Photo/Illutration Bottles of high-end Yamato tea from the Real Taste brand at the Nara prefectural office (Tsuyoshi Kanda)

NARA--One employee at a tea manufacturer was frustrated by how Yamato tea, a local specialty of the ancient capital, remained relatively unknown.

Isao Honda, 45, thought the only way to have customers enjoy the tea at its finest would be to brew it by hand and offer the beverage in bottles.

He now sells Yamato tea from his own Real Taste brand. Each bottle is priced at 10,000 yen ($66.40) or more.

“I think they are appropriately priced for tea leaf producers and brewers,” Honda said.

The tea comes in six varieties.

Kabuse Sencha is a type of “sencha” mid-level green tea rich with sweet and umami flavors.

A 720-milliliter bottle goes for 16,200 yen, including tax.

Wakocha is a Japanese black tea made using the only tea cultivar from Nara Prefecture, which sells for 10,800 yen per bottle.

Honda cold-brews his tea using carefully selected tea leaves from the Tsukigase district and natural spring water, bottling each by hand.

“I want to aim high so that Yamato-tea will become a symbol of Japanese tea,” he said.

Real Taste products are created on a made-to-order basis and are scheduled for shipping in two weeks or less.

They taste best if consumed within one month.

To purchase, visit the official website at (https://realtaste.jp/).