Collection: SHINCHA

New Tea

Tea plants go dormant in autumn and spend the winter protecting themselves from freezing. When they awaken in the spring leaf buds open and the first small, tender leaves are harvested for shincha. According to the traditional Japanese agricultural calendar, the best time to harvest tea is the 88th day after Risshun (February 4), which marks the first day of spring and is also considered the beginning of the New Year in the old Chinese calendar. Shincha is celebrated for its delicate flavor with little astringency. It is also called ichiban-cha or first tea.