Really? With roasted stuff i'm finding time doesn't matter at all. I've been experimenting with Western style on hoji and it comes out quite well. I've done stuff like 5-10 min soaks and the only downside is it starts to get cold.
For kuki though, i'd say 5/5/185/45s-1min.
Give that a try.
Mar 6th, '09, 09:39
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Mar 6th, '09, 09:43
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... and then there is even in between roasted and green ...Salsero wrote:Ah ha! There's 2 kinds. That would explain why I'm not really finding the roasty notes that I have seen mentioned.Chip wrote:Roasted kukicha? ...
Green kukicha
Thanks for the help, Chip, Pentox, and Beidao. Will give it a go again this weekend.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
I have found kukicha to be quite puzzling as I never know what tea folks are referring to when they refer to kukicha.
Back in my Macrobiotic days (almost 20 years ago), kukicha was used to describe roasted twig tea that was quite thick stems and twigs from the late summer or early fall, and the tea was boiled/simmered in water on the stove, rather than steeped. It was sometimes called bancha twig tea.
I have recently found the green kukicha which looks more like hay to me and had a light grassy/vegetal taste. The roasted twig kukicha of my aquaintance tastes very similar to hojicha. I did not know there was also an inbetween roasted and green.... ah, more confusion! lol!!
Back in my Macrobiotic days (almost 20 years ago), kukicha was used to describe roasted twig tea that was quite thick stems and twigs from the late summer or early fall, and the tea was boiled/simmered in water on the stove, rather than steeped. It was sometimes called bancha twig tea.
I have recently found the green kukicha which looks more like hay to me and had a light grassy/vegetal taste. The roasted twig kukicha of my aquaintance tastes very similar to hojicha. I did not know there was also an inbetween roasted and green.... ah, more confusion! lol!!
Kukicha in my experience just means that there is a high concentration of stem/twig in the mix. They vary from one end of the roasting spectrum to the other, and the source twig material varies in quality as well.
Karigane and Kukicha seem to be interchangable terms to an extent. Karigane leans toward being used with higher end versions though.
Kukicha can vary in roasting from very light (green kukicha) to moderate (Kaga Bocha, Tencha-kuki houjicha) to heavy (Houji-kukicha)
Karigane and Kukicha seem to be interchangable terms to an extent. Karigane leans toward being used with higher end versions though.
Kukicha can vary in roasting from very light (green kukicha) to moderate (Kaga Bocha, Tencha-kuki houjicha) to heavy (Houji-kukicha)
Mar 6th, '09, 13:42
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Karigane also refers to gyokuro veins and stems which is yet another variation. I tend to prefer all sencha components. So, there is also sencha karigane as well as gyokuro karigane. Then some have gyo leaf and sencha stem and vice versa. So, it is always and adventure shopping for all sencha component kukicha/karigane.
It seem the more "highly esteemed growers/dealers" in Uji call things Karigane more often than not. Shizuoka calls it kukicha almost 100% of the time, more down to earth.
I saw a kukicha at Wegmans yesterday that was close to 75% leaf bits and around 25% stem/vein. It was their store brand in a big canister that I opened and checked out. (wonder how many times those are opened...
)
If I want kukicha/karigane, I want STEM/VEINS, not leaf. I can add my own leaf if I want to (which I will do on occasion). So, Den's Kukicha and Hibiki-an's sencha karigane are very high in stem leaf content and receive high rankings from me overall. I am still waiting for O-Cha to offer an ALL sencha kukicha.
It seem the more "highly esteemed growers/dealers" in Uji call things Karigane more often than not. Shizuoka calls it kukicha almost 100% of the time, more down to earth.
I saw a kukicha at Wegmans yesterday that was close to 75% leaf bits and around 25% stem/vein. It was their store brand in a big canister that I opened and checked out. (wonder how many times those are opened...
) If I want kukicha/karigane, I want STEM/VEINS, not leaf. I can add my own leaf if I want to (which I will do on occasion). So, Den's Kukicha and Hibiki-an's sencha karigane are very high in stem leaf content and receive high rankings from me overall. I am still waiting for O-Cha to offer an ALL sencha kukicha.
I think the two sides are just trying to brand the words kukicha and karigane differently in their use. Mostly trying to separate the possibility that kukicha could be more than just a tea made with leftovers.
Wegmans tea is an interesting thing. It's been really interesting seeing the changes they made from 2007 to 2008 in terms of their offerings and services. At least for their tea bar experiences. I hear Danny Wegman is a big green tea fan though.
Wegmans tea is an interesting thing. It's been really interesting seeing the changes they made from 2007 to 2008 in terms of their offerings and services. At least for their tea bar experiences. I hear Danny Wegman is a big green tea fan though.