Japanese Green Tea Advent Calendar – Stay Warm & Happy Drinking!
An Amazing Gift for Someone that Enjoys Green Tea
One of my bestest friends gifted me a green tea advent calendar. It didn’t come in a calendar shape, but rather as 24 red envelopes, each with a sticker on the back for the corresponding day. Each envelope contained a packet of green tea sample (later days contain multiple samples), as well as a card with a poem and brewing instructions. Very cute!
Packaging and Methods
The envelopes needed to be organized, as there was no box included to keep them in. I placed them all on a tier of my filing tray, and saved the envelopes and cards once I consume a particular day’s tea and place the tea-less envelopes on another tray. The sample tea packets varied in packaging; some were extremely plain with a label listing what tea it is, and others were more elaborate with a design and the tea name printed directly on the packaging. Both the cards and sample packets contained brewing instructions, which I did not follow strictly. They had recommended temperatures to brew the tea, but I just heated my water up and brewed it without checking the temperature. They all still tasted good.
My Favorite
Most of the green teas tasted similar to me, with exception of the matcha teas and the hojicha teas. My favorite ones were the matcha for a couple reasons – no brewing required as I just mixed in hot water and stirred/whisked, and the taste was delicious.
So Many Teas!
Below are the teas in order that I received and sampled. Descriptions and brewing instructions come directly from the Nio Tea’s website. There are some inconsistencies between what their website states and what it says directly on the packaging, but they are very minor.
Tea List!
December 1 – 5
- December 1: 5g Gyokuro Cha Musume: Kagoshima Gyokuro with a straight to the point umami flavor.
Steep for 2 minutes at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 2: 5g Murasaki Sencha: Super green, deep steamed tea from Kagoshima. This fukamushi sencha has a bold full-bodied flavor, with plenty of sweetness and a hint of fruit.
Steep for 45 seconds at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 3: 2g Henta Matcha: A sweet and fresh matcha coming from the Kirishima region in southern Japan.
1-1.5g matcha per 150ml water; 80 degrees Celsius 176 degrees Fahrenheit. - December 4: 5g Nuruki Shincha: The first picked green tea of the spring, with a sweet and savory flavor and a light finish. This tea comes from Chiran, in the far south of Japan.
Steep for 1 minute at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 5: 5g Kuki Hojicha: Powerful roasted tea made from the stems of the tea plant. This tea is very low in caffeine and delivers a powerful coffee or chocolaty flavor profile.
Steep for 1 minute at 80 degrees C 175 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each.
December 6 – 10
- December 6: 5g Karigane Sakamoto: A beautiful stem tea made from the same plant used to produce Gyokuro. Smooth, sweet and fruity tea that makes a great cold brew.
Steep for 1 minute at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 7: 2g Matcha Seisui: A stronger, grassier Yabukita Matcha from the Kyoto region. This matcha works better for Matcha lattes.
1-1.5g matcha per 150ml water; 80 degrees Celsius 176 degrees Fahrenheit. - December 8: 5g Henta Okumidori: A mild, single cultivar sencha from Kirishima that has a pleasant fruity note to it.
Steep for 1 minute at 75 degrees C 167 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 9: 5g Bancha Masuda: A Shizuoka tea made from more mature tea leaves. Has a pleasant wooden note and can be steeped up to 6 times.
Steep for 1 minute at 75 degrees C 167 degrees F. Can be steeped 4-5 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 10: 5g Kukicha Osada: A stem tea from the mountain village of Isagawa that has a nice hay flavor and a mineral note at the end.
Steep for 1 minute at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each.
December 11 – 15
- December 11: 2g Matcha Kakitsubata: A fresh, vegetal Yabukita matcha from the region of Shizuoka. This matcha also works well in a latte.
1-1.5g matcha per 150ml water; 80 degrees Celsius 176 degrees Fahrenheit. - December 12: 5g Noike Hojicha: Sweeter roasted tea with a mouthwatering sensation and a subtle aftertaste of coffee.
