Choosing Your First HOJO Tea
For anyone choosing a HOJO tea for the first time, these are teas whose flavor is easy to read and that are hard to get wrong even without paying close attention to how you brew them.
HOJO chooses tea by body and length of finish rather than by showy flavor. If you are used to ordinary tea, that can seem plain at first. The teas gathered here show those qualities most clearly while still being easy to drink as a first cup.
Choosing Your First HOJO Tea
Rose Damascena ( Damascus Rose)
Damask rose, also used as a raw material for fine perfume. The harsh desert climate in which it is grown gives the flower its concentrated aroma.
From ¥1,500 (30g)
Wild Black Tea 野生紅
A black tea made from wild Camellia taliensis. Our low-temperature process draws out fresh notes of muscat, honey and tomato. Excellent cold-brewed.
From ¥1,500 (20g)
Ancient White Tea ( Gushu Bai Cha ) 古樹白茶
A white tea from the first flush of naturally grown tea over 2,000m, from trees several hundred years old. A substantial floral aroma with real depth. Excellent cold-brewed.
From ¥1,900 (50g)
7 types of tea trial set
Seven different teas to try in one set at a friendly price. Also recommended as a gift.
¥3,600
Snow Jasmine ( Bi Tan Pia Xue ) 碧潭飄雪
A fine jasmine tea made from Meng Ding Gan Lu, a green tea of Sichuan. Exceptionally strong in jasmine aroma.
From ¥2,700 (30g)
Tsukigase Black Tea Benihikari 月ヶ瀬紅茶 ベニヒカリ
A black tea from Beni Hikari, grown without agrochemicals or fertiliser in Tsukigase, Nara. Bright aromas of muscat, pineapple and honey, a faint menthol note, and a long finish.
From ¥1,300 (30g)
Tsukigase Zairai Sencha 月ヶ瀬在来煎茶
A naturally grown sencha from Nara, raised without agrochemicals or fertiliser. Quite unlike the umami-focused style of Japanese tea, with a floral aroma and a clear, long finish.
From ¥1,400 (50g)
Ancient Bai Mu Dan (Gushu Bai Mu Dan ) 古樹白牡丹
A white tea from old trees in Yunnan grown without agrochemicals or fertiliser, plucked one bud and one leaf. A high proportion of buds gives it a creamy, smooth body. Excellent cold-brewed.
From ¥2,400 (50g)
Phoenix Oolong Mi Lan Xiang Nong Xiang 2026 No.1 鳳凰単叢 蜜蘭香濃香 2026 No.1
Nong Xiang is a finishing style that is very popular in China. As the name suggests, it is characterized by an intense aroma.
From ¥1,600 (15g)
Ali Shan Cha 阿里山茶
One of the high-mountain teas we recommend most among HOJO's Taiwanese oolongs. Qing Xin oolong from a garden at 1,600m, finished by the difficult medium-fermentation method to draw out a bright aroma of citrus and ripe fruit.
From ¥1,600 (30g)
Ali Shan Jin Xuan Oolong Tea 阿里山金萱烏龍茶
An oolong made from the Jin Xuan cultivar, grown in a garden at 1,500m in Alishan. Its floral, milky aroma has made it rapidly popular in Taiwan in recent years.
From ¥1,400 (30g)
Black tea Trial Set ( 7 Types x 10g )
Seven distinctive black teas in one set at a friendly price. Also popular as a casual gift.
¥4,600
Yunnan Gong Fu Black tea 雲南功夫紅茶
A menthol aroma touched with honey, over floral notes. Fully fermented yet entirely free of stewed odours, with a long finish. Superb with milk and recommended for iced tea.
From ¥1,300 (30g)
Oolong Tea Trial Set
Seven oolong teas in one set at a friendly price. A good small gift, too.
¥4,800
Dong Ding Oolong ( Medium Fermentation ) 凍頂烏龍茶（中発酵）
A Dong Ding oolong from Lugu. Medium fermentation finished in the light-aroma style, with sweet ripe fruit, flowers and honey.
From ¥1,600 (30g)
Wu Liang Shan Ripe Pu-erh Tea Mini Tuo Cha 2019 无量山熟茶 小沱茶 2019
Made from spring-plucked, naturally grown leaves, with a smooth body and a sweet dried-fruit aroma. No mould or smoke whatsoever, and remarkably good as a milk tea.
From ¥1,400 (50g)
Phoenix Oolong Mi Lan Xiang 2025 No.2 鳳凰単叢 蜜蘭香濃香 2025 No.2
A Mi Lan Xiang a class above, from trees 60 to 70 years old at 950m in Da'an village. A bright lychee-like aroma with a sweet finish.
From ¥1,900 (15g)
Pu-erh Jasmine Pearl 普洱茉莉龍珠
A jasmine tea made to our order from naturally grown raw pu-erh we helped produce ourselves. A long finish and a substantial aftertaste that overturn what jasmine tea is assumed to be.
From ¥1,300 (30g)
Uji Hojicha Jubuzan 宇治焙茶 鷲峰山
A hojicha made by sand-roasting a sencha from the first flush of a naturally grown garden at 600m. A long finish and a clear aroma that overturn what hojicha is assumed to be.
From ¥1,500 (50g)
Jasmine Pearl 茉莉龍珠
A green tea from the first spring flush in Yunnan, plucked one bud and one leaf, rolled into pearls and scented with fresh jasmine blossom.
From ¥1,900 (50g)