Karabeni | からべに

Karabeni has a distinct earthy, woody character that unfolds differently from other wakocha. It doesn’t feel like a mainstream Japanese black tea — almost like a medicinal herbal tea that warms you from within. A smoky impression with deep umami, and a creamy natural sweetness that quietly emerges underneath.

Very few producers in Japan grow this cultivar, making it genuinely rare. Unlike most Japanese black tea cultivars which use the Assam variety, Karabeni is bred from the Chinese variety (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) — which may explain why its character feels so different from anything else in our lineup. From the same organic mountain farm as our Hojicha Zairai and Matcha Yumewakaba — Saito Farm in Honyama, Shizuoka. If you’ve tried our Hojicha Zairai, you may recognise something familiar here — that lingering natural sweetness and mineral depth. Same grower, same terroir, and it shows.