Reviews

I was really excited at the thought if a tea advent calendar. I love trying different teas but I am reluctant to buy full packs in case I don't like it and it goes to waste so this was perfect for trying new things out. Every day came a new tea which was always exciting!

All the teas were lovely, although I did prefer some over others. I'm not a huge fan of fruit teas as I think they all just taste the same, the ones included in the calendar were nice but I wouldn't specifically buy them. certainly couldn't pick a single tea as my favourite, though. I loved that so many of them were spiced and warming, I wish I'd bought another to get me through January! My Top 6 are; Vanilla Roobios, Masala Chai, Vanilla, Chocolate and Ginger, African Winter and Gingerbread. All of which I will make a point to buy throughout the year.

I loved that there was enough for at least three cups of tea every day. The spoon is brilliant and will be well-used this year. The drawstring bags were particularly useful for the fruit teas with bigger 'chunks' which made getting a good spoonful a bit more difficult.

All in all, a brilliant advent calendar and if you are doing one this year, I will certainly be buying one. :-)

This was a gift! To myself!

I found the portions really generous. I would wake up to yet another groundhog day of slogging from home excited to see the day's pick and know my breaks from work were spoken for. I would get about three mugs from each pouch of tea, weighing the tea out with my digital scales. It became a ritual — one that suited me far more than most self-care or moments-of-solace products. The selection provided a perfect opportunity to try blends I wouldn't normally buy a full box of. I thought the variety day-to-day was perfect because I never got stuck on a stretch of black teas or a week of fruity tisanes. And when I tell you I went wild for the chocolate orange tea, you better believe I was as wide-eyed as a perky female protagonist from a festive rom-com. I loved how John's personality came through in the notes on every tea. To seal this five-star review, all the packaging was easily recyclable, too.

I saw on a Shibui Instagram story that another customer decorated their wall with their teas, so I did something similar. I made rows of twine and clipped the tea pouches up with mini bulldog clips. When space was made thanks to the advent of Christmas and the pace of my guzzling, I would hang a Christmas card or a pretty image or effect I'd found or made on the empty clip.

Favourites: chocolate orange puerh, turmeric and cocoa, masala chai, tropical green — and it ended on my long-standing favourite, gingerbread!

Ones I now know aren't for me personally: vanilla black, mulled wine (I like the concept, but the blend didn't evoke the namesake at all for me)

If I had a say in future calendars: more variations of a certain type to compare (e.g. different oolongs, with a splash of education about the difference), more smoky blends. I would also totally buy a summer month of tea discovery set in the same format!

Notes on extras: loved the pen and note cards. I've saved my teabags for when I finally go back to the office after lockdown because I made all of my teas in a pot or with an infuser.

I bought this tea collection as a present for my wife, who avoids all caffeine. She was delighted, and reckons the Vanilla Rooibos is the best red bush tea she’s tasted.
And the Chocolate & Ginger is delicious.
All in all, The Caffeine Free Tea Pyramid Collection has been a great buy, and she’s so happy with it. Highly recommended.

I’ve tried various branded teas and been generally disappointed so decided to give Shibui a whirl. What an eye opener. These teas are brilliant, very flavourful. Green Tea, Earl Grey, even Scottish Breakfast, are all big on taste compared with many from more famous brands, and I still have plenty other flavours in the sampler box yet to savour.
Well done, John. I’ll be back for more of your fantastic teas, both caffeinated and caffeine free.

Im a student at university, and I ordered this for my girlfriend. Firstly, I ordered it to my home address, and when I emailed asking if the address could be changed John was very kind and did so quickly. My girlfriend loved every tea in the calendar, and the packaging was beautiful. Each bag came with the tea loose, and from what I can see she has got at least three or more cups from each bag. The calendar also comes with tea bags which you can use if you do'tn have your own filter, and a really lovely scoop to measure it out. They also had very clear instructions on how to brew each tea to get the best flavour.

I can't recommend this calendar enough and think you will be more than impressed. It is the end of January and she is still going and loving them all, and I will be getting it again next year.

What can I say - tried it, love it, will certainly get it again.

This was a absolute stonker (for non Scottish folk - treasure) of an advent calendar. You get chocolate calendars, cheese, gin and wine ones. This was my first time of trying a tea advent calendar and I would certainly get it again. Some of the other types of advent calendars can let you down a wee bit - this one certainly did not let you down. There was a mixture of black, green and fruity/herbal teas.

All presented in a fabulous box with a magnetic lid. The teas were all in seperate brown (recyclable) bags, and you didn't know what you were getting until you opened up the sticker. Also included was a beautiful tea spoon and a box of individual biodegradeable teabags.

Each bag of tea contained plenty to have a few cups that day - or even share with someone else. I shared some of the herbal bags with a friend, as I prefer the others teas more, and she is now also a purchaser for this calendar next year, woohoo!

This was a brilliant advent calendar, absolutely worth the money and a fantastic way for people to try new flavours of teas. We will convert you all from coffee yet !!

Happy New 2021 to John and the team - keep up the good work and stay safe. x

I thoroughly enjoyed this advent calendar! Each day offered a new tea to try and each one had a great quantity of tea per flavour. I thought it was good value but I did expect it to be more advent calendar shaped (maybe with tea packets slotted into boxes or something?) so that was a little disappointing. But the tea itself was great and I loved having a tea calendar for Christmas and though that offering caffeine free was such a thoughtful extra!

