Alright, let’s talk about this kukicha green tea, you know, the twig tea. Don’t know why them fancy folks call it that, twig tea just sounds silly. It’s tea, made from the tea plant, just like all the other teas.

Now, I ain’t no doctor or nothin’, but folks say this tea is good for ya. They say it’s got them antioxidants. What are them? I dunno, some kinda magic stuff that keeps ya young, or so they say. Maybe that’s why them city women look so smooth, always drinkin’ somethin’ fancy. Heard it helps with slowin’ down the gettin’ old part, you know, the wrinkles and the achy bones. I still get my wrinkles and achy bones, mind you, but maybe it’s worse without the tea.

This here tea, it ain’t strong like that coffee them youngsters drink. It’s kinda mild, easy on the stomach. I drink it after supper, helps with the belly grumbles, you know? Makes things move along smoothly, if you catch my drift. They call it a “digestive aide“, real fancy talk for helpin’ ya poop.

• It’s got this stuff called calcium in it, a lot of it. Good for the bones, they tell me. Milk’s got calcium too, but this tea tastes a whole lot better than milk, that’s for sure.
• And it’s got vitamins and minerals. Don’t ask me which ones, I can’t remember all them fancy names. Just know it’s good for ya, like eatin’ your greens.

Now, some folks say this kukicha tea ain’t as good as that sencha tea. Sencha, that’s the real popular one, they say. Made from the same plant, but they pick it at a different time, I guess. Then there’s this bancha tea too, they say it’s even lower grade, picked later in the year. But this kukicha, it’s different, it’s made from the stems and stalks, not the leaves so much. Someone said it is like a secret in the tea world, not many folks know about it. And it don’t have much of that get-ya-buzzin’ stuff, what do they call it… caffeine. That’s good for me, I don’t need to be jittery all day, got enough to do as it is.

Some folks, they use this tea for them… what’s it called… macrobiotic diets? Sounds like a bunch of hogwash to me, eatin’ weird food and drinkin’ fancy tea. But hey, to each their own. I just drink it ‘cause it tastes good and makes my belly happy.

I heard somewhere that this tea has somethin’ in it that can help with keeping you young. Well, I don’t know ‘bout that, I’m old as dirt, but maybe it helps some. They said that this Kukicha tea, they mix all sorts of stems together, add a bit of that matcha stuff too, you know, the bright green powder. That matcha, that’s strong stuff, a little goes a long way. But in this tea, it just adds a little somethin’ extra, I guess.

So, that’s the lowdown on this kukicha tea, as best as I can tell ya. It ain’t fancy, it ain’t gonna cure all your ills, but it’s a good, honest cup of tea. And that’s good enough for me.

Steeping the Kukicha, well, I just pour some hot water on it, let it sit for a spell, then I drink it. Some folks get all fancy with their temperatures and timers, but I ain’t got time for that. Hot water, tea, wait a bit, drink. Simple as that.

Now, where you get this tea? I don’t rightly know. I get mine from the store, same place I get my flour and sugar. Guess you can find it online too, these days you can find anything online. Just make sure you are not paying too much for shipping, some of them stores want to charge you an arm and a leg for it.

Tags: [kukicha green tea, green tea, antioxidants, low caffeine, digestive health, calcium, vitamins and minerals, Japanese tea, twig tea, healthy beverage]