Sunday, August 26, 2007

Kukicha

I have a short post, and no pictures. Perhaps next time I visit this tea, I'll photograph it. I'm currently finishing off the night's final infusion of Adagio's kukicha. Kukicha is a stem tea, but of course it contains some leaves. This tea is considered low end, as far as the world of green teas go, but it is nonetheless enjoyable.

Six grams in my 8oz ceramic pot, and I was good to go. The tea started very grassy -- enough to overpower just about everything else -- and sweet. Every cup did, though have that asparagus undertone. By the end, the grassiness had decreased, leaving the flavors of the stems. It's a light, somewhat more woody flavor, but still possesses some leaf properties.

The color of the brew changed from a bright, transparent green, to the same transparent quality with the usual browning, though this time a bit more pronounced.

The leaves unfurl, revealing uninteresting stems and the bit of leaves in the mix, but the after-steeping aroma was most surprising. The still steaming post (directly post decanting) is quite reminiscent of an open forest after a strong summer rain.

2 comments:

Jamie D. said...

Low-end or no, it's become one of my favorite greens...I love that sweet veggy-taste for some reason. :-)

Salsero said...

While I almost never drink Kukicha, the times I have enjoyed it the most are those when I was convinced it had a strong egg taste or a buttery taste.