Why Dr. Weil Loves the Tea-time Box:
1 x SOUR YUZU CHIPS | Miyazaki, Japan1 x YATSUHASHI | Kyoto, Japan
1 x UME GLACÉ | Fukui, Japan
1 x HONENYAKi SENBEI | Saitama, Japan
1 x MATCHA ARARE | Osaka, Japan
1 x SOBA OKOSHI | Tokyo, Japan
Dr. Weil Says: “This one contains sweets and snacks that pair perfectly with tea. From the traditional Japanese tea ceremony to a casual cup at home, rarely does one enjoy tea in Japan without a sweet treat or a savory snack. Our Tea-time Box offers a number of regional flavors, and is a perfect way to unwind with a cup of tea in a more traditional and enjoyable way.”
Why Dr. Weil Loves the Noodle Box?
1 x LUXURY MATCHA SOBA | Miyagi & Shizuoka, Japan
2 x FLYING FISH DIPPING SAUCE & BROTH | Nagasaki, Japan
1 x SANSAI MOUNTAIN VEGETABLES | Akita, Japan
HONTAKA SHICHIMI TOGARASHI SEVEN SPICE BLEND | Osaka, Japan
1 x SHREDDED NORI | Tokyo, Japan
Dr. Weil Says: “This one is all about noodles – soba and udon. Both can be enjoyed hot in broth or cold with a flavorful dipping sauce. Unlike high-fat Western pasta dishes, Japanese noodle preparations tend to be fat free. Our box provides green chasoba – buckwheat noodles made with matcha green tea and mozuko udon – wheat noodles containing mozuko seaweed, one of the top “longevity foods” of Okinawa. It also has a concentrate for making a hot broth or cold dipping sauce, one bursting with umami flavor. Our Noodle Box has everything you need to make traditional Japanese noodle dishes at home. I’m sure you will enjoy them as much as I do.”
More about the Tea-time Box
Dr. Weil Says: "Two of Japan’s most popular fruits, the beloved tart citrus fruit called yuzu and a local plum known as ume, are prepared with just a touch of sugar to create sweet yet sour yuzu peels and ume glace. Yatsuhashi, Kyoto’s most iconic cinnamon cookie, will transport you to the ancient cultural capital of Japan while the soba okashi, another traditional treat, contains puffed rice and soba, Japan’s name for buckwheat which is commonly found in the popular soba noodles. We’ve also included a sample of Japanese senbei (rice crackers) - two made from a special domestic rice known as Uruchi rice, one seasoned with seaweed and the other with soy sauce, as well as arare, bite-sized crackers made from sticky, glutinous mochi rice with a dusting of matcha from Uji."
More about the Noodle Box
Dr. Weil says: "For topping the noodles there is a mixture of wild mountain vegetables (sansaei), considered to be healthful as well as tasty. Finally, to season your noodles, there is shichimi togarashi, Japanese Seven Spice, that includes chilie peppers, sansho (Japanese pepper), citrus peel, seaweed, and seeds (sesame, hemp, and poppy)."
Preparation Tip
Both noodles can be served hot or cold. If served hot, we recommend boiling the noodles slightly under the cooking time as they will continue to cook in the hot noodle broth. If served cold, boil the noodles, drain then add to a bowl of ice cold water to maintain a firm texture. Drain again before serving.
Dr. Weil's story behind these artisanally curated Japanese Tea-time & Noodle Boxes
"I first visited Japan in 1959 when I was seventeen, on a student exchange program. I lived with families in a suburb of Tokyo and in Kobe. During my stay I was introduced to many foods that were new to me, among them: raw fish, miso soup, sencha and matcha green tea, a great variety of pickled vegetables, soba and udon, wasabi, yuzu, and more. I loved most of them from the first taste.
When I returned to the U.S., I could find few of those foods. In the 1960s, most big cities had one – and only one – Japanese restaurant with a limited and unimaginative menu: clear soup or miso soup, salad, tempura, sukiyaki, broiled salmon, and teriyaki chicken, with green tea ice cream for dessert. If anyone had told me that a few decades later cowboys in Arizona would be frequenting sushi bars, I would never have believed it. Now, America has many good Japanese restaurants, and Japanese foods are available online as well as in Asian grocery stores.
Still, most people here are unfamiliar with those products and do not know how to use them in their own kitchens. I’ve learned how in the course of many trips to Japan and from cooking with Japanese friends. I drink matcha every day and make my own dashi, the flavorful broth that is the basis of most Japanese soups and dipping sauces – very easy if you have the two key ingredients: kombu (kelp seaweed) and dried bonito shavings. I enjoy Japanese snack foods, like the many kinds of rice crackers (sembei) and use many Japanese condiments and seasonings."
How to Order
Choose your Box by scrolling back to the top of this page
