Kukicha
Kukicha is Japanese tea made from the stems and stalks separated during sencha or gyokuro processing, giving a light, sweet, nutty, low-astringency cup.
Definition
Kukicha, "stem tea", also called bocha ("stick tea"), is made from stems, stalks and leaf twigs removed when sencha, gyokuro or tencha are sorted. Stems separated from gyokuro or high-grade sencha are sold under the name karigane in Kyoto and Shiraore in parts of Kyushu, and are valued for their sweetness. Stems contain relatively high amounts of L-theanine and fewer catechins than leaves, so kukicha tastes sweet and mild, with a creamy, nutty and grassy flavor and little astringency. The liquor is pale yellow-green. Kukicha can also be roasted. Roasted kukicha, sometimes called kuki hojicha, is brown and toasty. In the macrobiotic diet movement popularized in the West in the mid-20th century, a twig tea made from the roasted stems and twigs of mature plants, sometimes labeled sannen bancha, is also sold as kukicha. That tea is quite different from the green stem tea from sencha processing.
In Depth
Green kukicha: brew at 70-80°C (158-176°F), 4-5 g per 200 ml for 45-60 seconds in a kyusu. Karigane from gyokuro can be brewed cooler, 60-70°C, to bring out sweetness. Roasted kukicha takes 90-100°C.
Stems carry less caffeine than leaves, so kukicha is generally lower in caffeine than sencha, about 10-30 mg per 240 ml. Roasted macrobiotic kukicha is lower still.
Kukicha is often cheaper than sencha from the same producer and is a good-value way to taste a gyokuro or high-grade sencha garden. Look for light green, uniform stems with some leaf pieces. Brown or dry-looking stems in a green kukicha mean old stock.
Because stems are less fragile than leaves, kukicha holds up to two or three infusions and to cold brewing: 10 g per liter in the refrigerator for 3-6 hours gives a sweet, pale cup with almost no bitterness. Store it like sencha, sealed and away from light and heat.
See Also
- Stem Tea
- Low-Caffeine Tea
- Japanese Tea Byproducts