Shincha 2026: What to Expect This Year
Each year, we eagerly await the arrival of Shincha—the first sencha of the season, harvested and shipped at its freshest. Here’s what to look forward to for Shincha 2026.
April marks the start of the most exciting season for Japanese green tea. In the mountains, the tea plants will soon send out their new buds. After weeks of growth and anticipation, the first and most important harvest of the year will be finished.
Every year, we release a portion of sencha —the most classic Japanese green tea—right after harvest, as Shincha, while saving the rest for our regular blends.
Shincha season for us is like New Year’s: a celebration of a year of work by producers and farmers, and a celebration of the beauty of nature.
What Is Shincha?
Shincha is a special release of sencha green tea, available only right after harvest. Unlike regular sencha, which is rested before release, Shincha is shipped as soon as possible after the leaves are picked—making it one of the freshest teas you can experience.
Because of its freshness, Shincha has a uniquely vibrant, energetic character that can only be enjoyed once a year.
Important Update: The 2026 Shincha Release
This year, our release of Shincha will be arriving around a month later than in previous years. We expect to offer it on ippodotea.pro around mid-June.
We decided to delay the release in response to evolving conditions in the Japanese tea industry.
This year, we expect the first market teas for Shincha releases to be volatile and limited in supply.
A later release date for Ippodo Shincha will allow us to securely source teas that match our high standards of taste and aroma.
Our blending team will work vigilantly this year, as in all years, to craft a Shincha with the vibrance, freshness, and energy that you love, while reflecting the distinct character of this year’s harvest.
Greater Industry Context
If you’ve followed us over the past year, you may have seen our announcements about a major shift in the industry. To summarize:
First, there was an increase in demand for matcha that far surpassed supplies and production capabilities. Then, to meet the demand, farmers began shifting production to matcha, away from other types—like sencha and bancha—leading to limited supplies for these staples as well.
Looking to the 2026 tea markets, we expect this dramatic shift in the industry to affect Shincha production, too.
We are expecting Shincha to be even more limited in supply than in previous years, so we recommend preordering Shincha this year in order to secure your portion.
Excitement for the New Harvest
Thank you for your patience with us during this time of dramatic change for the industry.
A lot is still undetermined about the Shincha release, as we are waiting to see how the tea leaves grow over the coming weeks. We hope you join us in looking forward to sipping a tall glass of iced Shincha soon.
To learn more about the harvest and be among the first to hear when Shincha arrives, subscribe to our email newsletter (you’ll find the signup form at the end of this article).
