Sometimes in life you encounter a tea that is just perfect for you. It may not be perfect for everyone, what is one man's meat is another man's poison after all, but it is perfect for YOU. I have encountered this just four times in my tea drinking life. Firstly, Mulled Spice from Twinings. Then Earl Grey. Jasmine Pearls. Now, I can add Chash Tea's very fine Kukicha Toasted to that list.
From the very first moment I took a sip of this wonderful, but very unique tea, to the point where I'm several cups down the line, I can honestly say this has been one of those tea's that has left me utterly lost for words (which my family are truly grateful for I'm sure!).
I first tried this tea in an unorthodox setting - on the 174 bus heading towards work. The day was sunny, my beloved George Harrison on my iPod. Not much was wrong in Laura's world. But when I tried this tea it got a whole lot better.
Due to the very odd working patterns I have, Monday is my version of Friday. By Monday I'm so tired. I work in a supermarket, which is small in size, and everyone has to pull their weight, and quite frankly it's one of the most exhausting job's I've ever had. In all honesty, Monday's are hard.
When I randomly pulled this tea out of my tea cave, to make up six teabags to get me through the shift, I had no idea really what I was about to taste and how it would affect me.
Kukicha Toasted is a very different tea in as much as it doesn't come from the actual leaves of the tea plant, rather the stalks of the leaf. It is then toasted. I absolutely love how this tea looks. It appeals to me. It does look like what it is, and it's perhaps not the prettiest, but I find it fascinating to look at. It's nature at it's very best and I really like it!
What I absolutely love first and foremost about this tea is it's natural earthiness. It has woody elements to it, both in appearance and taste and it's a strong cup of tea - something to get your teeth into. It's almost like you could bite this tea and take huge chunks out of it. It's so solid. Solid and reliable. That's how I like people in my life to be, and my tea, also.
For someone who detests coffee - and I honestly do - this tea has elements that are almost coffee like, yet rather than not enjoy this tea, I find it rather delightful. In fact I brewed today's cup for a little longer than I ought to and I'm sure, if I had been blindfolded, I would of said I was drinking coffee rather than tea. It's that strength though that made this tea the most perfect choice for Monday nights at work. It's strong and robust to give you some oomph, and every sip can easily get you through that last difficult hour.
But despite it's strength and solidness, there are also very gentle tones to this tea. When I first tasted the tea it seemed like toffee, but on reflection, and more cups down the line, it's not toffee that I detect rather a honey flavour. How can one tea be so strong and yet so delicate at the same time? I do not know - that is Chash's secret, no doubt!
Whilst merrily driving along to work there was something bugging me about this tea. There were flavour combinations within the tea that I simply couldn't place. The tasted more than familiar but I couldn't decide what these flavours where. It actually didn't hit me to a bit later on, whilst mulling over the tea in the bath. The other element in that tea is a nutty element, not peanut but more like pecan.
So the combination of honey flavours and the nutty taste, it rather did resemble one of those healthy snack bars that are full of nuts and smoothed over with honey. That is why the tea was so familiar.
There is a gorgeous smoothness to this tea, too. And the flavour is very rich. And I love that even when this tea has sat in my travel mug for some time, it does not go bitter as it cools.
Kukicha Toasted is a full on tea. But it's delicious, not over powering. It's strong and satisfying - don't expect this to be dainty, it certainly is not.
But the more of this I drink, the more I fall in love with it. The more I taste of it, the more perfect and ideal it becomes. I love how the flavours fall and tumble around your mouth, developing a awe-inspiring, yet strangely comforting strength. Whilst drinking this tea everything is right in my world. Worries or concerns disappear. It gives me time to focus and concentrate. Whilst I'm serving customers on the till, in a quiet moment I take a sip and I drift off to my tea loving world, even for a few seconds.
There are now three tea's from Chash that I simply cannot not have in my cupboard. Their delicious Orangery green tea, their Jasmine Pearls and now Kukicha.
As regular readers know I am deadly serious about tea. It runs through me like blood. But this tea is different. I am astounded by it's instant impression it made. I am surprised that at times I physically crave this tea and nothing else will work.
I will end this review on that very view that nothing else works for me at times. I simply cannot find any other words that are good enough for this tea.
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