Steep for 1 minute at 80 degrees C 175 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 13: 5g Sencha Isagawa: A smooth Sencha from the organic village in Shizuoka that gives a tingling taste on the top of the tongue and a nice citrusy note.
Steep for 1 minute at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 14: 5g Henta Asanoka: A slightly dry, single cultivar sencha with a pleasant cereal note to it
Steep for 1 minute at 75 degrees C 167 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 15: 2g Noike Matcha: A smooth and round Okumidori matcha from the area around Kyoto. This tea has less bitterness than a standard Yabukita Matcha.
Whisk 2g with 70-100 ml of water, 70C/160F.
December 16 – 20
- December 16: 5g Kasugaen Asatsuyu Sencha: A deep steamed sencha from Kagoshima. The tea starts out with a light sweet corn note, followed by a nice edamame or baby spinach note that intensifies from steeping to steeping.
Steep for 45 seconds at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 17: 5g Kukicha Sakamoto: Made with slightly more stems than the Karigane. The tea is light, minerally and it has a slightly fruity note to it.
Steep for 1 minute at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 18: 5g Henta Sencha: A blended Sencha made from 8 different cultivars. The flavors are sweet, umami, grassy, astringent and vegetal.
Steep for 1 minute at 75 degrees C 167 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 19: 2g Matcha Marufuku: A sweet and creamy matcha from southern Japan, made with a combination of the Okumidori and Saemidori cultivars.
1-1.5g matcha per 150ml water; 80 degrees Celsius 176 degrees Fahrenheit. - December 20: Kamairicha Issin: pan-fired green tea from the mountains of Takachiho with a nice roasted flavor with a light cashew nut note.
Steep for 1 minute at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each.
December 21 – 24
- December 21: 5g Kawabata Hojicha: Very nice roasted green tea from Kawabataen. While most green teas have a sweet, vegetal taste profile, Hojicha picks up taste notes of coffee and chocolate as well as a roasted flavor. This tea sits somewhere in the middle, with darker roasted notes as well as sweet caramel or chocolaty notes.
Steep for 1 minute at 80 degrees C 175 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 22: TWO Teas!
2g Matcha Koiai: A bold, sweet Gokou Matcha from the region of Shizuoka.
1-1.5g matcha per 150ml water; 80 degrees Celsius 176 degrees Fahrenheit.
5g Henta Saemidori: A sweet and umami single cultivar sencha with a thick liquor and a bright green color
Steep for 1 minute at 75 degrees C 167 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each. - December 23: TWO Teas!
5g Gyokuro Sasa Hime: A well-balanced blended Gyokuro from Mr. Sakamoto in Kagoshima with a mix of umami, vegetal and sweet.
Steep for 2 minutes at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each.
5g Fukamushi Yamaga: Fruity tasting deep steamed tea from Shizuoka that’s also excellent as a cold brew.
Steep for 45 seconds at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each - December 24: THREE Teas!
5g Kasugaen Golden Sencha: A powerful, high grade Yabukita Sencha from Mr. Kawaji in Kagoshima. This one is for the true tea lovers!
Steep for 1 minute at 75 degrees C 167 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each.
2g Matcha Washimine: A smooth and creamy Okumidori Matcha from Kyoto. This is a great matcha for “koicha”, a thicker matcha made during the tea ceremony.
1-1.5g matcha per 150ml water; 80 degrees Celsius 176 degrees Fahrenheit.
5g Gyokuro Cha Meijin: The most premium Gyokuro made from Mr. Sakamoto, extremely sweet and umami with a dense liquor.
Steep for 2 minutes at 60 degrees C 140 degrees F. Can be steeped 2-3 more times for 20 seconds each.
Afterthoughts
I had a lot of fun trying these teas this month. It inspires me to try new teas and to drink tea more often. The tea seems it’ll go well with some cheesecake or some jam.
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