Each tea had a description/ name stapled to the packet which was great (and I loved the descriptions) but to open the packet you had to take the staple off and then the description/ name was no longer attached so as a suggestion for next year - as I would definitely like to see it again next year! - maybe attach the name and description differently! The extras that you put in were great, and very thoughtful.

There was a good selection of teas, personally I would’ve preferred less spiced/ Christmassy teas and a few more of your other teas - eg the chamomile and citrus was a delightful choice - I understand that Christmas means spiced teas but more of some others would’ve been perfect for me! Though I know this might be personal preference :)

I've tried a couple of tea advents over the years and always been a little bit disappointed at very small amount of tea you get each day - one small teabag doesn't cut it! I've tried Shibui Teas before and been really impressed, so when I saw that each day contains enough tea for a few cups, I was in. The calendar was thoughtfully packaged, with a little booklet for writing notes and a pen, a teaspoon to help measure your leaves, and some handy tea filters, all in a sturdy (and reuseable) magnetic-flap box. The teas themselves were a great mix of black, green and herbal - slightly more weighted towards spiced/chai than I anticipated, but that makes sense for the cold days of December. The quality of teas was excellent as always, and it was great to try teas that I'd not choose myself. The portions are very generous - each day I had enough for a small pot for myself (three cups with a teacup and saucer), a mug for my partner AND a little left over. That's more like it! I will most certainly get this advent again next year - I'd especially welcome a black tea only version, so I could work my way through all the variants Shibui has to offer!. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this over any other tea advent - thank you so much!

Lovely treat for such a rotten December! Brilliant selection of teas. More generous portions than other tea advent calendars.

I ordered this and hid it away when it arrived. At the start of December, I pulled it out and had a daily ritual of discovering the tea and brewing up a pot. I especially loved the different chai flavours and found a few I will have to order again! It was so well packaged and the extras were so thoughtful. I loved the space on the tag to write my tasting notes to remember my favourites! My family loved it and we will definitely order it again next Christmas.

This was so lovely. It felt like a really special treat.
There is a really good amount of tea and I'm still drinking them well into January.
Of course there will be some you aren't keen on but it's a really good mix so you're bound to find a couple of new favourites.

I found Shibui tea in our first UK lockdown and enjoyed trying a few of the different flavours and then when I saw that they were doing a caffeine free advent calendar, I popped it on my Christmas list! What an advent calendar! I loved how it was presented and the excitement of finding which flavour tea I was getting each morning. Each day I had enough for at least 3 cups of tea, sometimes lots more! I cannot get enough of the vanilla rooibos, it's delicious!

I had such a great time trying a new tea every day and found some new favourites. Wasn’t the biggest fan of the chocolate teas but it was still great to be able to try lots of different ones. Loved it and would definitely recommend

Fantastic product. Well presented, good range of teas and very generous with the amounts given (easily 4 mugs most days) making this advent calendar great value for money. It has kick started a 'take a random tea to work' routine in our house now.

I bought this as a birthday present for my 37 year old son! Most days he would phone and say ‘another great one’! He says I can buy him this again!

I loved this. I ordered the non caffeinated one as I enjoy green teas and herbal. The samples were very generous so it is also keeping me going through January.

I ordered the advent calendar as a surprise for my boyfriend who is allergic to chocolate (yes really). And let me just say that it far far exceeded any expectations I had; from the presentation (beautiful and eco), the flavours (exquisite and varied), the size (huuuge amounts of tea per day) to the thoughtful extras and personalised message - the calendar was the perfect countdown to Christmas and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a tasty alternative to your classic advent calendar. We will definitely be first in the queue next year!

Lovely pre Christmas surprise.
Really enjoyed the variety of teas each day of the calendar.
A real treat during lockdown instead of coffee and biscuits.
Highly recommend the calendar which was well presented and packaged and great fun.

This advent calendar helped me go through lockdown as I was alone during the holiday season. Every day I was looking forward to discovering a new delicious tea blend. Everything was very well packed and the quantity was generous. Great value for money. I was so sad when it was done. Thank you John for bringing me joy during these difficult times!

This was a fantastic 24 days of different teas, always a challenge to get as many different flavours, especially caffeine free and I enjoyed every single one of them, with plenty spare to keep me going through a dark January. The real wonder for me was the cocoa turmeric, a combination that sounded weird but was actually extremely well balanced and delicious. I hope you do do them again next year, I would be first in line! The add your own teabags were a nice extra touch. Great value and great service as always.

Wow, what an advent calendar! This was a gift from my sister and was such a lovely treat. The extras included in the set were a real bonus. The portions of tea included were very generous (I'd say 4 cups per sachet). There were a fabulous selection of teas included - my favourite was the green tea with peach and pineapple. It was all beautifully presented too. Would highly recommend.

Wow! What a treat! Loved my advent calendar! My favourite was apple & cinnamon. Great value for money! I was able to have many cups of tea from just one bag. Loved also the typography and the wee tidbits written on each day! Definitely will purchase it again!

I was worried that this tea might not be the same quality i was used to but after reading positive reviews i bought some as my normal supplier had closed down. I was pleasantly surprised and happy with my purchase and i will definitely be buying from shibui leaf tea again. The price is very competitive and the quality is great and the service also was very good! Thank you Shibui leaf tea

Came across Shibui leaf tea by chance when my normal supplier of tea didn't have what i wanted and I am so glad i did!! The peppermint tea is great quality and a decent price compared to what i used to pay so i would highly recommend these guys for all your loose leaf tea needs!! look no further than Shibui leaf tea you will not be disappointed.

One of my favourites. Tastes almost like having cookies :)