At a glance
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Organic Japanese kukicha from Kagoshima, sold as loose leaf
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Two sizes: a 15-cup bag to try it, a 70-cup bag for the tea you drink daily
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Stem and leaf, not leaf alone — naturally lower in caffeine, rounder, far less astringent
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Tasting notes: sweet lemon, honeysuckle, smooth and mild
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Ingredients: organic kukicha green tea from Kagoshima, Japan
- Also sold as tea bags
How to use it
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Water around 175°F / 80°C, not boiling. Boil the kettle, take the lid off, wait two or three minutes. This is the single step that decides whether you enjoy it.
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Short first steep — 60 to 90 seconds. Green tea rewards brevity in a way black tea does not.
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Reinfuse two or three times, going slightly longer each round. The stems keep giving.
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Drink it out of glass if you have it. The pale color is part of the pleasure, and it tells you when the steep is where you want it.
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Workable in the afternoon, or as an evening cup for people who cannot manage black tea after four.
Which bag size
| Size |
Roughly |
Best for |
| 15 cup bag |
About fifteen cups |
Trying it, or a tea you rotate through |
| 70 cup bag |
About seventy cups |
The one you drink every day — better value per cup |
✨ Temple Tip — more leaf, less time
If your green tea tastes thin, the instinct is to steep it longer — which makes it bitter instead of stronger. Add more leaf and keep the steep short. That one adjustment fixes most disappointing cups.
Questions we get asked
What does ‘kukicha’ mean?
It is the Japanese term for tea made from the stems and stalks of the tea plant as well as the leaf. It brews milder and rounder than leaf-only green tea, with much less astringency.
How many cups will I get?
The 15-cup bag makes about fifteen; the 70-cup bag about seventy. Both figures assume a single steep, and this tea reinfuses two or three times, so in practice you will get more.
Is it lower in caffeine?
Naturally lower than a standard sencha, because of the stems. Lower is not none — it is still a caffeinated tea.
Why did mine taste bitter?
Water too hot, or a steep that ran too long. 175°F / 80°C and 60 to 90 seconds is the fix.
How long does it keep?
Green tea fades faster than black. Store it airtight and away from light, and drink it within about six months of opening.
Everything else worth steeping is in Tea & Teaware, and loose leaf earns the two-cup glass teapot — the stems need room to move.
Brewed gently, this is the cup that changes minds about green tea. #TempleOfDesire
