A playful steamed green tea from Japan. Kukicha is a blend of leaves and leaf stems. The lightness of the stems becomes a sweet sesame seed or chestnut note. Tender like soft white rice. Balanced and, for a Japanese tea, very low in astringency.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Kukicha, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
Brewed at 180 for 2 minutes, the tea was lovely, with notes of grass and hay. Made the mistake of letting it steep for a few extra minutes while enjoying the first cup. Second cup packed a punch like unleaded gasoline. Passed on that and added water for an excellent second brew.
Love a good green tea and this one's exceptional. Very prominent grassy notes with a vegetal aftertaste. I like the lightness of this tea, almost refreshing.
Green tea is an iffy thing for me. Some I like and some I don't. I do not enjoy teas with a grassy or vegetal taste, and this one just doesn't work for me. To me, this tastes like drinking broccoli water after making steamed veggies. No thanks. Not a bad tea -- just not to my personal taste. Very high quality tea...I knew that the moment I opened my packet. And green tea lovers will adore this one! Just not my cup of tea.
2/24/2023 - Nope. Can't do it. I will leave this one to those who love green tea. Not a tea for me.
This cloudy-green, somewhat grassy, multi-steep tea is a pleasure to drink.
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This is an excellent green tea for those who love vegetal teas. I like it when I have a cold or need a wellness boost.
This smell is very similar to gyokuro which excites me as that s one of my favorite pure pure greens. Taking that as a hint of how to properly steep this, and the research I quickly did. I steeped this for 45 seconds at 160. Since this was such a short steep, I stood over it. With one teaspoon per 8 fl oz, this tea has a beautiful light green color. The smell is very similar to gyokuro in every way. It wasn t as umami as gyokuro, super slightly more sweet like the butter lettuce from the garden (think homemade garden salad, spinach, butter lettuce, the cool ruffled lettuce we lost the name of). Still a very excellent tea for those who are pure green snobs like me
We had this tea in my cupboard and didn't even know it. I tried it for my husband and he absolutely loves it! It has a wonderful green tea flavor and aroma. Not too grassy and not acidic or bitter. This is now a staple!
Really grassy and savory - 2 of my favorite quali-teas! It has a bit of nuttiness, which makes it especially good to sip warm on a cozy evening.
Smells great just from the bag! I love the smell of green teas
Too greeny tasting for my taste but it makes a good classic green.
This one was delicious - well balanced, not too astringent, hint of a nuttiness along with the gentle grassy taste. Very smooth!
I bought a sample box of green teas to try some different varieties, as I typically only drink green teas. This was definitely one I will purchase again. Light flavor
So delicious! Good, grassy, savory daily drinker. Just reordered this one, it's even better than I remember--upgraded to 5 stars!
This is a wonderful blend of tea. It's very nice for any chilly days.
Flavorful and refreshing. Not as strongly roasted as other Kukichas I have tasted. Personally I prefer a stronger roasted taste.
A very nice mild green. I like the almost roasted quality of it.
I made my Kukicha iced with burdock and green tea honey. It was plain, of course, and a little grassy, but overall good. I will definitely be playing with this one more. I would recommend it if you love the typical plain green tea!
This is a really nice green tea. It's a little stronger than the Genmai Cha, so I use this when I'm more awake and enjoying the day. It reminds me of walking through a garden on a clear day - clean and fresh. I've learned that green tea is more satisfying when steeped at 165. There's no chance of it getting bitter at that temperature.
Really like the roasted flavor which comes through in this tea
Another great Japanese green tea! A bit stronger than Genmaicha in terms of taste (minus the roasted rice, of course).
Strong grassy flavor is sometimes just what I’m looking for and kukicha delivers.
This is a pretty good Japanese green tea; it's not quite as fresh and astringent or 'green' as Sencha. It offers a more muted flavor.
Sweet brew with a tender finish. Mellow and light. Not bitter at all. Good hot and cool. A new favorite! It's amazing how complex this tea is. So far I have not enjoyed it in any blend. It's perfect just the way it is.
This was a bit bitter, but very flavorful. Reminded my of fresh cut greens. @adagioteas
This has a wonderful aroma and grassy flavor. It has become one of my favorite green teas!
I really like this green as my daily morning no-frills cup. I didn't know exactly what the 'less astringence' would taste like exactly, but I typically drink the green dragon, so I could tell something was missing, it has less of a full body green tea taste, it's just milder. I think I prefer the green dragon, but this one is also a great option.
