Saturday, March 15, 2008

Rishi Kukicha

Today's Tea is green and Japanese. I know...who would've thunk it?


I don't often drink Rishi's Japanese teas anymore. It is not my intent to make any overt or disparaging remarks about their quality, but it would certainly appear that their teas are shipped to them by boat. If I have a choice, why buy tea that spent a month or more on a ship, when I can simply buy it fresh from the source (Ippodo, Hibiki-an, O-cha), or at least from a vendor that uses air freight (Den's Tea).

But fuck this kukicha is good. To hell with harvest dates; good is good, and quality is where you find it.

I don't know if this is my favourite kukicha, but I think it is the sweetest that I've tried, and I like my kukicha sweet. Its from shizuoka and made with fukamushi sencha.

The aroma is breathtaking. Thick and sweet. A bit of fruit in the background, apples perhaps.

This tea has a good viscosity, a pleasantly full mouth-feel. Slightly more astringent than water. Very sweet. It has an enjoyable after taste that lingers for several minutes. I can consistently get four solid infusions.

No comments: