Old Tree Bancha

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Old Tree Bancha is made from—literally—the entire tea plant (except the roots), using traditional methods, to celebrate and to show appreciation for the plants!

Produced by Mandokoro in Japan's Shiga Prefecture, this roasted tea, which is nearly caffeine free, has warm notes of caramel and tobacco, with a soft, pleasant smokiness.

Watch how it's made (videos generously supplied by Mandokoro and Authentic Nippon LLC):

Harvested tea plants

Putting plants into chipper

Filling roasting drum

Attending the fire

Roasted tea

Roasting by hand

See our blog to read more about this tea!

This 50-gram package of tea comes in a Japanese tea tin from Shiga Prefecture, featuring tanuki, the raccoon dog said to bring good fortune. (Tea also available in a 50-gram bag of tea without a tin.)

Preparation: 4 heaping teaspoons per 20 oz of filtered water; boil (rolling boil) for 10 minutes and then strain.