I am a tea loving blogger. Therefore, tea is my entire life. I live and breathe the stuff. If I'm not living and breathing it, I'm talking about it. If I'm not talking about it, I'm writing about it. And whilst I'm writing about it, I'm drinking it.
I have tried a lot of tea's. More then I care to remember, more than have even been featured here on this blog. Some I've disliked, some I've adored. Some I can't put down. Some I can take or leave.
Very rarely though you experience a tea that is just so special that when you take you're first sip you are stunned into silence. You are knocked back, utterly unprepared for such a reaction.
For me, that tea is Kukicha Toasted from Chash Tea.
I first encounted this tea in the unconventional surroundings of a busy bus on the way to work. Not the most ideal way to first experience a new tea, but it was certainly what was needed. I have taken to using the Bodum every shift that I work and I religiously fill up six bags. Two for the journey to work, two for the first half of the shift, the final two to get me through the rest of the shift and the long, often tedious bus trip home. On this day I tried Kukicha I had gone through my tea collection. I didn't fancy floral, nor fruity, nor Earl Grey. So I opted for the tea that would soon become MY tea.
Kukicha is a different tea because, as I explained in my recent blog, it's not actually made from the leaves of the tea, rather the stalks. They are toasted but still retain the twig like look. It appeals to me so much.
But the utter joy in this tea is in the taste. The rich, decadent, full flavoured taste.
This tea is about as close to coffee as I can imagine. I am by no means a coffee lover but that coffee like element that this tea has is strangely appealing to me. I love how the flavours flow from honey and nut tones right through to chocolate tones if infused for a wee bit longer then suggested. Kukicha is a multi-layered tea.
What has utterly amazed me though was high quickly I clicked with this tea. It's almost like it's fulfilled idea's and tastes in one tea that I didn't even really know I was looking for. It has quenched a silent thirst.
It is ruddy, natural, robust. Perhaps the opposite to most tea's that I love, that tend to be floral, delicate and light as air. However, I like those rustic qualities, I love the fact you can get to grips with this tea and really experience it's depth of flavour.
With tea it doesn't really matter what tea you love. It doesn't matter if it's English Breakfast, Earl Grey or a lovely flavoured green tea. As long as you enjoy it and are happy and experience the pure joy of a decent cup of tea.
But if that joy of tea goes one step further and takes you off into your own world whilst you sup on that tea, then you are truly blessed, as I am.
As I write this post I have a cup of Kukicha next to me. It's lovely tones filling the air of my bedroom. It's lovely taste refreshing on this warm night. It is a comforter when nursing hurt feelings. It is a tea to be reckoned with, but it's MY tea.
So, through your tea journey, I can guarantee you will find your Kukicha.It may not be actual Kukicha. It could be a malty Assam tea or a fragrant jasmine. But what it is doesn't matter one iota. I just hope that you find YOUR tea. I hope that you experience what I did on that bus a couple of weeks ago. That moment when it's love at first sip. When you realise that you have one type of tea that you must never run out of, that you couldn't possibly live without.
And when you do find YOUR tea. You'll never be happier. That I can promise!
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