I do recall the flavor when I first opened my bag was more pronounced, deep and grassy, it seems there has been some flavor loss.  Thanks for all this great info Kristin!!!!

Both Kukicha and Bancha are Diamonds (best Swami food category) that are universally Geno harmonic (Swami food combining category)

52 ozs of either will keep me going in the best mental shape possible for hours!

Can't work without this oasis of calm!  

Quoted from Kristin

Actually, according to the teaheads, you do it the other way around. Keep your unopened and sealed green tea in the refrigerator (to prolong freshness) but once opened, keep at room temperature and use within one to two months. I can't remember why though... lol! I think it is that the moisture degrades the tea. But you can try it and see if it changes the flavor any. And also any tea that is purchased now to about May is from last years harvest so it will already have been in storage for awhile. The fresher the better for most teas!

Ta...Great info there... It's the same with coffee (dare I mention that word)
A lot of people freeze their coffee, but apparently, the moisture produced, doesn't mix well with the oils in the coffee   Or so I was taught

Quoted from Kathleen

I do recall the flavor when I first opened my bag was more pronounced, deep and grassy, it seems there has been some flavor loss.  Thanks for all this great info Kristin!!!!

You are very welcome Kathleen!!  


I think of preparing a good cup of tea as something of an art form... there is a timelessness to it and a connection to antiquity... a simple pleasure to be savored slowly.

I just read Pearl S. Buck's first novel "The Good Earth" over Christmas and I was quite moved at the beginning of the story where in the life of this poor Chinese farmer, a few tea leaves stirred into his morning water was considered a very special treat. Tea has a magic to it that is beyond description.

Quoted Text

I just read Pearl S. Buck's first novel "The Good Earth" over Christmas

Kristin, thanks for mentioning this book!!  I checked it out of the library Tuesday and am very much enjoying it!  

Quoted from Kathleen

Kristin, thanks for mentioning this book!!  I checked it out of the library Tuesday and am very much enjoying it!  

You are welcome!    After I finished the book I found out that Pearl S. Buck wrote all of her novels first in Chinese and then translated them into English. What a feat! And it gives her works in English an interesting rhythm, cadence, and simplicity that I think would be missing if she had written them in English first.

Is the tea that Dr D sells on his site Kukicha?  I am curious about that because the bag is written all in Chinese and I have no idea what it is...but I do love it.  I know it has rice in it along with the green tea.  Anyone know??

It is not Kukicha.  The tea with brown rice has no stems (Kukicha).  Kristen knows which type of green tea it is but I can't remember.  It's possibly Sencha, but I don't think so.

Kristen??  . . .

More info on the tea used in Mr. Itaru's tea.  It is most likely Mecha, according to Kristen.  This type of green tea with toasted rice added (Genmaicha), can be also made with Bancha.  It all depends on the company that does it.

Thank you!  I just tried my fist cup of Kukicha tea and really like it.  

Quoted from Victoria

More info on the tea used in Mr. Itaru's tea.  It is most likely Mecha, according to Kristen.  This type of green tea with toasted rice added (Genmaicha), can be also made with Bancha.  It all depends on the company that does it.

There are different names for it but it is the tea that is picked for sencha (high grade of Japanese tea from young leaves) but doesn't quite make it all the way through the deep steaming/rubbing process. So the leaves are a bit bigger than for sencha, and supposedly not as high in caffeine either. I read recently that Shohokuen (the tea company where NAP gets their tea) also uses hoji-cha for their genmaicha tea. So I'm not exactly sure which is in the Mr. Itaru's green tea that NAP sells as they use either hoji-cha or mecha leaves (which they call yanagi) according to the Shohokuen website. I think it is the yanagi since the tea is green, hoji-cha would be a deep brown.

Now I'm sure this is probably confusing and way more information than you would like to know but that is the nature of studying tea... the more you learn the more confusing it gets! Each region has their own names and ways of classifying their teas. And although cultivation methods are mostly similar for high quality teas, differences in altitudes, temperatures, rainfall, etc. all affect the tea leaves that end up in your cup. And like fine wines, there are good years and there are bad years...

There isn't a smily that has their eye's crossed...haha!  Thanks for the info.

Thanks, Kristen!  
It is a lot to take in, but I look at it a lot like fine wine.  There is green tea, and then there is {{{GREEN TEA}}}.

The more I know about green tea, the more impressed I am with the expertise that goes into the cultivation and preparation of all the different types.  It's a fine art that I am just beginning to peek into with eyes of wonder.     

Thank you again.  You have been a wealth of information.  

You are so welcome, it is fun to share about tea!  

And I am finding that there are more and more people interested in fine teas. We have couple of locally owned tea houses here that really serve a quality product. It is fun to experiment and try new teas too.

And I agree, Victoria, there is an art to growing tea, plus a sense of timelessness. Tea has been cultivated for so many centuries I feel a connection to antiquity when watching the tea leaves dance in my teapot and cup. It is so beautiful to watch the dancing leaves through clear glass... although glass is not always the best vessel in which to brew tea.   Lovely to watch though...