Welcome to your first day!

Today's tea is from Yusando Tea Garden in Nara. We had the great pleasure of helping Ryoto-san with his spring harvest this year. This tea is Yusando's Naturally Grown Houjiro Hojicha. A mild medium roast green tea with very low caffeine content. All tea from Yusando is grown without use of pesticides or chemical fertilisers

5g included: 5g | 300ml | 90°C | 1-2mins

Day 2 is Lemongrass Kamairicha from Kajihara Tea Garden down in Kumamoto prefecture on Kyusu Island. Made with organically processed tea and lemongrass all grown by Kajihara-san himself.

We love this tea when we are feeling under the weather or when we need a boost of energy. The lemongrass has a beautiful citrus flavour and the green tea is pan-fired making it more rounded with cooked vegetal notes compared to a steamed green tea.

3g (included) | 200ml | 80°C ( go cooler if you prefer for more infusions) 60seconds.

Our first of 2 wakocha in this advent selection. A spring harvest, single cultivar Benifuuki Wakocha from Chiyonoen. Chiyoneon is based in Yabe Village, Yame, Fukuoka in Kyusu.

Benifuuki is known as a fantastic cultivar for black tea. The tea is slightly floral with mildy fruity flavours. It works perfectly as a breakfast tea or alongside a festive mince pie!

3g (included) | 200ml | 90°C | 3min

Day 4 is our classic Genmaicha.

This Ichibancha Genmaicha is blended with first flush spring green tea with toasted brown rice. Processed by Shogyokuen in Kyoto.

5g (included) | 200ml | 70°C | 60sec

The 5th is a special tea from Azuma Tea Garden in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture.

This Aged Single Cultivar White Tea started as a personal passion project for tea farmer Teruko Azuma. She would pick the spring leaves, dry and age them for herself to enjoy in small quantities. After creating this tea and sharing with visitors such as ourselves for a few years, she decided to make larger quantities to start to sell.

She recommends brewing with fairly high temperatures and steeping the leaves many times. Feel free to use boiling water after the first few infusions.

5g (included) | 200ml | 80-90°C | 1-2min

We only recently started selling this green tea and we wanted to share in this advent calendar in case you missed it!

Tamaryokucha Irika from Matsuo-chaen in Sonogi, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu.

Tamaryokucha is not widely produced throughout Japan so many people have not tried this unusual variation of steamed green tea. Rather than being rolled into the characteristic needle shape of sencha, these leaves have been dried and allowed to curl after steaming. This particular tea is also lightly roasted while steaming giving the tea a delicious toasty aroma.

5g (included) | 200ml | 70°C | 40-60seconds

We are taking our first trip down to the Ryukyu Kingdom today with Sanpincha Jasmine from Nakazen in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture.

Due to it's proximity to Taiwan and China, Okinawa has been a trading spot for Japan for hundreds of years. Jasmine tea made with semi oxidised and fermented green tea from China is one of the main staples of the Okinawan diet. This sanpincha can be found all over the islands, served in restaurants similar to hojicha or genmaicha on the mainland.

We love this tea cold in the summer but it works wonderfully alongside or after any heavy meals to help you digest.

3g (included) | 300ml | 90°C | 2-3min

Toasted buckwheat tea from from Chasandai Tea Factory, Shimane Prefecture. The roasted nutty flavour is a favourite with Japanese people and is commonly found in Japanese restaurants.

Once brewed, rather than throwing out the grain you could try adding to a bowl of rice!

We've included 10g of the tea in the tin. You can either brew a large amount or have it in two sittings.

5g (10g included) 250ml | 90°C | 3-5mins

As a huge fans of Taiwanese oolongs we were delighted to find this tea when visiting a farmer in the north of Kyoto Prefecture. This Single Cultivar Minamisayaka Oolong from Dragon Knights tea as a wonderful floral aroma and creamy biscuit notes.

