brewing kukicha

Thanks, Daniel! One down, one to go!

rona

Hi Rona,

Regarding your latter question, hot water is poured over the tea leaves in order to clean and open them up to "release the aroma" of the tea leaves. The water should be poured off quickly.

Sometimes the first infusion (after 1-2 minutes of steeping) is poured off in order to remove the caffeine level.

Daniel

For green kukicha, I usually use about 2 tsp per cup, with water at 170 degrees F (or thereabouts) and brew for a minute to a minute and a half. I find you can get more infusions from the same leaves when using the 2 tsps. vs. the usual 1 tsp.

I have also tried the twig only kukicha (a browner cup) and can usually get a good brew with a 1-2 minute steeping. But generally I prefer the green kukicha.

Thanks. Do you "rinse" them first? Or just brew them straight?

Someone else explained to me that kukicha, genmaicha, and sencha are the three Japanese teas that are traditionally rinsed. However, kukicha is the only one that most Japanese people will rinse, the others are often brewed straight.

rona

Traditionally rinsed? I'm not so sure about that. Japanese rarely ever rinse any teas.

--crymad

As I said, kukicha is usually rinsed. Even my co-workers, who were generally very busy, would take the time to rinse kukicha when making it. I remember it distinctly because it was my first experience with rinsing teas. They did not do the same with genmaicha and sencha, though two people I have asked (one native Japanese, one ex-pat American living in Japan) have confirmed that these two teas are traditionally rinsed, though few actually do it.

Just out of curiousity, why would you think they rarely rinse teas in Japan? Personal experience or research? (not being snotty, I'm just wondering why we have had different experiences)

rona

This just simply isn't the case. While rinsing kukicha wouldn't strike me as odd -- it is just twigs, after all -- doing so is by no means the norm. Here's a web site of a tea producer in Japan that shows the brewing process for various teas:

Kukicha is the fourth one down on the list. Very straightforward preparation: Tea in pot, add hot water, wait, and pour into cups. No rinsing to speak of. An even more detailed description for preparing kukicha can be found here, again with no mention of rinsing:

Pre-heating the tea pot and tossing out the water before adding dry tea is very common. Perhaps you are confusing this pot warming with tea rinsing.

What do you mean by "traditionally"? Sencha has a ceremonial preparation, much like the more well known matcha, and while many schools of this ceremony exist, rinsing the tea is again not a standard step. Quite frankly, the only references to rinsing tea in Japan that I am aware of involve Oolong or "black" teas from China. However, if know of any sources -- online or in print -- that mention this traditional rinsing of Japanese teas you speak of, please provide them.

I lived in Japan with my native Japanese wife for about 10 years. We managed a business that sold Japanese foodstuffs, tea included. In fact, one of our regular customers was a restaurant owner who bought large quantities of kukicha every week. She never rinsed, by the way.

So, have you any firsthand experience with tea in Japan?

--crymad

Sorry, but it isn't necessarily just twigs. I've certainly seen kukicha that's just twigs, but I've also seen (and enjoyed) kukicha that's twigs plus good leaves. Either there are (at least) two styles of kukicha or I've been hallucinating.

/Lew

No, you are right, of course. "Kuki" means "twig, stem", and I was just trying to describe this tea for those who may not be familiar with it. Sorry for the mis-statement.

--crymad