🌿 Taste the Essence of Early Summer: June’s Onsen Box Features Freshly Picked Shincha from Yamahiraen
This June, Onsen Box invites you to experience a uniquely Japanese seasonal delight — shincha, or “new tea.” We’ve selected a special first-harvest green tea from Yamahiraen, a family-run, organic tea farm nestled in the mountains of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan’s most renowned tea-growing region.
🍵 What is Shincha?
Shincha (新茶) is Japan’s first flush of green tea — the tender, young leaves harvested once a year, in early spring. This year’s harvest began around May 1st, the traditional “88th Night” (Hachijuhachiya) on the Japanese calendar. It is said that drinking shincha picked around this date brings good health and longevity for the year.
Only tea harvested during this short window can be called shincha — making it a truly limited and precious experience. Shincha is celebrated for its vibrant aroma, fresh sweetness, and a clean, uplifting finish that embodies the arrival of summer.
We’ve chosen the Yabukita cultivar — Japan’s most widely loved variety — for its rich umami and beautifully balanced taste.
🌱 Meet the Farmers: Yamahiraen of Shizuoka
Yamahiraen is a small, fourth-generation tea farm located in the misty valleys southeast of Mt. Fuji, along the Suttsugawa Gorge. Here, in an environment blessed with clean air, abundant natural water, and well-drained soil, the Yamahira family has cultivated tea using no pesticides or chemical fertilizers for over 20 years.
Their philosophy is called “soil that smiles” — a farming method that enriches the soil with natural ingredients like fish extract, soybean meal, rapeseed meal, and seaweed. These practices nurture a vibrant living ecosystem in the fields — from helpful microorganisms to ladybugs and butterflies — resulting in healthier tea plants and more flavorful leaves.
Yamahiraen earned Organic JAS certification in 2021, and they maintain a fully in-house operation: growing, processing, and packaging all tea on-site to ensure traceability and freshness.
But they are more than just farmers — they are also stewards of tradition. The current head of the farm, Mr. Toshihiro Hirayanagi, is deeply involved in preserving Japan’s vanishing hand-rolling tea techniques. He serves as chairman of both the Shizuoka and National Hand-rolled Tea Associations. One of their signature teas, Shin Harumidori, is a hand-picked, hand-rolled single-origin varietal known for its floral aroma and deep, lingering taste.
🫖 A Rare Moment, Delivered to You
With this month’s Onsen Box, you’re not just receiving a premium tea — you’re tasting a fleeting moment in time, a connection to Japan’s lush mountains, sustainable agriculture, and deep-rooted traditions.
To enjoy:
- Steep gently in hot (not boiling) water, around 70–75°C (160–170°F)
- Let it brew for about 1 minute
- Inhale the fragrance, take a sip, and let Japan’s early summer wash over you
We hope this carefully selected shincha brings you peace, clarity, and a taste of the season — wherever you are in the world.