4g (included) | 300ml | 80°C | 2-3mins

Multiple infusions possible

A bright, refreshing and zesty green tea today with Ohana Botanica's Island Breeze.

This Sencha from Shizuoka, has been blended with Yuzu peel powder, also from Shizuoka, and Matcha from Shimane.

A fantastic green tea for this time of year as yuzu citrus is in peak season and the blend of green teas are full of cold and flu busting Vitamin C and antioxidants

5g (included) | 200ml | 70°C | 1-2mins

For the second infusion, increase the temperature slightly and decrease the brewing time: 80°/45 seconds

Another tea from Ryotoro-san at Yusando Tea Garden in Nara.

Ryotoro naturally grown both the tea and the rice for this Hoji-Genmaicha. A mild, sweet and toasty tea with almost no caffeine.

5g (included) | 300ml | 90°C | 2-3min

Another trip down to Okinawa today with Nakazen's Guava Leaf Tea.

Grown in Okianwa this herbal tea is rich in antioxidants and anti inflammatory properties.

3g (included) | 300ml | 100°C | 3-10mins

Today is a special single cultivar Tsuyuhikari Sencha from award winning farmer Uejima Noriyasu in Wazuka, Kyoto.

The first flush tea was Uejima-san's favourite of the season. Originally developed in Shizuoka the Tsuyuhikari cultivar has a bright colour with natural umami and sweetness.

5g (included) | 150-200ml | 70°C | 60sec

For the second and third infusions you can gently increase temperature and decrease brewing times. Each infusion will develop different flavour profiles

The 14th marks the first powdered tea of the box.

This Deep Roast Hojicha Powder from Izumo Seicha, Shimane Prefecture, makes a wonderful latte. At this time of year we often like to spice it up with a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice.

We've included 6g of tea in the bag. Use this to make three smaller lattes or two more intense infusions. Just a splash of water to mix and then add your warm milk of choice. If you have one you can also add the paste directly into a milk foamer and make your latte directly in the machine!

2/3g (6 included) | splash of warm water to mix | 200-300ml warm milk to taste

Another tea from farmer Ryotaro at Yusando Tea Garden in Nara Prefecture.

This spring harvest, blended cultivar Kamairicha is a pan fired green tea that has a well rounded flavour with mellow sweetness and low astringency.

3g (included) | 250ml | 80°C | 60sec

Brew hotter for your second infusion.

The most northerly grown tea in our box comes from Shizuoka Prefecture.

This award winning tea, Yakushima Cedar Wood Smoked Hojicha, from Kaneroku Matsumoto-en has a strong smoked aroma and roasted flavour. Even though the flavour of this tea is strong there is a subtle sweetness and low astringency. This is a wonderful tea to pair alongside savoury meals but can also be cold brewed to be used in cocktails

3g (included) | 200ml | 90°C | 1-2mins

Time for a change of pace with a shaded, umami rich green tea from Kyusu.

Today we have first flush Heritage Grade, Den Gyokuro from Kurihara Tea Garden in Yame, Fukuoka.

This tea has been shaded under a traditional Honzu, straw canopy. The shading brings out a delicious sweetness and umami in the green tea leaves.

These leaves can be infused at least 4 times.

We recommend doing the a very small concentrated first infusion at a cool temperature and then build up to larger and warmer temperatures.

1st: 5g (included) | 50-100ml | 50°C | 60sec

2nd: 100ml | 60°C | 40-60sec

3rd: 100ml |70-80C | 40-60sec

Once you've finished brewing, why not add a splash of soy and sesame to the leaves and enjoy as a side dish with a bowl of rice!

Today is another trip to Azuma Tea Garden in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture.

This dark Single Cultivar, Uji Midori Oolong was inspired by Teruko Azuma's time learning about traditional oolong processing and has been created using a similar process to that of Taiwanese Oriental Beauty.

This rich and floral oolong is even more delicious when paired with sweets.

