Modern facilities and expertise regarding tea preservation enable us to keep tea leaves in good condition for a year or more. However, Shincha (the first tea of the year) just after harvest is known for its unique excellent and refreshing aroma.
The remarkable fresh aroma of Shincha comes from a type of natural alcohol, the leaf alcohol (formula: C6H12O) that is found in fresh green tea leaves though a few hundred kinds of ester constituents create the refreshing aroma. This special leaf alcohol can be found only in Japanese green tea.

The leaf alcohol is created by a kind of fatty acid known as linolenic acid. The most leaf alcohol can be found not in Niban Cha (the second tea of the year) or Sanban Cha (the third tea of the year) but Shincha or Ichiban Cha (the first tea of the year) because the fatty acids which have accumulated since autumn of the previous year are most concentrated in the first harvest.
Leaf alcohol easily evaporates because it is volatile. Shincha retains its leaf alcohol only a few months, even if Shincha is specially finished and stored. We take great care to preserve our Shincha teas to retain the leaf alcohol. For example, if tea leaves are not allowed enough time to dry during the finishing process, the tea can easily deteriorate. In addition, all of our teas are specially packaged to stay fresh.

It is said that the leaf alcohol, which is the source of the unique excellent and refreshing aroma of Shincha, has the comfortable aroma of a lush green forest after rain. It works to relax your mind and body.
The aroma of tea leaf alcohol is not only attractive to humans. Insects also love tea leaf alcohol. When tea leaves effuse the scent of leaf alcohol, it draws many insects to the tea fields. If farmers allow weeds to grow around the tea trees, the leaf alcohol prompts the weeds to produce phenol. Phenol kills harmful insects, therefore the weeds act as a natural insect repellant. Leaf alcohol helps tea trees to protect themselves from insects.

To enjoy the unique excellent and refreshing aroma of the tea leaf alcohol, it is best to brew fresh green tea with a little higher temperature water. The leaf alcohol is well extracted by higher temperature water. It is the reason why we recommend two ways of brewing Shincha (brewing by higher and regular temperature water).

It is only once each year, during the harvest season, that you can enjoy the unique excellent and refreshing aroma of Shincha.

Shincha (the first tea of the year) is harvested starting at the beginning of May in Kyoto. We are planning to sell some limited edition Shincha items only available this Shincha harvest season. Celebrate our first tea harvest of the year with Hibiki-an's Shincha and enjoy the remarkable fresh flavor, which can only be experienced once every year! Please wait and see!