Sugimoto Kukicha: A Stem Tea, Sweet and Smooth

I am happy to share that Sugimoto Kukicha is available in our shop, in both tea-bag and loose-leaf form. Kukicha (茎茶), literally "stem tea", is one of the most underrated cups in Japanese tea. It is one of the teas I quietly recommend most often when someone tells me they find sencha a little too bracing. It is also a tea my family has been working on for a long time, with a drying style we have refined over decades in Shizuoka. In this blog I will talk about what kukicha is, why it tastes the way it does, and how to brew it well.

What kukicha is, and why it is different

Sencha is made from the leaves of the tea plant. During sencha processing, the stems are separated out. Kukicha is the tea made from those stems.

That sounds humble, and historically it was. Stem tea began as a way to use what was left over from sencha production. But the stem is genuinely different from the leaf, and the cup it makes is one of the most distinctive in Japanese green tea.

Stems hold more amino acids than leaves do. Amino acids, L-theanine and its friends, are what give Japanese green tea its sweet, brothy, savory note. At the same time, stems contain less caffeine than leaves, which produces less of the astringent edge.

The result is a cup that is light, clean, and softly sweet, with a fragrance unlike anything else in Japanese tea. People who find sencha too sharp often fall in love with kukicha on the first sip.

What surprises Western drinkers most is the body of the cup. Because amino acids drive the perceived sweetness and umami, kukicha can taste almost broth-like. It is savory in a clean, mineral way that has no real parallel in herbal teas or in black-tea traditions.

Why our kukicha is dried with a higher temperature

Here is where Sugimoto Kukicha earns its name. Every Japanese green tea is given a final drying before it is packaged — a step called hi-ire (火入れ). It serves two purposes. One is to bring out hi-ka, the toasted aroma the Japanese call "fire fragrance". The other is lowering the moisture in the leaf so the tea keeps longer.

That short drying is also where a tea master earns their reputation. Hi-ire is one of the most skilled steps in finishing tea, and it is the one my father has spent his life on. My father has a feel for the roast — when to pull the leaf, how high to push the temperature without losing what makes a good kukicha sweet. He has been doing this for decades.

For our kukicha, my father chose to roast at a temperature higher than what is usual for sencha finishing. The risk of using a high temperature drying is obvious: push too hard and you scorch out everything that makes the leaf special. Getting it just right is like threading a needle. The leaves take on a warm, toasted color, and there is a narrow window where the roast is right.

Done right, and this is where the decades of work pay off, high-temperature drying takes the natural sweetness of the stem and lifts a deep, almost caramel-like aroma over the top. The cup smells of roasted nuts and warm grain, with the soft, sweet finish that only stem tea can give. It is a tea that fills the room when you open the bag, in the best sense. It is the kind of aroma that makes a guest ask, before they have even tasted it, what is that?

How to brew it, and when to reach for it

Kukicha is forgiving. You do not need to worry about water temperature. I brew it at home quickly with hot, but not boiling, water. A second steep gives a lighter cup. Enjoy the first brew, add fresh hot water to the same leaves, and the toasted aroma will still be there.

Reach for it in the late afternoon when sencha would be too much. Reach for it after a heavy meal, the toasted aroma is excellent with rich food. Reach for it when you have guests who say they "do not really like green tea." Many of them, in my experience, do like kukicha. They just have not met it yet.

A pot of kukicha can carry an entire afternoon comfortably.

Sugimoto Kukicha is in our online shop, in both tea bags for daily ease and loose leaf for the days you want to brew slowly. The tea bag is the cup we drink at the office most afternoons; the loose leaf is the one I bring out for friends. Either way, you are tasting something our family has worked on for a long time. I hope it makes its way into your home.

— Kyohei Sugimoto
Owner, Sugimoto Tea Company (USA)
Three generations from Shizuoka, Japan

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What is kukicha?
A1: Kukicha, sometimes called Japanese stem tea or twig tea, is made from the stems and stalks of the tea plant rather than the leaves. The stems are separated out during sencha production and then processed on their own. Kukicha brews to a light, naturally sweet cup with lower caffeine and a distinctive aroma.

Q2: How is kukicha different from sencha?
A2: Sencha is made from tea leaves; kukicha is made from tea stems. Stems contain more amino acids, which deliver sweetness, and less caffeine, which reduces astringency. The result is a cup that is lighter, smoother, and gentler than sencha making it a good entry point for people who find traditional Japanese green tea too strong.

Q3: Does kukicha have caffeine?
A3: Yes, but less than sencha or matcha. Tea stems naturally hold less caffeine than tea leaves. That makes kukicha a sensible choice for late afternoons, for evenings, and for anyone who enjoys the flavor of Japanese green tea but is sensitive to caffeine. It is not caffeine-free.

Q4: What does "high-temperature drying" mean for kukicha?
A4: All Japanese green tea undergoes a brief final dyring called hi-ire before packaging, which develops aroma and stabilizes the leaf. At Sugimoto Tea we specialize in drying at a higher temperature than the standard finish. Done well, it lifts a deep, toasty, slightly caramelized aroma over the natural sweetness of the stem, but it requires skill so the leaf is not scorched.

Q5: How should I brew Sugimoto Kukicha?
A5: Brew it briefly with hot, but not boiling, water. Kukicha is forgiving, so even slightly hotter water will not turn it bitter the way it can with delicate sencha. A second steep gives a lighter cup. Drink soon after brewing to enjoy the toasted aroma at its peak.