84 Tasting Notes
Hello. Meet my absolute favourite COLD-BREW tea in the entire world!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Organic Kukicha.
(This tea is unbe-freaking-lievable. I probably have at least 1 pot a day. Not counting the steady supply of cold-brew harios in my fridge.)
Hario Pitcher + 2 Tblsp Kukicha + Fill to top with COLD water.
Leave in fridge for 4+ hours. Enjoy! Feel free to re-infuse and do it all over again.
(Tip: a splash of warm water before filling the hario with cold water does a nice job of getting the leaves to open up if you like it a teeny bit more pronounced.)
Seriously… try it.
And FYI you can find the Hario Pitchers I’m referring to on Rishi’s website. I own 6. Best investment I’ve ever made. Ever. And when any of you try it… let me know afterward how you feel about it. We’ll embrace.
(P.S. Word on the street is that if you use the coupon code “GIVETEA10” on Rishi’s website, you get 20% off your order. Get a hario! And by street, I mean my inbox.)
Has anyone found a favourite Kukicha from any other tea company? I’m just curious. I tried one from Adagio one time… meh… didn’t compare. And it was powdery. I want full twigs n leaves people!
Preparation
Hey Oh Cha! Great Kukicha review. I’ve wanted to try the green tea Kukicha myself but haven’t had a chance. I did, however, try (and LOVE) The Tao of Tea’s Kukicha. There are no green tea leaves in it, just straight-up twigs. It is the smoothest tasting tea I’ve ever had. It brews up rather dark and has a mild nutty/chocolate flavour.
The twigs are pretty thick, so in comparison to your method of refrigeration, I actually boil this tea in water for about 2-4 minutes. It really releases the flavours. It also tastes great after cooling down during the day.
You’ve got me really interested in these Hario pitchers and cold brews.
Cheers,
Yummy!
Moldy basement? Did you guys brew your tea with lake water?
Serve with a milk chocolate chip [insert your favourite nut here] cookie. It will compliment the unique nutty qualities of the tea!
And it will make the tea more appealing for a first-timer or the average American palate. :)
Preparation
I had to try this, I was so very curious.
Very clean. Mildly earthy. Not at all tart or astringent like red rooibos. Lovely infusion colour.
It’s very good, I appreciate it for what it is, but my palate has no interest in it on it’s own. However, it would make an EXCELLENT BLENDING INGREDIENT. If you’re into that sort of thing!
Preparation
I was absolutely obsessed with this tea throughout college. I haven’t had it in ages, due to my tastes refining a bit… but this tea if great for new tea drinkers, my friends all love it, and I’ve also found it works well (or better) when combined with other teas.
I used to combine it with rooibos or berry teas. Then I added honey, and the result was a juicy delight, enjoyable hot or cold.
If you want to give it a try for yourself, I recommend combining this teabag with a bag of Madagascar Vanilla Red [Rooibos]. It rounds out the flavour of the Passion Tazo Tea, making it less tart.
I like what Ricky mentioned with the Passion Tea Lemonade too! That sounds really tasty.
Preparation
Decent. Enjoyable. Gets bitter easily though.
The Plantation Peach from Charleston Tea Co. blows this tea out of the water! That’s a loose tea though. Goes great with Hob Nobs in the middle of the afternoon. :) :) :)
Preparation
Oh wow, can’t believe our local tea co has made it all the way up to by you. CTC gets their tea from the only working tea plantation in the country.
My friends went to Charleston, and brought back that tea to me as a gift. I was so impressed with it… I would love to see that plantation sometime. :)
Mmmmmmm… this tea. A green tea, but a beautiful amber infusion, and a lovely roasty flavour. And when I say roasty – I mean it in the best possible way! The PERFECT COMPLIMENT TO SO MANY MEALS.
If you’re entertaining, and you’re unsure of which tea to serve with the meal, Genmaicha and Houjicha are always a safe, yet impressive route to take!
And as I will often claim, Rishi provides the best I’ve found in both categories. The look, the smell, the big leaves, the infusion colour… it’s like I can taste Japan…
… and Japan tastes good. REAL GOOD. :)
Preparation
It’s like… a tea, that can’t decide if it wants to be Sencha, or Houjicha!
I like it. It’s very good. However, I would choose both Sencha or Houjicha over the Bancha. Just a personal preference I suppose! Sencha for savoury, Houjicha for roasty. Yum yum yum.
Hmmm… I’m ordering my 1st Bancha from Den’s Tea in the next 2 weeks. This review makes me a lil nervous.
I’m with you there. Bancha is somewhere in the middle. I guess for those days where I’m feeling a bit sick and I want something really light.
Let me know what you think when you try it! I’ve only had one other Bancha to compare to Rishi’s.
It’s not that this was bad. It’s just that I like… flavours that have REALLY FOUND THEMSELVES. More self-actualized flavours! More pronounced flavours!
Just a personal preference thing. It’s still quite an excellent Japanese green tea.
Ditto, Ricky!
You should, then we know what teas to avoid:P
Well don’t buy this one!
Pu-erhs like this are giving pu-erhs a terrible reputation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gross gross gross.
Your parameters are vastly different from my preference so I may just try it to compare;)
It tasted like I imagine it would if someone brewed my tea in a tire, and then put out their cigarette in it. :(
Ew… Even thought this isn’t entirely pu erh, I think I’d probably use my typical pu erh preparation method.
Too bad there’s no dislike button on here! :P
…looking at your 5min steeping time and your boiling water…is this the first time that your ’work’with a Pu-Erh? No offens here.Clearly there are good teas and clearly there a teas that were produced for the bin…
But in case that this was your first trial with Mr.Bolder Breakfast than you should give it another chance.
Stick with the boiling water at first but keep the first infusion under 90 seconds…pour the tea in a cup and let it cool down for a couple of minutes.
Some Pu-Erhs tend to come across quite rough when drunk very hot.But after a few minutes they start to taste milder.Even fruty perhaps…
If the tea seems still to bitter or rough to you then try it with a lower water temp.
85 degrees Celsius…90sec steeping
I am only suggesting here…
Maybe I should try a shorter infusion time, and see how it goes. I’m very particular when I make my tea though, so I did use the water temperature and infusion time as indicated on the canister.
I can’t remember if it was five minutes or not, I didn’t have it in front of me while on Steepster, but typically 5 minutes is appropriate for your standard shu pu-erh. Usually the shorter and staggered infusion times apply to saiqing varieties pu-erh or a sheng tuo cha, right?
I mean no offence to fans of this tea! …Maybe it tastes good with cream and sweetener?
Oh Cha!, Carolyn has suggested rinsing 1g of tea for every 1oz water for 15 sec in boiling water then 20 sec steeps and I’ve been quite impressed w/ the strength and the quality of the flavor. While I do often at least try the company’s suggestions, I’ve also learned some companies don’t know squat when it comes to steeping parameters. Pu Erh is like any other tea, everyone likes it different. But this is just another preparation option for you.
Neato! Thanks for the tip!! :)
Carolyn is really to thank- I’m just relaying it;)