Fellow Tea Lovers,
Spring has sprung! Tea season is upon us! Things are getting busy in terms of tea, so my computer decided that this was the best time to have a complete mental breakdown!!
As everyone who has woken up to find that their computer won’t knows, losing all your files, internet bookmarks and pictures can only result in one thing: long, prolonged, unadulterated swearing. For the past two weeks I have been picking up the pieces of my internet life, meaning I have not posted in quite some time.
However, being unplugged does have its advantages. I have had more time to sit and read tea books than ever before, study Chinese and enjoy cup upon cup of tea.
This month, I have been absolutely addicted to Kokicha tea. My recent trip to Japan has obviously influenced my choices, but these roasted Japanese teas are the perfect “wake up and go get ‘em” teas.
Kokicha has long been a very popular tea in Japan, a slow roasted tea, whose leaves are a dark/cocoa colour, yet has a remarkably smooth texture and flavor, with a slight astringent bite at the end. Sounds complicated, no? Well, that’s one of the reasons I love it so. Its complexity is hard to describe, but once you have tried it, you understand why it is the most consumed tea in Japan, after green tea. It’s a great morning tea, a fantastic tea to help digestion, and can be mixed with anything. I like it “au natural” but I must admit, St******s makes a kick-a** Kokicha latte in Japan, something I hope to reproduce myself in the near future (frothy milk+kokicha+honey= yummy in my tummy).
Kokicha is a great tea to try for those who are tired of trying green teas, yet are not ready to go over to the dark side, trying harsh black teas. I like to think of it as a “golden tea”, first because of the colour of the infusion, and second for its smooth, rich flavor.
I urge you to try the black sheep of the Japanese tea family, especially if your computer is acting up…it calms one down:)
Drink on Tea lovers, drink on.
Tea Gal in China 
Nen said,
April 6, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Amazing the things we discover when the computer goes down – just like the things we discovered when there were no computers. But then you wouldn’t know about that, my lovely Pooh.
Kokicha to you!
Much Love, Nen