Hibiki-an

[IPT]

I am sadly ignorant when it comes to Japanese Tea. I was impressed with HIbiki-an's website and information, but they seem pretty expensive. Are their teas worth the prices? Are there better places to get equal, or better Japanese Teas?

Thanks for your time.

[TwoPynts]

Can't vouch for their tea or the pricing is normal, but I like their site. Now you've got me wanting to try some of their Houjicha (Bancha).

http://www.hibiki-an.com/

[britt]

I personally think Hibiki-an is very overpriced and their quality okay but not worth the extra money. Their teaware is often overpriced as well. I got one of their special Raku chawan from Artistic Nippon for $100 less than Hibiki-an, after taking shipping costs into account.

I prefer these vendors, not listed in any special order:

Yuuki-cha
O-Cha
Zencha
Ippodo (matcha)

Second group:

Ippodo (sencha, etc.)
Maiko

Third group:

Hibiki-an (their teabags are very good)

[IPT]

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll check them out.

[Chip]

I had not had Hibiki-an teas for a few years, but had several selections this shincha (2010 harvest). I can say I was a pretty big fan of Hibiki-an from around 2006-2008. I really enjoyed their sencha and even the fukamushi supreme was a good value, cheap, and pretty good.

I am not sure if other vendors' teas have improved overall, or Hibiki-an had a bad year (with the weather maybe). But relatively speaking, that is relative to other vendors and past experiences, I was less impressed with the 2010 shincha. It was not bad, just not as outstanding as I remembered it.

My current fave 5 Japanese vendors ... in order.

O-Cha
Zencha
Maiko
Den's
Rishi

Ippodo should fit in there somehow ...

[IPT]

Thanks Chip. I really appreciate it.

[Tead Off]

Thanks Chip. I really appreciate it.

For me, the difference is always in the higher end teas. Their premium and pinnacle teas have been very good if not better than most of the other vendors. But, Ippodo has never disappointed and is always mentioned by tea people as being one of the best in Japan.

Personally, my disappointment with most vendors is their lack of handmade, organic teas. Maybe they are just too expensive for most businesses to sell much of. But, I don't buy the reasoning that organic is not as tasty as non-organic Japanese teas. To me, organic is always what tea should taste like, not enriched or messed with in any way. Then, the art of the tea processor becomes prominent. Some have the magic, some don't.

[rdl]

I am sadly ignorant when it comes to Japanese Tea. I was impressed with HIbiki-an's website and information, but they seem pretty expensive. Are their teas worth the prices? Are there better places to get equal, or better Japanese Teas?
Thanks for your time.

i purchased their houjicha karigane and i felt it was superior to others i have tasted. however, it is expensive but maybe this is because of their using ichibancha tea leaves. (see quote from hibiki-an website below.) i am wondering which other tea sellers use ichibancha exclusively for their tea selections? in my mind i attribute this to the higher prices they sell their teas for.
from hibiki-an: "Generally Houjicha is made with various tea leaves, Ichibancha (first harvested), pruned tea leaves, second and third harvested tea and so on. Of course, like all of our teas, our Houjicha is made from only Ichibancha (first harvested)."

[Ambrose]

I think their tea ware is overpriced, their teas to me are great. Some of their teas are a little expensive. Superior sencha is a staple in my tea consumption. Its my favorite tea for the money $28 for 200 grams, I also love the free ship over $38 and that comes in rocket fast. I also loved the aracha farmers shincha, best shincha Ive ever tried. The matcha superior is nasty bad, but yet I loved the super premium.

[rdl]

I also loved the aracha farmers shincha, best shincha Ive ever tried.

i had forgotten i ordered, last year, the aracha, and i agree, it is incredibly delicious.

[alan logan]

i am wondering which other tea sellers use ichibancha exclusively for their tea selections? in my mind i attribute this to the higher prices they sell their teas for.

yuuki-cha does and their 3 hojicha are $10 (I don't know ibiki's hojicha so I could not compare). others certainly do too, you may eg want to check maiko.

[chingwa]

I'm a fan of Hibiki-an, they have some great selections. not every tea from every provider will be good, but they are definitely worthy of attention and an order or two. Their houjicha is actually my favorite... I recommend the houjicha karigane instead of the normal houjicha.

And for what it's worth, if you're going to compare prices between different sites it would be good to make note of how much tea you are actually buying. Yuuki-cha's houjicha is sold as 100 grams for $10. Hibiki-an's is sold as 200 grams for $20... or $21 for the karigane... seems pretty comparable to me.

[Chip]

... I should say, Hibiki-an is still easily in my personal top 10, like I said, not bad at all. I hope to revisit their sencha this harvest. 2 years ago, I really liked their Sencha Premium. Now they added Fukamushi Premium.

[britt]

I had not had Hibiki-an teas for a few years, but had several selections this shincha (2010 harvest). I can say I was a pretty big fan of Hibiki-an from around 2006-2008. I really enjoyed their sencha and even the fukamushi supreme was a good value, cheap, and pretty good.

I am not sure if other vendors' teas have improved overall, or Hibiki-an had a bad year (with the weather maybe). But relatively speaking, that is relative to other vendors and past experiences, I was less impressed with the 2010 shincha. It was not bad, just not as outstanding as I remembered it.

My current fave 5 Japanese vendors ... in order.

O-Cha
Zencha
Maiko
Den's
Rishi

Ippodo should fit in there somehow ...

I think you missed one........oops, forgot!

[britt]

I had only purchased their top 2 grades and didn't think they were worth the extra money. Enough people seem to like Hibiki-an's teas that maybe I should try their moderately priced teas, as the expectations won't be so high. I will repeat, though, just to be fair- I do think their teabags are excellent and Hibiki-an overall was still on my list.