Mejiro Kukicha

Based on reviews and their description I am pretty sure the one I am drinking is Meijiro and not Tsubame but it could also be neither… ^^; This one was part of the Intermeditate Course for the Global Japanese Tea Association.

The best smell in the world is processing tea. It is an aroma that is so fresh and yet so lively. Within each particle of aroma you get a small hint of what is to come. Your brain entices you with different thoughts of distinct teas and what this particular batch will become.
The wet leaf aroma of this kukicha is intoxicating. It reminds me of the Obubu processing facility. Staring out at the tea fields of Wazuka from the second floor. Slightly vegetal notes, hints of green pepper, and the vegetable mix that came with the bento lunch. The kuki are a mix of olive green and luscious jungle green (not quite as vibrant as the Crayola crayon color. Smooth mouth feel.
The flavor is filled with green tea and dirt covered with freshly plucked leaves. Everything about this tea reminds me of Obubu.

Sipdown! (14 | 169)

Also my random tea of the day. I only had one single-serving packet left, so also a sipdown yay!

This is a lovely one – it’s like a mellower version of their Kabuse Sencha. Makes sense given it’s the stems of shaded leaves used to make matcha. Has a nice vegetal intensity to it still, heavy on the spinach and kabocha, but it’s a bit softer and smoother than the Kabuse, and it also has some nice nutty notes to it. The description mentions tomato, which I’m not sure about, but I don’t think that’s really a note I think about in tea, so maybe I just don’t have the association.

Anyway, a very nice and flavorful Japanese green with a bit of a unique character of its own. Happily, I have an unopened bag of this somewhere, according to my spreadsheet. :)

Also, Obubu’s kukicha are all named after birds, and Mejiro (めじろ) is apparently the Japanese word for the warbling white-eye, which looks to be an adorable little green chonk of a bird with white around its eye. :3

I was excited to try this tea as I haven’t had kukicha in ages. This sample was once again courtesy of Cameron who has been broadening my Japanese tea horizons.

Just looking at the leaves, I could tell this was different from the twiggy kukichas I’ve had before. In fact, it looked more like a standard Sencha with its mostly forestry green leaf and absence of any thick twigs and stems.

The leaves themselves have a very light grassy aroma but upon heating, emit a strong aroma of steamed asparagus. Sure enough, the asparagus came through in the first steep along with umami and edamame. The second infusion is kabusecha like and heavier on the grass. More specifically dry grass on a hot summer day. Last infusion was earthy with a light brothyness and notes of edamame and chestnut.

This was a really interesting tea that evolves over steeps. It’s decidedly more vegetal than Sencha and adds a unique spin on familiar flavor profile. This is a high grade kukicha that holds its own against any Japanese green.