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About Hibiki-an

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
22-1 Kuchijodo Iwayama
Ujitawara, Kyoto 610-0261
Japan

US Branch Office: Hibiki-an Corporation
Las Vegas, Nevada
United States

The Birthplace of Japanese Tea

We are located birthplace of Japanese tea. The tea produced in Uji in Kyoto has a much deeper taste and aroma and a more noble color than the tea produced in any other region of Japan. Among tea farmers and leaders in the tea industry, Uji in the Kyoto region is envied as an exceptional presence. What is the reason for this?

1. The birthplace of Japanese tea

When the Buddhist monk, Eisai popularized the idea of tea drinking around A.D.1191, farmers began growing tea leaves at Obuku area in Ujitawara, Kyoto. Sohen Nagatani (1681-1778) also developed the Japanese tea processing method that is standard today in Ujitawara in the Uji region around A.D. 1738. Everyone agrees that this process makes the best-tasting tea.
We, Hibiki-an, are located very near to both the house where he was born and the Obuku area at where tea trees were firstly planted in Uji region.

2. 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.
For many years, Uji has been the only region in Japan where all kinds of high grade tea including Matcha, Gyokuro, and Sencha have been produced. Throughout history, farmers in this region have grown high grade tea with loving care, so the methods, soil quality, and breeds of tea have been perfected over time.

3. 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.

In the last few years, the Japanese tea industry has improved processing, preserving, and marketing techniques, which have helped to preserve the essential flavor and freshness of Japanese green tea from the farm to the customer so that people around the world can enjoy a fresh cup of high grade Matcha, Gyokuro, or Sencha.

Quality and Prices

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.

  • The reason of our quality and price
  • Our product range

Product Line and Range
Our product line and range of genuine Japanese tea are quite extensive and all teas are grown only in the Uji, Kyoto region. Our tea categories include Gyokuro, Sencha, Matcha, Genmaicha, Houjicha, Certified Organic, and Teabag. Each category has a wide range of products from middle grade every-day tea to the special highest grade hand picked tea.

Hibiki-an’s Limited Tea Schedule

We, at Hibiki-an, offer a wide range of seasonal limited edition teas as well as our regular teas. They are all limited quantity, and available only at specific times of the year. They will certainly deepen and enhance your green moment.
Learn all about these limited edition teas by reading our website and newsletter. Keep an eye on the calendar and don't miss these special offerings!

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International Delivery

We ship a large number of parcels to our customers worldwide directly from Uji in Kyoto every day. All of them are smoothly and safely delivered to customers thanks to convenient international transportation service and the internet. In the extremely rare case that the parcel is delayed for any reason (customs inspection, postal jam, etc.), we will work with our customers until the package is safely delivered. For more information, please consult with Shipping & Return page.

Social Action Works of Hibiki-an

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, please visit UNICEF page.)

  • The Letter of Appreciation from Unicef

Ashinaga

We also donate a part of every month's sales revenue to Ashinaga. Ashinaga provides financial support and emotional care to young people around the world who have lost either one or both parents. With a history of more than 55 years, our support has enabled more than 110,000 orphaned students to gain access to higher education.
(For more information, please visit Ashinaga page.)

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.

  • 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