(We are planning to sell three limited edition Kuradashi Gyokuro, one Kuradashi Sencha, and three Kuradashi Matcha only available the mid-autumn. If you are a Japanese tea lover, you may know of Kuradashi tea. Like fine wine, it gains an enriched flavor and sweetness over time. Please wait and see.)

This year's TSUYU rainy season started around June 9 and ended around June 27 in Kyoto, which was the earliest in recorded history since 1951. The rainy season was only 18 days long; the second shortest on the record. The rainfall amount from July to the middle of August was much less than usual. So, we farmers have been concerned. However, we had plenty of rainfall for a week or more since around August 10. We are relieved!

In July and August, the summer heat was intense all over Japan. In a few areas, the temperature reached more than 38C (100F) and broke the record for the highest temperature. Even Kyoto reached above 37C (96F). The heat is lasting longer than usual this year as well.
After the second harvest in July, the tea trees need plentiful water to revive the tea sprouts and to store water in the leaves. This year, there are some tea trees which have not revived enough. Yet even those tea trees will revive when they eventually receive enough water.
Overall, this summer was not too severe for tea trees, though we hope we will have enough rain in autumn.

The weather typically starts getting cooler in the early morning and at night in Ujitawara, Kyoto around August 15, after the OBON religious festival. The weather forecast says that this coming September will be a bit hotter than usual and will have the same amount of rainfall as usual. Tea trees need plenty of rainfall in autumn. It greatly affects the next year's Shincha harvest. Farmers pray that the much-anticipated autumn rain will bring vitality to the tea trees.

Autumn is going to be on its way soon and so are our seasonal autumn Kuradashi teas. Following traditional methods, our Kuradashi teas have been enriched in wooden boxes in the granary for one and a half years, since last May, and will be ready in a few more weeks.
The deepened mellow and noble flavor of enriched Kuradashi Gyokuro and Kuradashi Matcha will be available in mid-autumn. Please wait and see!

Do you know Kuradashi Tea? In contrast to Sencha, which is enjoyed for its refreshing aroma immediately after harvest, Gyokuro and Matcha gain an enriched flavor and deep noble aroma and sweetness over time, and therefore are best some months after harvest. A long time ago, people celebrated aged Gyokuro and Matcha in autumn, just as Shincha is celebrated in spring. This special autumn tea was called Kuradashi Tea, meaning tea taken out from the granary. Our Kuradashi Tea is aged in the granary for more than 1.5 years.

Today's Japanese tea lovers favor both fresh Gyokuro and Matcha, and enriched Kuradashi Gyokuro and Matcha. It just depends on each person's individual taste and preference to know which kind will be their favorite. However, it is more and more difficult to find real enriched Kuradashi Tea even in Japan. It is not easy to enrich and sweeten Gyokuro and Matcha. If one doesn't keep a close watch over their Kuradashi Tea, it will easily deteriorate. Like a fine wine, aged tea can easily pass from a state of being deliciously enriched to a state of being deteriorated.
Besides, all Gyokuro and Matcha do not gain an enriched flavor but only specific kinds of Gyokuro and Matcha. It depends on some factors, such as the breed of tea leaves, how the sunlight is shaded, management of fertilizer and nutrients, the processing procedure, and so on.
Therefore many wholesalers and retailers these days are not willing to accept risks in order to create Kuradashi Tea.
Since we at Hibiki-an, understand the traditional way of aging Kuradashi Tea properly, we are happy to be able to provide you with Kuradashi Gyokuro and Matcha. We would like Japanese tea lovers around the world to be able to experience the remarkable and noble enriched and sweetened flavor and aroma of true Kuradashi Gyokuro and Matcha.

Kuradashi Gyokuro and Matcha, which are aged in the granary for more than 1.5 years, are different from ordinary Gyokuro and Matcha in aroma and flavor, so it may be enjoyable for you to compare this tea with regular Gyokuro and Matcha. The superb enriched and sweetened flavor and aroma of this special tea lingers in the mouth for a while. The aroma is full, but not too strong. The flavor is richer and subtle. The taste is both mellow and enhanced.

Kuradashi Gyokuro and Matcha can best be described in the same way a fine wine is described and enjoyed by connoisseurs. Like Pinot Noir red wine, Kuradashi Gyokuro and Matcha are amazingly full flavored with hints of woody spices, sweet fruits, and nuts, as well as oak, earth, leaves, and grass. It is difficult to describe this remarkably delicious tea and just must be experienced firsthand!

We are planning to sell three limited edition Kuradashi Gyokuro, one Kuradashi Sencha, and three Kuradashi Matcha only available mid-autumn. Please wait and see!