Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Frontier Co-Op
Product Description:
Enjoy this wonderful Japanese organic karigane (green kukicha stem) tea combined with flash freeze-dried organic blueberries. Fresh fruity vegetal flavors deliver very low caffeine content in a satisfying, healthy tea that also happens to help satisfy sweet-tooth cravings.
Taster’s Review:
This is an interesting tea.
The dry leaf (err… stem?) has a scent that is similar to freshly cut grass and blueberry. It is a very pleasant fragrance. Once brewed, the aroma of the tea is different. It still smells of blueberry, but instead of the grassy scent, I am getting a sort of steamed asparagus essence. These two scents together – blueberry and asparagus – make for a somewhat odd smell. Not off-putting, just … odd.
But the flavor is very enjoyable. It tastes strongly of blueberries (a good thing for a blueberry tea to taste strongly of!), and the Kukicha has a vegetative presence. It is grassy with a light astringency at the tail. Kukicha tends to be a lighter tasting tea than, say a Sencha, so the vegetative tone seems relatively strong for the lightness of the tea. But, since I have grown quite fond of that vegetative taste, I don’t mind that at all.
Overall, I found this to be a tasty cup. It’s good hot or iced, and with it being so hot, I’m inclined at the moment to say that I prefer it iced. Ask me again in the middle of winter, and I might flip-flop on that.
I like Frontier Co-Op’s products. These are good quality, organic teas at reasonable prices. And they’re tasty too!
