Organic Kukicha Green Tea

Backlog:
I don’t know what it is, but ever since summer break started for me, I feel like there is less time in the day than before, and I don’t even have homework to do! I can rarely brew tea and actually sit down with it. I am up and down doing house chores or tending the dogs and cats or running errands. I think chores are inventing themselves now that I have time for them.

I brewed a cup of this yummy kukicha, determined to force a proper break on myself. My husband watched Top Gear during his lunch break and I left the television on after he left and I went to the grocery store. When I came back, I brewed this tea and sat down on the couch, planning to change the channel at first. But I was curious about what was already on. It was Dr. Who!

I commented somewhere recently (somewhere on Shmiracles log I think) that I am not a Dr. Who fan as it seems so many steepsterites are. There was some strange show on the TV a few years ago and after watching it for 5 or 10 minutes, I asked my husband what it was and he said that it was Dr. Who. He also said that he wasn’t a big fan of the series (I think he refers to the older/original shows that his mother liked to watch). I don’t know exactly what episode was playing, but I think it might have been part of the 1996 movie. Whatever it was seemed creepy weird in an x-files sort of way (and I am not a fan of that type of sci fi). Since my husband didn’t have a a gloating recommendation for it, I never considered watching any more and wrote it off as an “other people” show.

Thanks to leaving the TV on after my husbands guy-tv lunch break, I discovered that I might actually enjoy Dr. Who. I added the 2005+ series to my Netflix cue and had time to watch half of the first episode before my break had to be cut short for more chores. Stupid chores! and stupid OCD that wont let me leave them be!

But lovely tea. I will always remember Kukicha now as my Dr. Who tea (^^) and now I wonder if I should watch some of the older shows too…

Backlog:

Had this tea yesterday. Not much to say, it’s still a favorite. I did brew it cooler this time, though. 165deg seemed to give it a richer flavor than 175deg.

Brewed at 80C for 1:00. Used more tea than I normally would. The result is a light green/golden infusion. It has that familiar buttery smell of a good kukicha. The taste is a light buttery one with a savory base, surrounded by hints of vegetal notes and very mild astringency. In my very last sip I taste something almost floral about this kukicha – very unexpected but wonderful!

I recommend paying close attention to how you brew this tea – steeping too long, too hot, or with too much tea can result in an overly astringent brew (that’s just the nature of kukicha teas in general). But when done right, its a lovely light green tea.