Collection: Kukicha

What is kukicha?

Kuki can mean "stem," "twig" or "stalk", and cha means "tea". After picking the leaves, the farmer makes a tea called aracha (荒茶) or "crude tea". Aracha is made up of irregular shaped leaves, small broken leaves, and stems. Aracha is not a finished tea nor is it worth selling to consumers.

At a re-manufacturing factory like the one at Den's parent company, Shirakata-Denshiro Shoten, Aracha is processed into sencha or gyokuro by sifting, sorting leaves by size, removing stems, broken leaves, etc. So, kukicha can be considered as a secondary product of sencha or gyokuro. 

It was once traded very cheaply because the Japanese were mostly interested in sencha or gyokuro and did not pay attention to kukicha. However, they later came to appreciate kukicha's unique, more mellow profile. Nowadays, it is as valued as sencha or gyokuro.

Which part of bush is used for kukicha?

The picture on the right shows which part of the plant can be used for kukicha. When tea leaves are picked, the stems are picked at the same time. While the good tea leaves are steamed, rolled, kneaded and dried, the stems and many torn or broken tea leaves are separated from the good tea.

Health benefits and exceptional flavor

Comparatively speaking, the stem of the tea plant are known to contain more L-theanine (a factor of umami), pyrazine (an aromatic organic compound) and geraniol linalool (a flowery or sweet aroma). This is because the L-theanine in the tea leaf turns into tannins (a factor of bitterness) through photosynthesis caused by sunshine.

However, photosynthesis does not occur in the stems of the tea plant, even under sunshine, so L-theanine remains in the stem, resulting a pure umami taste.

L-theanine is known for its benefits as a relaxant. It generates alpha-waves in the brain. Alpha waves are emitted when the brain is in a relaxed state. Scientists are also examining L-theanine’s ability to improve the brain’s memory capability.

More about L-theanine…

How kuki (stems) are separated?

There are two steps to take stems out of the Aracha:

No.1 Denbo - Statistic electricity drum machine called a denbo that uses an electrical stick. The tea leaves pass through a rolling drum containing high voltage electricity. Since stems are drier, the drum can easily pick them up using static electricity. The tea leaves, which contain more moisture, pass through since they don't stick to the drum.

What determines the quality of kukicha?

Seeing as how kukicha is just the stem material of sencha and gyokuro, the quality of a kukicha simply depends on the quality of the sencha or gyokuro that it is made of. If the kukicha comes from good quality tea then the quality of the kukicha will also be good.

Ever heard of karigane?

Karigane is a Japanese term for wild geese. Japanese folklore says that some of these wild geese often hold small branches in their beaks when they fly. They then put them on the water and sit on them. The branches they carry resemble twigs of tea bushes, so kukicha (twig tea) has been called "karigane" in some areas of Japan.

Brewing

Kukicha is a casual brewer's dream. Kukicha contains a high amount of L-theanine with lower amount of tannin, so, even if you brew it with high temperature water, it is difficult for it to become bitter. Instead, you experience the brew's rich body, light, vegetal sweetness, and gentle aroma. In general, for kukicha we recommend 180F water and a steeping time of about 60 seconds, but you are welcome to explore different water temperatures and steeping times.