Collection: ZAIRAI

The word zairai means coming from here, native, or indigenous. Zairai teas are ancient regional varietals grown from seeds. The appearance of Zairai tea plants and the taste of Zairai teas are distinct from each other and differ from region to region, sometimes even from farm to farm. Registration of selective and cross bred tea varietals started in Japan around 1955. Zairai teas represents the old taste of Japanese tea before the modernization of tea farming. Today Zairai teas account for only about 10% of the total tea cultivated in Japan.