“Smells a lot like Hojicha – roasted! Yum! It has the brown roasted leaves instead of the twigs, tho, that is the major different to the eye. It is more gentle that I thought it would be but I...” Read full tasting note
“Yesterday’s sipdown, sample courtesy of Cameron B. I made this according to brewing guidelines (205f, 6oz, 2 min), but somehow both steeps had an unpleasant bitterness to them. I don’t think it’s...” Read full tasting note
“I absolutely love how huge these leaves are. It’s just a lot of fun to watch brew. A very smooth and comforting flavor. I may actually pick up a bunch of this; it’s very budget friendly and might...” Read full tasting note
“2021 sipdown no. 35 This is a really great cuppa. The flavour is very toasty toasty, but also really clean. Thanks for sharing Cameron!” Read full tasting note
Kyobancha is unique to the Kyoto region from which it gets the “Kyo” in its name. Harvested from leaves that have matured over the winter months it is considered the very last tea of the year. The leaves are roasted, producing a comforting and woody flavour. Kyobancha is a virtually caffeine-free tea that is light, refreshing and very easy to drink.
Taste: Sweet
Body: Light
Texture: Rounded
Length: Short
Harvest: March
Tea Cultivar: Mixed
Origin: Wazuka
Cultivation: Unshaded
Processing: Steamed, Rolled, Dried, Roasted
It started with a single cup of tea. As the legend goes, our president Akihiro Kita, or Akky-san, visited Wazuka, Kyoto one fateful day. At the time, Akky-san was still a college student in search for life's calling. After trying the region's famous Ujicha (literally meaning tea from the Uji district), he immediately fell in love and his passion for green tea was born. He had finally found what he was looking for in that one simple cup of tea. After fifteen years of learning to master the art of growing tea from tea farmers in Wazuka, Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms was born and as they say, the rest is history. So what's an Obubu? Obubu is the Kyoto slang for tea. Here in the international department we call ourselves Obubu Tea. That's "Tea Tea" for the bilinguals. We love tea so much, we just had to have it twice in our name. Now Obubu means more than just tea to us. It means, family, friends, passion and the place we call home. More than just tea. Though the roots of Obubu stem from tea, it has become more than that over the years. Obubu is an agricultural social venture, operating with three (1) bring quality Japanese tea to the world (2) contribute to the local and global community through tea (3) revitalize interest in tea and agriculture through education.