Shincha Diary 2025
Shincha 2025 will be here in about a month. While we wait patiently for its arrival, we start to wonder what this character of tea this year’s harvest will bring. In the meantime, check back here from time to time to see the progress of the tea trees growing in the mountains south of Kyoto.
- Release Date Finalized!
May 1, 2025 - Hachiju Hachiya｜Weather: Sunny
Ippodo’s Shincha 2025 will release in Japan on Saturday, May 10th.
The fragrance of fresh-picked tea from the fields is fleeting and can only be experienced now.
Our Kyoto headquarters’ factory is running at full speed, and everyone is working hard to get this tea ready.
We start shipping Shincha very soon. Please wait just a little more!
- Wisteria
April 25, 2025｜Weather: Sunny
On the road to the tea fields, you will often spot wisteria.
The purple flowers are now in full blossom, right as the tea harvest begins.
A day after the new leaves were harvested in this field, the rows of tea trees look clean and sharp.
- The First Market
April 23, 2025｜Weather: Cloudy
Early sprouting tea fields have been harvested and processed, and in the Uji area in Kyoto, today was the first market for tea this year. For a tea shop, it’s like New Year’s. From today, the start of a new year!
- New Leaves’ Brilliance
April 21, 2025｜Weather: Sunny
The fields are awash in the brilliant colour of young new tea leaves.
Isn’t it beautiful?
Today felt like the start of summer.
- Nourishing Rain
April 20, 2025｜Weather: Clouds followed by rain
The weekend it was almost as hot as summer.
With today’s rain and the past few days’ bright sunlight, the tea leaves are bursting with energy. They’re growing incredibly!
- After the Rain
April 14, 2025｜Weather: Sun followed by clouds
The new tea leaves create a fluffy, marbled pattern over the field. The fluorescent green colour feels almost otherworldly to us.
This year, the sakura flowers bloomed steadily, and we enjoyed seeing them for several weeks.
The tea leaves are also growing steadily, healthily and beautifully.
April 12, 2025｜Weather: Sunny
The whole field is now covered in a shade of bright green from the new leaves. It seems like the little leaves are almost basking in the golden sunlight, absorbing its nourishing rays.
The young new leaves are so strong, yet so fleeting. They brim with the powerful new energy of spring, and yet they’re only here for a short few weeks before being harvested. Every year when we witness their fleeting energy, we feel moved.
Today was warm enough to wear short sleeves. We were happy to see the new leaves’ healthy progress.
- New Buds
April 4, 2025｜Weather: Rain followed by sun
The new tea buds’ growth was officially announced today. The announcement came right on time for a typical year.
While cold weather continues, we are hoping the buds will grow up healthy and strong!
March 31, 2025｜Weather: Sunny
The tea trees appear to be ready to send out new shoots at any moment. But, the weather up in the mountains is still quite chilly, so it may be a few more days. This year’s winter was long and cold, and the trees spent the time hibernating and storing their energy for new spring growth.
