Yellow Kukicha

One River Tea

Regular price $6.50 Sale

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Tea: Yellow Kukicha(霍山棒棒茶)
Type: Yellow Tea, Huangdacha Processing
Harvest: July 2024
Region: Shangtutushi Town, Huoshan City, Anhui.
Producer: Jiahong Factory
Tasting Notes: Sunflower Seeds, Pine Nuts, Toasted Sesame.

This is, without exaggeration, the best thing to ever happen to stem tea. Processed as green tea, stems can sometimes give off rough astringency; as a red tea, they can come out weak, albeit sweet. Yet, as a yellow tea, stems offer up a uniquely rich, nutty, sweet, and roasty taste. The closest analog in the tea world is Japan's Hoji-kukicha, but the balance between sweetness and roastiness is unrivaled. There are no sour or sharp notes lurking below the surface.

The Jiahong "factory" is really just a father-son duo that has converted their two story village home and backyard into a mini reprocessing plant for the twigs. Hu Jiahong heard about the market for heavily roasted, yellowed twig tea in the early 2000's. He learned how to make it after some experimentation, and began visiting Shandong and Shanxi in 2008. His son now permanently lives in Shanxi's Hongtong County, and has been storing and shipping out tea after an industrial accident left him disabled.

In China, stem tea like this is consumed in a relatively limited geographic area, mainly Shandong and Southern Shanxi. It is an affordable, hardy tea that is perfectly suited for the conventional mug-brewing of these areas. This a dessert tea if there ever was one, and a treat that every tea lover should try at least once.

Back to Yellow Teas

A great, low-caffeine tea perfect for afternoon drinking. I drink this almost everyday at work. Its flavor has both very pleasant toasted nuts and roasted notes; the closest I can describe it is as a cross between an Alishan oolong from Taiwan and Genmaicha.

Just - WOW!

The description here is very spot on! Completely agree that this is "a treat that every tea lover should try at least once." I received this as a sample and was so impressed that I ordered 300, yes 300, gms - enough for a year. I am always on the hunt for a low-caffeine afternoon tea and this fits the bill perfectly. I have no idea exactly how much caffeine is there but it's definitely low (maybe 20 mg per 8 oz mug) - no jitters and no problem going to bed. A truly wonderful and unexpected tea. So, my ORT order of spring white tea arrived, it included this interesting sample I would have unlikely ordered on my own. I was only vaguely aware of this type of tea - namely that it’s roasted twigs low in caffeine. But, wow!! What a nice flavor! Surprisingly similar to a mid roast, nutty flavored oolong….maybe like a roasted TGY or perhaps a Dong Ding. At this price point, it's a steal!

Beautiful and unique kukicha

Was delighted to find a sample of this included in my most recent order. If like me you're a fan of the japanese hoji kukicha then you must try this. All of the savoury/umami notes of good quality kukicha is there, together with the rich nuttiness of yellow teas. After drinking there is a lingering (yet subtle) note of the charcoal which balances out nicely on the palate. Makes for a really nice overnight cold brew to draw out the last of the tea energy once you finish your session too.

Comfort in a cup

Got a sample of this as part of the Untea Sampler and loved it so much I just ordered a few hundred g to stock up. It's wonderfully sweet. I was a little unsure about it from the smell (overwhelmingly roasty) but the tea itself won me over at first sip. My favorite from the sampler and honestly one of my all-time favorite teas.

(It also makes for a wonderful latte!)

Yellow Kukicha

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