Our morning cup of tea has been this lovely Kukicha, or Twig Tea, from Japan. A gift from my pen pal, my sister and I have been starting our day with this delightful tea. Utilizing every part of the Camellia sinensis plant, this Japanese green tea, with its fresh grassy fragrance, is made up of stems, stalks, and twigs and produces a mellow cup of green tea. Slightly lower in caffeine than most green teas, Kukicha yields a light, slightly vegetal brew with a pale green color.
Recommended steeping suggestions: use 1 heaping tsp. per cup, with a water temperature of 180 degrees. Steep for 2 to 3 minutes. This tea is perfect for multiple infusions, so save those stems and stalks, and enjoy them over and over again. Typically, I have been steeping the same leaves (twigs) three times. Each subsequent cup of tea is more mellow, but very pleasant.
I was fascinated to learn recently about how the Japanese use all of the tea leaf, twigs as you call out, and even dust material - they add a bit back into the leaf for flavor, color. That's why some Japanese teas are cloudy. So interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think the Japanese greens are my favorite of the green teas, and I enjoyed your review of this one. It's going on my (never-ending) to-be-tried list!
ReplyDeleteYour twig tea does sound fascinating and looks so pretty in the cup.
ReplyDeleteGreat information and looks yummy!
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