Day 3: Twig Tea!

Today started off with a very ambitious attempt at making a terrarium. Unfortunately, I hit a slight snafu that involved locking myself out of my apartment so I experienced what you might call a "Terrarium Fail".

I was not, however, locked out of my bf's apartment where I discovered Japanese Kukicha Twig Tea!

I am a tea fanatic, having first developed my obsession when I worked at a tea shop in Harvard Square. I know more useless information about tea and have tried more teas than I care to mention here than most people in the United States. So, imagine my delight when I found a tea I have never even heard of before in my bf's kitchen cabinet!

According to the package, "During the fall in the Uji district, traditional center of the Japanese tea industry, tea farmers turn to the harvest of tea twigs for Kukicha, the "peasant's drink", so-called because farmers drank it after selling the leaves to sophisticated urbanites as a cash crop. The farmers carefully select 40% medium twigs, 40% thick twigs, and 20% thin twigs and leaves before gently roasting each variety separately to bring out its rich flavor. Because caffeine is concentrated in the leaves, twig tea is very mild and can be drunk even at night."

Ingredients: Organic Japanese Kukicha Tea Twigs, Stems, and Leaves
Brewing Instructions: Add 1 teabag per cup to cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes. Remove tea bag and serve.

On to the important stuff:

Look: Twig tea comes out a darker brown. Not quite as dark as coffee but not far off.
Smell: Kind of earthy. Very similar to green tea
Taste: Kind of earthy, nutty, and slightly sweet. Similar to Dragonwell, a simple Japanese green tea.
Overall: I loved it and have had about 4 cups today! If you like green tea, you will like this tea. Both have very similar tastes and smells. It is very mellow and would go well with many foods or as an after dinner tea.

I hope to find more interesting teas as the year progresses, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know! And hopefully the terrarium will be finished later this week...

Until Tomorrow,
Cat

P.S.
Tea Fact: Caffeine is removed from tea leaves within the first 30-60sec of brewing. If you want to decaffeinate a tea, brew for 60 seconds, dump the water, and then brew again. Second time around, your tea will be caffeine free!