Hibiki-an "Official" Japanese tea topic

[Oni]

I also find them way overpriced, compared to maiko and horaido, at their shop you can get for 30 $ a handpicked sencha, at hibiki you get a machiene picked one for 28 $, I prefer to spend that money at horaido, and drink way higher quality, not to mention marukyu koyamaen products, you can get competition grade tea for 30 $.

[Chip]

EDIT: Review removed due to TeaVendor Guideline violation.

#9 ... Reviews may be posted by any member in good standing and who has been a member for at least 3 months and has at least 25 forum posts.

[Ambrose]

I used to love hibikian alot but recently I too do find that the cost doesnt match the quality in most but not all cases. I still stand by their sencha superior and there sencha premium. Ive tried them all including their pinnacle sencha. I do love their super premium matcha, its not too mild. Its got a nice fresh uji crisp finish with a nice intense flavor. They dont post negative reviews. I placed one about their matcha superior, to me this matcha was really undrinkable, I tried a few times and tossed it. Maybe its more suitable for food in my opinion. I do love the free shipping over $36 and I love their limited offerings.

[AdamMY]

I've now tried everything in my Hibiki-an order from a month ago. I will say one thing I do not like about the vendor is how all the teas are packaged to be roughly the same price. I am not sure I really needed to buy 200 grams of either houjicha or Genmaicha, and I would have much rather gone wit 1 bag instead of two.

That being said I really enjoyed the Kuradashi Sencha, and the Kuradashi Gyokuro was on par with all the Gyokuro I have tried so far. Its some of their lower end offerings that I am a bit hesitant on, as while they might be good in a pinch, I do not want to pay just as much for their low grade tea's, as one of their higher grades even though I get double as much or more.

I will say I will likely try them again to try more of their higher end teas.

[Kevangogh]

In Japan, (non-organic) houjicha, genmaicha, and bancha 200 gram packages are the norm. Most of the suppliers have been packaging for their Japanese customers in mind for years before they started selling abroad.

[AdamMY]

In Japan, (non-organic) houjicha, genmaicha, and bancha 200 gram packages are the norm. Most of the suppliers have been packaging for their Japanese customers in mind for years before they started selling abroad.

Thank you for clearing that up Kevangogh.

[demonyc]

Had my first experience with Hibiki-an a while ago. Nice website, easy to navigate. I purchased some teaware from them several months ago. I thought the stuff I purchased was pretty good quality for the most part, if you don't mind getting more mass-produced stuff. I must agree with other people who posted here: it seems like they only publish positive reviews of their products. I gave a 5 star review, which was immediately posted, but my 3-star review never went up on the site and prompted a contact directly from the proprietor Atsushi Yasui asking for clarification and photos. I sent them in and provided clarification about some of the points I discussed in the review, only to be met with a somewhat condescending attitude and assurances that "I was wrong." A very unfortunate experience, but I don't think it will prevent me from doing business with them again.

Bottom line: the company seems decent, I think the quality of the teaware is pretty good for the prices, and shipping is fantastically fast and inexpensive. My bad experience with the proprietor did not really detract from the overall purchase, and I still greatly enjoy the sencha cup set that I purchased (which was my 5-star review).

[SilentChaos]

Hibiki-an was my first real Japanese vendor. I've only had their sencha superior, gyo superior and fuka premium so far. The sencha superior I thought was decent and a possible daily sencha candidate. The gyo superior had a fragrant aroma but the taste is all over the place, astringent and just awful (not sure what the idea is behind it). I have their fuka premium open now, and IMHO one of the best yabukita senchas I've tasted (though I haven't had many high end yabukitas). Will be looking to try their premium range senchas soon.

EDIT: I was mistaken about the fuka premium being a yabukita. It's Yabukita and Samidori.

[sherubtse]

Hibiki-an was my first real Japanese vendor. I've only had their sencha superior, gyo superior and fuka premium so far. The sencha superior I thought was decent and a possible daily sencha candidate. The gyo superior had a fragrant aroma but the taste is all over the place, astringent and just awful (not sure what the idea is behind it). I have their fuka premium open now, and IMHO one of the best yabukita senchas I've tasted (though I haven't had many high end yabukitas). Will be looking to try their premium range senchas soon.

I have been looking at some of their teas, to give them a try. Might go with the Fuka Superior, as well as the Matcha Superior.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[SilentChaos]

I'm rather skeptical about the fuka superior though. The site says the superior is blended with gyo leaves and fuka and gyo superior are of the yabukita and okumidori breeds. So, I'm thinking that it is perhaps blended with the gyo superior - which still might be nice but I'm not sure. The Fuka premium is definitely worth a try though, *actually sipping a 5th brew of it right now

[sherubtse]

I'm rather skeptical about the fuka superior though. The site says the superior is blended with gyo leaves and fuka and gyo superior are of the yabukita and okumidori breeds. So, I'm thinking that it is perhaps blended with the gyo superior - which still might be nice but I'm not sure. The Fuka premium is definitely worth a try though, *actually sipping a 5th brew of it right now

Yes, you may well be right. I'll re-think my choices.

Thanks for the feedback.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Chip]

When I was newer to Japanese teas, I actually quite liked the Fukamushi Superior. It has been several years since I had it though. It is a bit rough compared to more highbrow offerings, but this is to be expected, right?!?

In the economical line, I always liked their Sencha Karigane with all sencha components, possibly my fave karigane/kukicha.

[SilentChaos]

When I was newer to Japanerse teas, I actually quite liked the Fukamushi Superior. It has been several years since I had it though. It is a bit rough compared to more highbrow offerings, but this is to be expected, right?!?

In the economical line, I always liked their Sencha Karigane with all sencha components, possibly my fave karigane/kukicha.

Agreed. When I got to know Japaneses teas a bit better, the rougher stuff just tastes even rougher, which is also rougher on the wallet
Going for their karigane over their gyo or fuka superior sounds like good economical way to go...hmmm....*checks my wallet

[Bakkoi]

I can't say I've cared much for the few teas of theirs I have tried, but I have always had very pleasant experiences dealing with the owner. I buy most of my teaware from Hibiki-An, and I just ordered another kyusu set tonight. Seven minutes later, I got another email: my order has been shipped.

[MacGuffin]

The Hohryu kyusu was my second one and was well worth the price. This was a great kyusu which I finally replaced because I prefer sasame filters over metal ones.

I also have this pot and love it. Hibiki-an was also my first Japanese vendor, my hohryu was my first kyusu, and although I also tend to prefer a sasame filter, this one performs perfectly, including with fukas (which I later discovered I tend to prefer to asas), plus I love its thin walls and light weight. I couldn't ask for a better all-around kyusu and I'm happy my first choice worked out so well, especially since they were still being shipped in wooden boxes back then.

BTW, while I don't think vendors' posting only stellar customer reviews makes for good policy, I've had nothing but good experiences with both Hibiki-an and Mr. Yasui. I moved farther afield (but not away) simply because I also like tea from regions other than Uji--I guess you could call it a matter of terroir. I'll also add that my friend Amy gifted me with some Tsuen Uji Matcha Manten from O-Cha years back that I was able to compare side-by-side with Hibiki-an's Pinnacle grade and if the Manten WAS any better, it wasn't enough to justify what was at that time a sizable difference in price (if you factor in shipping, it's still quite a bit).