So after packing up a lovely Obubu sampler pack to send off, I was inspired to sit down with one of the (many) teas. This is a hoji-kukicha, or a roasted stem tea. Since matcha is made only from leaf material, the leftover stems are then processed into kukicha. In this case, the stems are roasted after their usual processing. This seems to be the lighter of their two hoji-kukicha teas.
I was surprised by a darker color and flavor than I was expecting when I steeped this tea. I used boiling water, and the steeps were 30, 15, and 45 seconds. The color was a light-to-medium brownish amber, which is very different from the product photo. I would call this a medium roast, with flavors of roasted pecans, coffee, damp wood, and wood smoke. The flavor was quite assertive overall, and I didn’t find a lot of subtleties in it. The third steep became a bit milder, and I felt I could start to taste some caramel or perhaps dried fruit notes. The smoke note was fairly light, and lent a warm and comforting “sitting ’round a cozy fire” sort of feeling.
I think next time perhaps I will shorten the first steep a bit more. I also wonder if the difference in color and strength could have been due to the fact that I used a sealed 5g packet, so there was likely a higher proportion of broken leaf than there would have been from the top portion of a full packet.
Still delicious, just not what I was expecting!
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Burnt Sugar, Coffee, Dried Fruit, Pecan, Roasted Nuts, Smoke, Smooth, Wet Wood
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I hadn’t done the research, so thanks for bring me up to speed on kukicha. All I knew before is that I like it! Roasted pecans is a good description.
I honestly don’t know why I felt the need to explain it, lol… But I’m glad you enjoyed it! :)
I do like my Kukicha a Hoji-Kukicha sounds interesting
I hadn’t done the research, so thanks for bring me up to speed on kukicha. All I knew before is that I like it! Roasted pecans is a good description.
I honestly don’t know why I felt the need to explain it, lol… But I’m glad you enjoyed it! :)
I do like my Kukicha a Hoji-Kukicha sounds interesting