Ippodo Tea Co. Celebrates 300 Years

Ippodo Tea Co. Celebrates 300 Years
Preserving the Japanese Green Tea Tradition for Three Centuries

Kyoto, JAPAN – (March 13, 2017) Ippodo, one of the world’s most prestigious sources of Japanese green tea, is a company richly steeped in tradition, and proud to celebrate its momentous 300th Anniversary this year.

Continuously owned and operated by the Watanabe family for three centuries, Ippodo has upheld the culture of Japanese tea since 1717 when founder Rihei Watanabe established a teashop called Omiya in Kyoto, just south of the Imperial Palace. In 1846, the shop was renamed Ippodo by Prince Yamashina, which literally means “preserve one” in Japanese, as he wanted the shop to forever maintain its tradition of providing high quality tea cultivated from the lush fields outside of Kyoto.

To this day, Ippodo stayed true to this wish, by providing a superlative tea with consistent flavor for hundreds of years. Also at the heart of the Ippodo mission is to educate the public on the subtleties of this divine brew, in the hope that consumers will discover all the delicate pleasures that each green tea has to offer.

“To us, tea is not only a beverage, but an experience to be enjoyed and cherished,” says Masakazu Watanabe, Director of Ippodo. “As with fine wine, different teas and their flavor profiles pair so well with various meals as well as life moments.”

Along with preserving the Japanese green tea tradition, Ippodo aims to share this tea experience globally, through tea workshops and partnerships in major metropolitan cities worldwide. In addition to their three retail stores (Kyoto, Tokyo, and New York) and online shop, Ippodo’s heritage teas can now be enjoyed at Sqirl restaurant in Los Angeles, The Japan Store Isetan Mitsukoshi in Paris, So in London, and many other global destinations. And as Japanese green tea continues to grow in popularity, from the recent matcha craze to increased interest in lesser-known teas, Ippodo will be the luxury tea retailer name to recognize when searching for quality, authenticity and taste.

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About Ippodo:
Ippodo Tea has provided the most discerning Japanese tea connoisseurs with the highest quality green tea since 1717, garnering popularity worldwide for its unparalleled excellence and flavor. Their flagship store and Kaboku Tearoom is located in Kyoto, Japan. They also have a retail location in Tokyo, Japan and their first international outpost in New York City. For more information, please visit http://www.ippodo-tea.co.jp/en/

For more information please contact:

Aimee Bianca
YC Media
212-609-5009
aimee@ycmedia.com