At a glance
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Fifteen tea bags — the low-effort way into a tea that still rewards attention
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Organic Japanese kukicha from Kagoshima
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Stem and leaf, not leaf alone — rounder and softer, naturally lower in caffeine than a standard sencha
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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 loose leaf, in 15-cup and 70-cup bags
How to use it
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Water below boiling — around 175°F / 80°C. Boil the kettle, take the lid off, wait two or three minutes. This one step decides whether you enjoy the cup.
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Keep the first steep short — 60 to 90 seconds. Green tea rewards brevity in a way black tea does not.
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Lift the bag out when the time is up. Left in, it keeps extracting and turns papery.
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Steep it twice. A bag this size gives a lighter second cup; go a little longer on the second round.
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Good in the afternoon. Lower caffeine than most greens makes it workable later in the day than a black tea would be.
How the Essentials range compares
| Tea |
Character |
Leaf |
Water |
| Bright Green |
Sweet lemon, honeysuckle, mild |
Japanese kukicha green |
~175°F / 80°C |
| English Breakfast |
Bracing tannin, bittersweet cocoa |
South Indian black |
~205°F / 96°C |
| Black Gold |
Malty, caramel, shortbread |
Yunnan black |
~205°F / 96°C |
| Earl Grey |
Silky bergamot, note of orange |
South Indian & Ceylon black |
~205°F / 96°C |
| Decaf Black |
Tannic, strong body, nutty pecan |
South Indian black, CO2 decaf |
~205°F / 96°C |
✨ Temple Tip — brew one cup in glass
Even with a tea bag, brew a cup in clear glass once and watch the color come up. Pale straw is where kukicha wants to be stopped. See it once and you will never need a timer for this tea again — you will know by looking.
Questions we get asked
Is this the same tea as the loose leaf Bright Green?
Yes — the same organic Kagoshima kukicha, portioned into fifteen bags instead of sold loose. Choose bags for convenience, or the
loose leaf if you want to control the leaf-to-water ratio yourself.
How much caffeine is in it?
Less than a standard sencha, because kukicha uses the stems and stalks as well as the leaf. Lower is not none, though — this is still a caffeinated tea.
Why does my green tea taste bitter?
Almost always water that was too hot, or a steep that ran too long. Try 175°F / 80°C and 60 to 90 seconds before you blame the leaf.
What does ‘kukicha’ actually mean?
It is the Japanese term for tea made from the stems and stalks of the tea plant rather than leaf alone. It brews milder and rounder, with much less of the astringency people associate with green tea.
How should I store it?
Airtight, away from light, heat and strong smells. Green tea fades faster than black and is best drunk within about six months of opening.
The rest of the shelf is in Tea & Teaware, and if you drink this one daily the two-cup glass teapot handles the second and third steep better than a mug and a bag ever will.
Brew it gently, drink it slowly, and let the afternoon soften around it. #TempleOfDesire