5g (included) | 250ml | 90°C | 3-4mins

This is a very special tea that we are launching from a new farm this December!

This green tea comes from Tea Factory Gen in Hiroshima Prefecture. A once thriving tea region, Hiroshima is now home to many abandoned tea gardens across various parts of the region. Tea farmer Genki has made it is mission to reclaim and revive these fields bringing the tea and flavours of the region to the world.

This single cultivar, Yabukita Sencha has been blended with local citrus flowers from neighbouring fruit orchards. All of Genki's teas are micro batch, naturally grown with the deepest respect for the ecosystem around him.

5g (included) | 200ml | 70°C | 1-2mins

Our last trip to Okinawa for this advent journey.

18 Herbs for Longevity from Nakazen in Nanjo-shi, Okinawa Prefecture. This blend was created by founder Katsuo Nakamoto based on the Okinawan idea of Nuchigusui or "life medicine"

This blended herbal tea includes a touch of oolong so isn't totally caffeine free but, having said that, it's still suitable for enjoying before bed. We like to brew this tea in a big pot to enjoy as a group or to sip at over a long cosy afternoon.

8g | 400ml | 95°C | 4-6 mins

As we move toward the big day we're spicing things up with this fragrant Menehune: Hojicha, the second tea in the box from Ohana Botanica.

This stem or kuki hojicha from Shizuoka has been blended with ginger and Japanese sansho pepper, giving the toasty tea a warming citrus glow.

We like to brew this one at cooler temperatures than we usually do for hojicha, this will bring out the fragrance of the spices and keep the sweetness of the stem tea.

3g (included) | 200ml | 70°C | 1-2mins

A visit back to Kyoto today with Obubu Tea Garden's Dark Roast Hojicha. Grown in Wazuka, this deep and chocolatey roasted green tea can be brewed lighter or darker depending on your preference.

Charlie likes it brewed for less time for a lighter and sweeter toasted brew. Chris like to leave the tea to brew much longer for a dark almost tobacco like flavour.

4g (included) | 300ml | 90°C | 1-2mins

A special new tea for Christmas Eve Eve.

This tea comes from a new farm and a prefecture we've yet to thoroughly explore.

Issen-in is an award winning farm located in the south of Kyushu, in Miyazaki Prefecture.

The farm specialises in black teas and oolong and we are thrilled to bring a few of their Wakocha cultivars to you from this years harvest.

This small batch, Single Cultivar Izumi Wakocha has both stone fruit and floral notes. This rare cultivar is sometimes referred to as a mythical cultivar because so few farmers still grow it. We hope you will enjoy as much as we do!

5g (included) | 250ml| 90°C | 1-2mins

A relatively new tea from our collection for Christmas Eve

Shira-ore from Chiyonoen in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture. This tea is made from stems of gyokuro. In other areas of Japan this type of tea is known as Karigane Kukicha.

The umami flavour from the gyokuro cultivation is not as strong in the stem compared with the leaf. This results in a tea that is balanced with sweet savoury flavours.

5g (included) | 200ml | 80°C | 60seconds

Happy Christmas!

We hope you've loved this advent of exploration into Japanese teas and prefectures.

Christmas day invited to to enjoy this Uji Matcha from Uejima Souroken. Rei Matcha is fantastic enjoyed as is with water in Usucha preparation but also makes a delicious latte if that's more your vibe.

6g included: Use 2g for usucha or 3g for a latte.

* 2g | 60ml | 70°C

* 3g | 15ml 70°C water to mix | 150ml warm milk of choice

We decided to give a little boxing day bonus to say thank you for coming on this tea journey with us!

Todays tea is another trip to our friends in Yame, Fukuoka, Chiyonoen. The Osobuki Kuki Hojicha is a light roast stem tea.

Brew at cooler temperatures to bring out the toasted, hay like flavour from this tea.

4g (included) | 300ml | 80°C | 1-2mins