A nice smooth non acidic tea (unless u over brew or use to hot of water). Does remind me of seasme seeds and rice puffs.
Warm brothy and light. This is a beautiful tea that reminds me of spring.
I enjoyed this tea more after the first steep. It was a bit more bitter than I expected at first, which I initially attributed to the water being too hot, but it remained a bit bitter even when I double checked the temperature. I like it a lot more after the first steep. I would probably get this again, and try and see if it would grow on me more.
Unique, grassy taste. There is a chestnut note with a sweet after taste. The more I drink it, the more I enjoy it. It had a sweet earthy smell. @adagioteas
I love this green tea. It is not grassy at all. It has a natural sweetness. I will try it cold brewed too. I will definitely repurchase.
Really nice green tea. There do tend to be some smaller particles that get through my brew strainer and this gets worse as you get closer to the bottom of the bag. Besides that, it is great!
This is one of my favorite green teas from Adagio. I ordered this one after trying it in the green tea portions sampler.
One of the better green teas I’ve had very light.
I'm no tea connoisseur, but I do enjoy kukicha even if I lack the terms to describe it. Tonight, I steeped a cup then sat down with my laptop to order MORE Japanese tea to try (a 'project' of the moment). Since I was distracted reading farmers' profiles and thinking about their daily lives versus Americans', I nearly let my cup get too cool-- right on the edge! At first sip, I thought, 'Yum, this tastes like soup.' I did catch a hint of astringency but it was quite light. I kept compulsively sipping more since it was THAT tasty. I know other Japanese green teas are more highly rated, but this one is a personal favorite, outscoring even Sencha Premier which has its own appeal. By the way, I ended up ordering a genmai cha and a gyokuro from the Masters division in hopes that the higher quality will help me like those teas more.
Good quality tea, but it has a very grassy flavor even for green tea, that isn’t quite to my taste.
This is a perfectly fine green tea. It is nice. But I like Sleeping Dragon just as much and it is cheaper. @adagioteas
This tea is VERY VEGETAL as if you are drinking boiled spinach or broccoli.
I drink roughly about three cups of green tea a day, preferring more grassy (Sencha), floral (Jasmine), and smokey notes (Sleeping Dragon).
I was really excited to try this one, especially after reading all the great reviews online--unfortunately, I knew I wasn't a fan as soon as the Adagio pouch arrived and I opened it. The dried leaf aroma was so intense and assertive, it nearly turned me off. I figured it was similar to pur-er or oolong, so I brewed it to see if there was a change.
Once brewed at 180 for 2 mins, the vegetal scent took over my kitchen counter. It was as if I boiled a pound of spinach right there. So strong. Not even sugar nor honey could tone down the vegetal notes. The second brew seemed less pungent, but the notes were still powerful.
If you're a fan of vegetal teas, have at it. But personally, I would not purchase again.
Please note: This is not a bad tea, the quality of this tea is excellent and well established, it's just a matter of personal preference and flavor choices.
Easily my favorite green tea. It’s vegetal without tasting like grass in a cup. I usually do three infusions and the flavor remains delightful for all of them.
Very mild well rounded tea mild grassy roots pleasant daily drinker
When they sweep up all the leftover tea dust off the floor, they make tea-bags.
When they sweep up all the leftover twigs and stems off the floor, they make Kukicha.
And you know what? I'm kinda glad they did.
Tastes of buttery crab legs. Going to try a cold brew like someone suggested.
After enjoying the green tea sampler, I decided to buy kukicha. It's a well rounded, easy going, and simple green tea that tastes amazing on its own or blended with others, like peppermint. One of the least fussy green teas I've had. It's a pantry staple!
Immediately upon opening the pouch I was hit with the aroma of freshly cut grass. It does mellow once its tea, but it's not really a flavor I think I'd enjoy in and of itself.
enjoyable japanese green tea - lovely to look at and to drink! Continues to be one of my favorite green teas.
LOVE this tea! It has a fresh, grassy flavor that I look forward to every morning. I've reordered the large bag multiple times.
Love this light and refreshing green tea. Has a thicker mouth-feel which is what I was looking for.
This is my favorite tea for studying. I've recommended it to others trying to get into drinking green tea.
Super smooth and grassy green tea. Probably not for everyone though