Green Tea/Twig Tea (Kukicha)

[Bruce Paine]

Thank you, Nancy!

From my paper minibrochure:
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...the decoction (herbal preparations made by boiling the plant parts) called
kukicha or bancha twig tea, it’s important to mention that there are many
other beverages that are also known as teas. Besides the teas that are
made from the common tea plant or Camellia sinensis, there are herbal
teas taken for enjoyment or medicinal purposes. Since there are books
devoted to tea and herbal infusions, our focus will be on kukicha. The
following, quoted from Aveline Kushi in her book Aveline Kushi’s
COMPLETE GUIDE TO MACROBIOTIC COOKING FOR HEALTH, HARMONY AND PEACE (with Alex Jack, Warner Books ISBN 0-446-38377-5 ) says
“Tea originated in India, in the region of Assam, and accompanied
Buddhism to China and Japan. In the Far East, tea bushes commonly serve
as hedges around temples. As a child I often climbed with my
playmates in the tea bushes around the village temple and picked the
white flowers in spring. All tea comes from the tea plant, but not all
tea are alike. Tea may be made from the buds, leaves, twigs, or stems of
a tea bush. the season when these are harvested and the way they are
processed determine the quality of the tea. Black tea, also known as red
leaf tea, is most popular in the West. It is fermented, highly processed,
often dyed, and high in caffeine and tannin, the reddish substance which
gives the tea its strong, astringent flavor. Common types of red leaf tea
include Orange Pekoe and Souchong. Green tea is unfermented, steamed, and much less processed but also very high in caffeine. Typical types include Gunpowder, Young Hyson, and Imperial. Oolong tea is a combination of black and green tea and usually is scented with gardenia or jasmine.Twig tea, made from the stems and twigs of the tea bush, is known as bancha or kukicha tea in Japan. It is picked at the end of the summer naturally receded from the tea plant. Bancha means ‘late growing tea.’ Unlike black, green, or oolong teas, which are acidic, bancha twig tea is
slightly alkaline. Twig tea is very good for digestion, serves as a
buffer to acids in the stomach, and has many medicinal uses.” There are
a variety of cha (teas) to choose from in Japanese cuisine. Shaded by
slatted bamboo from direct sunlight, to maintain their tenderness the
small, delicate, earliest leaves are picked to make Gyokoru, the highest
quality leaf green tea. When ground to a fine dust, it become matcha, used
in the Japanese tea ceremony. Then the blinds are removed and the larger,
lower leaves are picked to make sencha, the medium grade green tea. Lower on the bush, older leaves and small twigs are picked to make bancha a lower grade green tea. Less expensive than sencha, bancha is usually
served in Japanese restaurants and goes well with food. Hojicha a lightly
toasted “roasted tea” that unlike other green teas that become bitter
when cooled, makes a refreshing cool summer drink. Kukicha derived from the final cuttings: twigs and stems are not considered to be green
tea. Containing little caffeine, the lack of leaves, kukicha has some
calcium, is calming to the digestive tract and makes a nice compliment to
complex sugar baked (macrobiotic) desserts. The best tasting tea is made using spring, well, or filtered water in a glass tea or coffee pot.
To prepare: add 1 heaping teaspoon of kukicha to 1 quart of cold water.
Cover and bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove from heat source and let steep (simmering twig tea
makes it too strong and bitter to drink alone!) . When the pot of tea
has been consumed, a pinch of tea (prepared as above) can be added to
freshen the pot. Enjoy hot or cold. An excellent beverage for
satisfying thirst while doing an activity involving meduim exercise is a
kukicha/apple juice combination that puts Gatorade to shame:
KukichApple: fill a container with 3/4 kukicha tea and 1/4 unfiltered
apple juice (organic tastes the sweetest!). Drink sparingly! Introduced
to the U.S. by Michio Kushi, in the early 1970s, kukicha is available in natural food stores , by direct mail (both in bulk and also in tea bags), and in macrobiotic restaurants. Kukicha or (bancha) twig as well as the other Japanese green teas are available ... in the following bulk sizes: 11 lb., 2.2 lb., 16 oz. and 3 oz. , and also in 16 or 24 teabag boxes from Cybermacro/Quality Natural Foods http://www.qualitynaturalfoods.com/ and Discount Natural Foods http://www.discountnaturalfoods.com/, or from your local natural food store or food co-op. Read about Japanese green teas in Cooking With Japanese Foods by Jan and John Belleme (Talman Publi. ISBN 0-936184-04-3,) and in other macrobiotic publications, and books on tea.....
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Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[Cinnamongirl]

...Thanks for all the feedback!!
Both of you, Nacy and Bruce, are very helpful!

Nancy I did looked for Bancha twig tea in Wild Oats, but i couldn't find it...So, that's why I came to the forum to see if anyone knew about a store that carries Bancha Twig tea in Miami. The place where I used to buy it does not have it anymore, and the manager told me that he doesn't know when he will receive more of it.

[garymill]

Hi Rovena,

Since you can not find it locally, it may be best to get it from us, http://www.qualitynaturalfoods.com/s...beverages.html via mail order. We will have a brand new store opening in about a week to shop from attached right here, to replace the one you would see if you click on catalog. Not everything is back in stock yet from the losses due to the floods from Hurricanes back in Sept with our main supplier, but this is an item that we can provide now, it would be best to call direct to order at 1-888-392-9237 as we do not have the current store open at the moment as some things are back in stock while others are not, we just want to make it simple and only open the brand new store when everything is back in, but at this time the teas we can provide to you.

Gary

[anneh]

I purchased some Haiku Genmai Kukicha tea. Bag says it contains Organic tea twigs/stems/leaves and organic brown rice, couldn't find any with just twigs. Anyway, wondering how to prepare it as I have forgotten.
anneh

[Nancy]

Nice set of links on: "Green Tea and Human Health"

http://www.daisan.co.jp/health.htm

Nancy

[Rafflesia]

Thanks Nancy! That is such a beautiful site. It would make a great coffee table book.