make the soil healthy.
  
  (Fertilizing at organic tea farm)
  All fertilizer for organic tea farms must be certified by an organic certification organization. Of course, chemical fertilizers or genetically modified fertilizers are not certified. Even the constituents and the production processes are closely examined to receive organic certification from the organic certification organization. It is not easy work for organic tea farmers just to purchase certified fertilizer.
  

Fertilizer certified by the organic certification organization	Geographies of high grade Sencha producing centers are usually mountain ravines. So it is not easy work even just to carry fertilizer on the sloping ground.	Feeding Fertilizer

• (Fertilizing at Gyokuro and Matcha tea farm)
  Tea trees for Gyokuro and Matcha are fertilized three times as much as other kinds of tea, such as Sencha, in order to create the characteristic deep sweet taste. Please see the pictures below from a Gyokuro tea farm where the tea trees are fed about three times the usual amount of fertilizer as well as another tea farm.

• Pruning
  To prepare for next year's harvest, tea trees are pruned in October to November. There are many varieties of Bancha, but the leaves collected in October are used to make Autumn Bancha. Tea leaves for Bancha (Houjicha) are fully flooded with sunlight, so that Autumn Bancha contains much Catechin that is created by trees flooded with sunlight.
  Farmers prune in order to prevent sprouts from being mixed in with old leaves during the harvest. If pruned too early, tea trees will push out new shoots and they deteriorate and cause injury to the tea tree during the cold winter months. And if pruned too late, tea trees push out new sprouts late in the next spring. Therefore farmers carefully schedule the time for tea tree pruning.
  

Pruning scenery	The right side of the picture are tea trees that just have been pruned, and the left side is tea trees that are about to be pruned..	Around the tea trees that just have been pruned.

• The Flower of Japanese Green Tea
  The flowers of Japanese green tea bloom in the latter part of autumn. The flower color is white and yellow, and looks like simplicity and neat. It is said that when the flowers of Japanese green tea bloom well in the autumn, the next winter comes with a lot of snow.
  

• Kuradashi Gyokuro
  In contrast to Sencha, which is enjoyed for its refreshing aroma immediately after being harvested, Gyokuro also gains an enriched flavor over time, and so is best some months after harvest. A long time ago, people celebrated aged Gyokuro as the "Shincha of Gyokuro" in Autumn. It was called "Kuradashi Gyokuro" that means Gyokuro taken out from the granary.
  Present storage techniques enable tea farmers to keep tea leaves fresh almost through the year. However today's Gyokuro lovers also tend to look for "Kuradashi Gyokuro" enriched by time.

Winter

• Tea trees in the winter season
  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
  The winter has been mild so far with few snowy days, however we do have some snowy winter days in the Uji region, although lot of 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.
  
  

• Works during the cold winter months
  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 at the roots 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.
  

Young tea trees protected from cold with dry straw	Creating new tea farm	Improving water facilities at the tea farm

Breeds of Japanese Green Tea

We introduce the features of main tea breeds and each counterpart at our lineup.

• Gokoh
  This breed has a noble taste and aroma that is suitable for Gyokuro. It has a characteristically sweet taste. The color of the tea which these leaves brew is a noble shade of green. Gokoh is slow to ripen. It is grown only in small amounts mainly in the Uji region in Kyoto.
  ( 'Gyokuro Super Premium' , ' Gyokuro Premium' , ' Organic Gyokuro' , and ' Gyokuro Karigane Premium' )

• Samidori
  This breed has a noble taste and aroma that is same suitable for Gyokuro as Gokoh breed. It has a characteristically sweet taste. The color of the tea which these leaves brew is a noble shade of green. The green color is a little yellowish than Gokoh's color. Samidori is slow to ripen. It is grown only in small amounts mainly in the Uji region in Kyoto.
  

• Yabukita
  This breed has a rich taste and refreshing aroma. It is an excellent breed, because it is both barely getting ill and highly productive. In Japan, Yabukita is grown on 80% of tea farms.
  ( 'Sencha Super Premium' , 'Sencha Premium' , 'Organic Sencha' , and other many items)

• Asatsuyu
  This breed has a unique rich taste. The color of the tea which these leaves brew is a deep shade of green. Asatsuyu is also known as 'Natural Gyokuro.'

• Saemidori
  Saemidori is a crossbreed of Yabukita and Asatsuyu, so the aroma is superior to Asatsuyu's. It is a new breed that is expected to be grown on many farms across Japan in the future. It is also known to be an early-ripening breed. The plant can only be harvested for a short amount of time and only produces a small amount of tea. Because of this, farmers can only grow a small amount of this precious tea.
  (Only 'Sencha Fukamushi Super Premium' )

• Sayamakaori
  Sayamakaori is a sturdy and vigorous tea tree that produces green tea with a strong taste and aroma. It is an excellent breed, because it is so healthy and rarely gets sick, and also it is highly productive.

