Kimberley's Kyusu

As we come to the end of October, It’s time to make a decision on which tea advent calendar to purchase this year, a decision that usually takes me a while to make. However, I was very kindly gifted a Japanese loose leaf tea advent by Nio Teas, in return for my thoughts, which took that decision out of my hands and made transitioning into advent calendar season much easier for me.

First of all, let’s talk about packaging. Both this advent calendar and the matcha advent calendar offered in tandem by Nio each year have received a huge makeover and in comparison to previous installments, this years looks much more polished, cohesive and tells a clear aesthetic story, from the outer storage / presentation box all the way to the individual envelopes that hold each tea and the consistent use of the same simple packaging for each sample, all of which is held together by the colour palette used that is so classically Christmas & festive, that it will fit in seamlessly with my decor for the season, and I can’t wait to display it in teaspace throughout December. It is clear, before you even jump into trying the tea that so much hard work, care and attention has been put into crafting this advent calendar it has definitely paid off.

Here are some of my favourite details (aside from the things I have already mentioned):

The textured red outer sleeve, that I assume has been constructed in part with washi, composed of swirling distinct tactile and visual textures and shaped by long inner plant fibers adds dimension to the sleeve that stops it from looking and feeling flat and adds an organic, nature centric feel, serving as a great first impression of what you can expect to find inside.

Alongside that, the fact that there’s a countdown calendar on the flipside of the outer sleeve is such a fun detail and ensures that the outer sleeve has more than one use, which you all know I’m crazy about as I save everything to make my collage tea reviews over on instagram.

In addition, I loved that each sample is within its own envelope, and that those envelopes are where all the information about each tea is listed, rather than it being on the sample packaging. I often struggle to read the super small font needed on samples to fit in all that information, so being able to easily refer back to the inside of each numbered envelope for everything really does streamline the entire experience, and furthermore if I were just starting to explore the world of Japanese tea, having so much information on so many different teas readily available to me would be such a great tool to continue to learn from even after the advent is finished. I have no doubt that you will see each one of them used in collages moving forward, as I plan my posts featuring these teas throughout December.

Now let’s move onto the most important part… THE TEA. This is the first and only Japanese tea advent calendar that contains 24 different teas, all of which are pesticide free and unflavoured, and without spoiling exactly which teas are included for each day, here’s a brief run down of the types of tea you can expect to see, how many of them are within the calendar where they are from.

Sencha: 12

Gyokuro: 4

Genmaicha: 1

Hojicha: 2

Kamairicha: 2

Kukicha: 2

Bancha: 1

Where the teas are from:

Kagoshima: 13

Shizuoka: 7

Miyazaki: 2

Kyoto: 2

I’m very happy to see such a range of different teas featured throughout this advent calendar, with many different facets of Japanese tea production covered. In particular, I am looking forward to the Gyokuro, as it is my favourite type of loose leaf Japanese green tea to drink and knowing that there are four to look forward to has definitely piqued my excitement. However, as someone who has been learning & writing about Japanese tea for the last 11-12 years, I know there are a few types of tea missing from the list that I would love to see featured in 2027’s version of this advent calendar such as: Wakoucha, Japanese White Tea and Japanese Oolongs, the latter of which I am aware are much harder to source but definitely still deserve to be highlighted in the same way.

With that being said thought, if you are on the opposite end of the scale to me and you haven’t had the chance to explore / learn about Japanese tea, then the range of teas included within this advent calendar will be a fantastic learning tool to enable to you discover what you enjoy, so that you can explore those specific types of tea more after the holiday season is over.

Overall there is 96g of tea housed within its advent calendar, with each sample containing 4g which, depending on the size of vessel you choose, will be enough for 1 session in a larger kyusu or two in a smaller kyusu. Personally I’ll be using a smaller kyusu for my sessions with these teas each day in December that is around 80ml in capacity, so I’ll use 2g per session as I have found that is the perfect amount for a solo session. It gives me the opportunity to sip on each tea twice, following the steeping parameters given by Nio within each tea envelope for the first session, and experimenting with steeping parameters in the second. I’ve found that sampling teas this way gives me a deeper insight into everything this tea has to offer, and how it may change with a switch as simple as water temperature or steep time.

Behind the calendar are nine small family farms that Nio Teas source directly from, with the aim of showcasing the range of their work. So, as you open each envelope and sip through December, you not only get the chance to discover many different tea types but, you’re also given the chance to get to know the people who made them and how hard the farmers and producers work on a day to day basis to craft, the latter of which I feel is continuously overlooked by a lot of people, but learning about the depth of that endless hard work makes me enter each and every session feeling thankful and appreciative before I have even taken my first sip & hopefully it will do the same for you.

Throughout December I’ll be posting about my experience with each tea in this advent calendar in multitudes over on my Instagram @kimberleyskyusu and if you want to join me, you can purchase this advent calendar and / or the matcha advent calendar over on Nio Teas website. Remember to use the code KIMBERLEYSKYUSU15 to get 15% off your order.

Be sure to place your order before November 20th to ensure delivery in time for the start of December.

Until next time, Happy Steeping – Kimberley