Bancha Twig Tea (Kukicha)

I love tea.
Yes, I am Japanese.
I’ve also been told that I was English in a previous life so that naturally gives me the title of “Tea Lover.”

 

Since I was about 7 years old, one of my favorite things was taking a tea break with my mother’s housekeeper, Mrs. Kato. We usually had bancha (harvested from the same tree as sencha grade, but it is plucked later than sencha, giving it a lower market grade). It is considered to be the lowest grade of green tea. There are 22 grades of bancha. Its flavor is unique; it has a stronger organic straw smell than sencha (a type of Japanese ryokucha/green tea prepared by infusing the processed whole tea leaves in hot water). Mrs. Kato said sencha was too strong for a child, and usually, it is for guests. I tried some, but I did not like it because it tasted bitter.

I started to learn Japanese tea ceremony when I was 17 years old. I used macha, a finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea. It was very creamy, and its aromatic taste matched the Japanese tea ceremony sweets. Macha is for special times, but it is high in caffeine. I am not able to drink it most of the time since I am sensitive to caffeine now, so my favorite tea became non-caffeinated herbal tea, like rosehip tea and bancha twig tea (kukicha).

Kukicha is very low in caffeine. Most of the caffeine is in the leaves, which are not used, and the rest is reduced by the aging process. Kukicha is called “three-year bancha” in Japan, because after the stems, stalks and twigs of the tea are picked, they are dried in the sun and aged for three years before roasting. I usually do not feel any caffeine effects, and it is safe for children to drink.

Kukicha has a unique flavor and aroma among teas, due to its aging process and becoming more alkaline. And the benefits of kukicha are numerous. It is an important part of the macrobiotic diet and is thought to lead to stable health and longevity.

It also good to add apple juice when you want to have a little sweet taste when your body gets too tight and need to relax. I usually add a half purified water and a half apple juice and heat up. You can add a slice of apple too.

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I use Eden’s Tea Bag for when I am traveling or going out for lunch/dinner. It still give a good taste of Kukicha.

 

Benefits of Kukicha Tea

Most of the benefits of kukicha tea stem from its alkalizing properties. Prevention of numerous diseases is achieved through alkalization of bodily fluids and tissues and consequent balanced levels of acidity. A diet containing white flour, sugars, dairy products, eggs and meat raises the body’s acidity and eventually results in fatigue, premature aging, weakened immune system, heart, kidney or bladder conditions, and problems with weight, joints and bones. A body containing too much acid draws minerals from bones and other organs and stores fat.
Twig tea (kukicha) is abundant with minerals like copper, selenium, manganese, calcium, zinc and fluoride, as well as A, C and B-complex vitamins and flavonoids. Like green tea, it contains polyphenolic catechins, which are famous for their anti-cancer action. The most powerful of these substances is epigallocatechin, which prevents cancer by discouraging the growth of tumors and stopping it from spreading within cells. Kukicha is also known to promote digestion. Moreover, it has a high content of tannin, which helps clean the body from toxins. Tannin can even free the body from nicotine and radioactivity, which is why it is recommended for people who take many medications.

Similarly to green tea, kukicha regulates the levels of blood sugar, and by lowering high blood pressure, it prevents strokes and heart disease. Being an immunity booster, it helps combat virus-induced colds and flu. Kukicha can also promote weight loss, slow down the aging process, and prevent ulcers. When brewing twig tea, it is important to use hot water, but not boiling. Once boiled water has cooled, the tea is steeped for three minutes at the most. It can also be served cold, with the addition of apple juice, and enjoyed throughout the day—even by children.

Many health benefits may be gained from drinking kukicha, including:

  • Contains six times more calcium than cows’ milk, helping to build bone density
  • Contains 2.5 times more vitamin C than oranges
  • Reduces high blood pressure
  • Helps with digestion
  • Combats fatigue
  • Benefits people suffering from bladder infection and heart diseases
  • Reduces the risk of certain types of cancer
  • Fluoride helps reduce plaque and bacterial infection
  • Helps lower cholesterol levels
  • Low in caffeine
  • Burns fat

Source

How to Make Twig Tea (Kukicha)

2–3 cups purified water (depending on how strong you want to make the tea)

1 tablespoon twig tea (kukicha)

Place the water in a teakettle, and bring to a boil. Place the twigs directly in the pot or in a tea ball. Reduce the flame to low, and simmer 3–5 minutes. If adding the tea directly to the pot, strain through a tea strainer when serving.

 

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Umeboshi Plum With Twig Tea (Kukicha) Remedy

https://www.sanaesuzuki.com/2016/11/30/california-organic-umeboshi-plums-and-recipe/

 

 

Winter Baking Class: Plant-Based, Vegan, Macrobiotic Desserts

I love desserts, so when I became a plant-based, vegan, macrobiotic person to heal myself, the hardest thing was not eating desserts that had refined sugar, butter, cream and eggs. It is my weakest link, but my husband Eric rescued me—and can rescue all of you if you have this weakness like I do. He makes plant-based, vegan, macrobiotic desserts so tasty and healthy you won’t believe it.

 

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I had to beg him to do a winter baking class, so we are offering it on Sunday, December 11th, at Studio Mgen in Santa Monica. I hope you’ll join us and taste the real plant-based, vegan, macrobiotic desserts that you can enjoy without guilt.

I hope you’ll join us and taste the real delicious plant-based, vegan, macrobiotic desserts that you can enjoy without guilt.

 

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Sunday, December 11, 2016

12–3pm

$100

Studio Mugen, Santa Monica

Learn how to bake delicious, healthy, macrobiotic desserts with chef Eric Lechasseur and Sanae Suzuki, so for the rest of the holidays, you do not have to eat sugary, unhealthy desserts. Please email sanaehealing@gmail.com or seedkitchen@gmail.com to save your spot.

