Koicha

Made from leaves that have not been oxidized.


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Apr 2nd, '12, 10:38
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Koicha

by David R. » Apr 2nd, '12, 10:38

I had the chance to taste Koicha for the first time in Kyoto, it was in Ippodo. I keep a vivid souvenir of this... I've only been an occasional (usucha) matcha drinker but this Koicha experience may have changed everything.

So I was wondering if there was any Koicha fans around here.

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Apr 2nd, '12, 11:44
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Re: Koicha

by Chip » Apr 2nd, '12, 11:44

It is hard to believe, I have never gone full throttle Koicha. I have approached it ...

I don't here too much about Koicha on TeaChat as of late, so I will be interested to hear what others have to say.

This older topic was a pretty good one on Koicha: http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... lit=koicha

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Apr 2nd, '12, 12:33
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Re: Koicha

by blairswhitaker » Apr 2nd, '12, 12:33

David R. wrote:I had the chance to taste Koicha for the first time in Kyoto, it was in Ippodo. I keep a vivid souvenir of this... I've only been an occasional (usucha) matcha drinker but this Koicha experience may have changed everything.

So I was wondering if there was any Koicha fans around here.
I and my girlfriend are both huge fans of Koicha, I try to always keep a tin handy and usually make a really kicking bowl with about four large chashaku per person, although sometimes I go up to eight. I usually drink a communal bowl as it can be more difficult to prepare a single bowl, with anything less than eight chashaku, while using only traditional tools. I like my koicha to be the consistency of latex paint and have enough "stick" to the bowl that it then makes a good cup of usucha. A koicha habit can really start to add up when you factor the amount of tea per bowl and the cost per gram... But it's so worth it.

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Apr 2nd, '12, 13:02
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Re: Koicha

by Xell » Apr 2nd, '12, 13:02

I've tried once, well... i might be not ready yet :) Too concentrated taste for me, like drinking tea syrup. Aftertaste was nice, but for now i enjoy more usucha. If i'm using koicha grade matcha, then i just use more tea, but keep same amount of water.

Of course i would like to try koicha with some really good matcha and fitting traditional sweets. But this is something not easy to come by. So, koicha is even more special, than good gyokuro!

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Apr 6th, '12, 09:15
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Re: Koicha

by David R. » Apr 6th, '12, 09:15

Some attempts...
Attachments
001.JPG
adding the water little by little...
001.JPG (17.34 KiB) Viewed 4434 times
002.JPG
this one needs a bit more water...
002.JPG (23.22 KiB) Viewed 4434 times

Apr 9th, '12, 18:52
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Re: Koicha

by Buzz Fledderjohn » Apr 9th, '12, 18:52

David,

I've had the koicha at Ippodo in Kyoto and I've never been able to make it as good. I even had them make it for me so that I could see how they do it. They use a lot of matcha...and their wagashi are awesome. I can't even hope to duplicate that experience at home...but I do try once in a while. :)

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Apr 10th, '12, 07:37
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Re: Koicha

by David R. » Apr 10th, '12, 07:37

Well, I guess the wagashi must be important then ! :)

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Apr 10th, '12, 07:59
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Re: Koicha

by Xell » Apr 10th, '12, 07:59

Anyone knows what is different between koicha from main three tea ceremony schools? I've read several different methods about how to make koicha, looks like some of them were just thought out or just modifications.

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Apr 14th, '12, 21:05
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Re: Koicha

by Seeker » Apr 14th, '12, 21:05

David - Wow! Love those photos!

Not a big koicha fan myself - have attempted, and failed. I remember thick tea flicking around the vicinity as the chasen tines would release from the chawan with thick tea coating them. What a mess. I didn't get mine thick enough - but even still, I think I was half way there or so, the sip was a big fisted punch of matcha in the mouth and the aftertaste lasted for minutes or longer and kept evolving. And the buzz...
I suppose I could see why folks would like koi.

Perhaps I'll try again one day.

I have the right matcha - Ippodo's wakamatsu, but as Chip mentioned - would be expensive to drink koi regularly. And... since I drink matcha every morning, budgetarily best to drink usu.

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Apr 15th, '12, 03:16
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Re: Koicha

by blairswhitaker » Apr 15th, '12, 03:16

There is one secret to making good Koicha that has not been properly addressed here...
























































practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practicepractice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!practice!!... practice!

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Apr 15th, '12, 16:39
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Re: Koicha

by SlientSipper » Apr 15th, '12, 16:39

I miss Uji's Koicha.
Nothing like it.
Also, If you ever go to Japan.
Don't buy Matcha straight from Uji. (if you want to save money)
Instead buy Uji Matcha it in Shinegawa. Its cheaper there surprisingly.

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Apr 15th, '12, 23:45
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Re: Koicha

by TIM » Apr 15th, '12, 23:45

Learning from a Ippodo's master, the basic of good koicha is the balance of umami and Shibumi. The first is easy, but to understand and enjoy Shibumi is much more difficult. An acquire taste perhaps? The more of both characters indicate the higher the grade.

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May 10th, '12, 10:55
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Re: Koicha

by robbie_olive » May 10th, '12, 10:55

I simply adore koicha!!!! :D

I've been studying tea ceremony quite intensively for the last 18 months now, and I've reached the stage of making koicha now (I've made koicha both in the 'ro' and 'furo' seasons).

As someone suggested, it does require a lot of practice, and patience. I find that hot water REALLY does make the difference between having a beautifully made bowl of koicha, as well as the ratio of hot water to maccha; otherwise it will turn out very gluggy and almost not fit to drink!!

Personally for me, if I'm preparing a bowl of maccha for 3 people, (san-me-sama, as we'd say it in the chanoyu), I prepare 10 heaped scoops of maccha, and using a hishaku (bamboo ladle), I tend to pour in 3/4 of a scoop of water first, whisk the maccha 150 times (50 per person), then I pour another 1/2 scoop of water, whisk again until all the tea has completed been taken up by the water. It is definitely best served piping hot!!!

Hope that hasn't confused the hell out of you all! Just thought I'd share my experience of koicha.

Cheers,
Robbie

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May 10th, '12, 11:01
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Re: Koicha

by robbie_olive » May 10th, '12, 11:01

I also forgot to mention:

Make sure you use a koicha chasen (tea whisk) as opposed to a usucha chasen!!

Koicha chasen have fewer 'tate' (bristles in English?) than an usucha chasen. If you an usucha chasen, it will simply break into the tea, which is not very pleasant, I might add!!

Cheers,
Robbie

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May 12th, '12, 14:40
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Re: Koicha

by Oni » May 12th, '12, 14:40

I now have 2 koicha matcha, including the best grade from Horaido teashop, I always sift the matcha before making koicha, it is a must, and I use 4 to 5 chasaku with 40 ml of water, I add a little to make the thick paste, and add the rest to dilute to drinking consistensy, and I drink it and consume a little jaggery (indian date palm sugar) after to help my body absorb the tea, and I drink it once a day, it is a very intense stimulation that lasts 6 hours, if I drink it at 6 pm, I cannot get sleep until 2 am.

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