Kukicha refers to the stems of the tea plant, transformed into tea itself. The stems tend to have lower caffeine, and roasting them brings the caffeine content even lower.
Most Kukicha Hojicha, however, is very aggressively and heavily roasted. That's not a bad thing inherently, but I really appreciate the time taken to turn these stems into a more subtle tea.
They have been roasted twice - once in the oven, and again with sand, which helps evenly distribute the heat and bring out a more elegant flavor profile. The sand is then sifted out, so you won't find any in your cup!
The result is full of classic Hojicha notes - charred sugar, caramel, flan - but without occluding the underlying vegetal "greenness" of the stems.
