''Kukicha'' (茎茶), or twig tea, also known as ''bōcha'' (棒茶), is a Japanese blend made of stems, stalks, and

twig A twig is a thin, often short, branch of a tree or bush. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and patterning of the twig bark ar ...

s. It is available as a green tea or in more oxidised processing. Kukicha has a unique flavour and aroma among teas, due to its being composed of parts of the tea plant that are excluded from most other teas. Regular kukicha material comes from production of ''

sencha is a type of Japanese ''ryokucha'' (, green tea) which is prepared by infusing the processed whole tea leaves in hot water. This is as opposed to matcha (), powdered Japanese green tea, where the green tea powder is mixed with hot water and t ...

'' or ''

matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally consumed in East Asia. The green tea plants used for matcha are shade-grown for three to four weeks before harvest; the stems and veins are removed during ...

''. When coming from ''

gyokuro is a type of shaded green tea from Japan. It differs from the standard ''sencha'' (a classic unshaded green tea) in being grown under the shade rather than the full sun. The name "gyokuro" translates as "jewel dew" (or "jade dew"). While most s ...

's'' production, it takes the name ' (雁ヶ音 / かりがね) or ' (白折 / しらおれ). Karigane has historically been the name of kukicha made from leaves used for gyokuro green tea. However, these days the term karigane has become diverse, and is also used for any kukicha of high quality. Karigane that is specifically from Kyushu is called ''shiraore''. Kukicha has a mildly nutty and slightly creamy sweet flavour. It is made of four sorts of stems, stalks, and twigs of '' Camellia sinensis''. For best results, kukicha is steeped in water between . Green varieties are best steeped for less than one minute. Oversteeping or steeping too hot, as with all green teas, results in a bitter, unsavoury brew. It is common to steep kukicha for three or four infusions. Kukicha is one of the preferred teas of the

macrobiotic diet A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is a fad diet based on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet tries to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobiotic diets are to reduce ...

References

Green tea Japanese tea Japanese cuisine terms {{tea-stub