• Okumidori
  This breed has a taste and aroma similar to Yabukita's. The water color of this breed is near noble green like Gyokuro of Gokoh breed.
  Okumidori ripens slowly, so farmers grow this breed together with Yabukita to delay the suitable harvest timing. In this way, tea may be harvested throughout the entire tea-harvesting season.

Why is the tea produced in Uji in Kyoto so envied?

• The birth place of Japanese tea
  When the Buddhist monk, Eisai popularized the idea of tea drinking around A.C.1191, farmers began growing tea leaves in Uji in Kyoto. Sohen Nagatani also developed the Japanese tea processing method that is standard today in Ujitawara in the Uji region around A.C. 1738. Everyone agrees that this process makes the best-tasting tea.
  

• The geographical features
  The Uji region in Kyoto, especially Ujitawara, is surrounded by lush green rolling hills. The misty climate, sloping hills, warm days and cool nights provide an ideal setting for plants to thrive. These geographical features and the nutrient-rich soil in Uji produce a very high grade of Japanese green tea.
  

• The accumulation of tea cultures
  Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over one-thousand years, so the tea ceremony, the tea ware industry, and Japanese tea culture developed centrally in Kyoto. Shizuoka or Tokyo has historically tended to brew tea in haste. In contrast, people in Kyoto have tended to enjoy not only the finished product, but the slow and graceful process of brewing a perfect cup of tea. People in Kyoto also take time to appreciate the tea ware and the presentation of the tea - the beautiful green color and the wonderful fresh smell of a great cup of tea.

The birth house of Sohen Nagarani.	A tea farm surrounded by rolling hills in Ujitawara	Kyoto is the place historically accumulated the whole of Japanese tea culture

Concentration Standard of Residual Agricultural Chemicals in Japan

1. Concentration Standard of Residual Agricultural Chemicals in Japan
The Concentration Standard of Residual Agricultural Chemicals in the European Union (EU) may be the strictest in the world. It is said that thanks to the enormous efforts of the Kyoto Green Tea Cooperative Society and the whole tea industry in Kyoto, where Uji (and Hibiki-an) is located, almost all of the tea leaves produced in Kyoto have met the EU Concentration Standard of Residual Agricultural Chemicals since 2003.
Japan has one of the most strict safety standards for agricultural chemicals anywhere in the world. In addition, the quality of agricultural chemicals made in Japan is very high. In 2006, the standards became even more stringent, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan established the Positive System of Agricultural Chemicals. The Positive System of Agricultural Chemicals limits the kinds, quantity, and timing of when farmers can use agricultural chemicals, and compels farmers to meticulously record when, what kind, and how much they use. As a result, Japan's crops have one of the lowest levels of residual agricultural chemicals anywhere in the world.
Of course, all of the green teas sold and produced here at Hibiki-an meet or exceed these strict standards.

2. Achievements of Agricultural Chemicals
Agricultural chemicals have brought a great deal of progress for modern agriculture. It has reduced farmers' burden and increased crop yields. For example, in the case of rice production, in 1949, farmers spent 50 hours weeding out of every 10 hours at the paddy. But in 1999, farmers spent only 2 hours out of every 10 by using chemicals and machines. If we did not use chemicals at all, it is said that the rice crop yields would decrease 28% and that the apple crop yields would decrease 97%. ("Agricultural Chemical Survey" 2007. Japan Epidemic Prevention Incorporated Association.)

3. Pesticide Application
Incidence of harmful insects and diseases relates closely with temperature and humidity. Harmful insects and diseases appear actively from July to September. Therefore, pesticides are applied usually one or two times in March and April just before harvest, and four to six times in July to September.

4. Residual Agricultural Chemicals and History of Chemical Improvements
Pesticide effectively gets rid of insects at the tea farm at the time of application. However, insects which come from outside the farm a few days later will survive. Constituents in the chemical are degraded by sunlight, temperature, air, water, and so on, and the chemical is completely safe after a few days.
Indeed, highly toxic and residual agricultural chemicals were extensively used from around 1950 to 1970 in the world because of the societal demand for increased food production. However, after that time, agricultural chemicals were developed with a special focus on being low and non-toxic.
Today, agricultural chemicals have been developed to be safer with less burden on the environment, and a more effective outcome. These agricultural chemicals target certain harmful insects and ensure the safety of humans and the environment at the same time.

5. Efforts of Tea Farmers
The Positive System of Agricultural Chemicals limits the kind, quantity, and timing of when farmers can use agricultural chemicals, and compels farmers to meticulously record when, what kind, and how much they use.

6. Safety of Japanese Tea
As a result of the efforts above, it is said that Japanese tea is ensured the following safety level: "Even if Japanese tea is drank every day in a human's entire life, it causes no harm at all." In other words, Japanese tea is 100% safe to drink every day. All of the criterion values of the Concentration Standard of Residual Agricultural Chemicals in Japan are designed based on this level of safety.