SAMPLE MENU:

  1. Two Kinds Scone 1) fruits/azuki 2) savory
  2. Two kinds of baked Donut 1) maple-glazed 2) strawberry-kuzu-glazed
  3. Amazake Pecan Pie
  4. Grain Café Au Lait

If you can’t come to the class,  you can purchase Eric’s stunning plant-based vegan and macrobiotic desserts cookbook, “Love, Eric Revisedand learn how to make healthy delicious desserts at your home.

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I am so excited because I usually can’t find any good quality delicious plant-based, vegan macrobiotic baking desserts anywhere.

I get to help the class and able to eat them!

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Love,

Sanae

Bach Flower for Holidays’ Stress

Ohhhh, the end of the season of holidays is here again.

I may look like a fun person who loves to socialize, but I actually am not so good with holidays and lots of people, so the end of the year can be very stressful for me.
I have been helping myself using Bach Flower Remedy since 1993 after I was diagnosed ovarian cancer. Bach Flower Remedy have been helping my stress, PTSD, addiction and other mental/emotional issues.

Depending on each person’s mental/mind and emotional conditions remedy changes, but generally, I recommend below three Bach Flower remedies for the holiday season . This remedy also helps furry animals (dogs, cats, other animals and plants).

Rescue Remedy – helps overall stress.

White Chestnut – helps deal with repeated, unwanted thoughts, mental arguments, concentration, sleeplessness, and insomnia.

Walnut – helps for protection from outside influences and energies.

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The key is mixing all three remedies together in a Bach Flower Mixing bottle (2oz) with purified water.

Mixing directions:

Add 4 drops of Rescue Remedy, 2 drops each of White Chestnut and Walnut.

Bach Flower helped me so much for my recovery so I really wanted to learn more about Bach Flower and I decided to study in 1995 and became a Bach Flower Center’s registered practitioner in 2001. I have been offering Bach Flower Remedy consultation in a person or by phone/Skype/Facetime.
If you are interested, contact me at Sanaehealing@gmail.com.

Miracle of Maple Tree Recover!

I planted three maple trees by the side of our North Fork mountain cabin front gate in 2005.

North Fork is a beautiful mountain forest, but most of them are evergreen pine trees, so I wanted my husband to feel his home of Quebec and my home country of Japan to see the leaves change color to red.

One of them got severely injured almost four years ago (March 2013) by a car backing up the tree and breaking the main trunk. 

Nobody thought this tree (she) would make it, but I thought I could help her.

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Photo: Wounded maple tree trunk with a little remedy glue that I made. Sorry for the out-of-focus.

I made a special remedy glue with soft-cooked brown rice and barley to mend her. 

This idea came from an old traditional story of “Shitakiri Suzume” (translated literally into “Tongue-Cut Sparrow“, is one of Japanese fairy tale – a kind old man, his mean wife and an injured sparrow story. One day, when sparrow ate glue (made with rice) , the wife got upset and cut tongue of sparrow…

Most people could not believe the glue that I made with grains would help this maple tree recover, but I knew she would; miracles can happen and guess what?….she came back!

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Photo: The maple tree with remedy glue of soft-cooked brown rice and barley that I made for her.

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Photo: Special remedy glue was made in my suribachi (earthenware mortar).

Because of drought, many trees did not survive the last few years, and two other maple trees I planted did not make it either — but the one I helped to mend survived! Can you believe?
She started to show beautiful autumn colors from the following year even more beautiful than before.

Many of our North Fork friends told us how beautiful she became, but she showed the red leaves before Thanksgiving week so we didn’t see her color because we usually visited North Fork on Thanksgiving week after labor day weekend.

I finally saw her beautiful autumn color when I went back to Vipassana 10 days meditation in North Fork two years ago (2014) before Thanksgiving week.

She was so beautiful and made me feel so happy.

I took the photo below with her to show Eric.

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Photo:The maple tree was getting better to show red leaves in 2014.

This year, our friend of Noth Fork told us how beautiful the maple tree showing her red leave’s color again so I talked to her  before Thanksgiving week and asked her if she could keep the red leaves for us to see, especially for Eric since he never saw her with red leaves.  She said she will do her best and she kept her promise for us so Eric and I were able to see these beautiful leaves for the first time on Thanksgiving weekend together.

I feel the tree is thanking us by showing her beautiful color every year because I helped her to come back. I named her “Thank you (Arigatou) Maple Tree”.

Everything is a miracle when you believe it and not give up before the miracle happens.

I took the bandage out for her and express my gratitude to “Thank you (Arigatou), Maple tree”.

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Photo: The maple tree’s wound is all healed so we took the bandage out this year 2016.

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Photo: The maple tree is showing most beautiful leaves this year in 2016.

This is 2016 photo of miracle arigatou (thank you) maple photo.

with my love,

Sanae 💖

California Organic Umeboshi Plums and Recipe

Umeboshi plums offer really good medicinal benefits for everyone. During the holiday season, most of us eat too much; Umeboshi Twig Tea (Kukicha) Remedy Drink helps our intestines and alkaline levels (recipe below).

Umeboshi Plum with Twig Tea (Kukicha) Remedy

The combination of umeboshi plum and twig tea (Kukicha) is good for strengthening the blood and circulation through regulation of digestion.

MAKES ONE SERVING

one-half or one umeboshi plum
1 cup Kukicha (twig tea), brewed

To make the drink:

  1. Place the umeboshi in a tea cup.
  2. Pour in hot tea and stir well. Drink while hot and eat the plum.

Resource from Love, Sanae cookbook which has  many recipes of Umeboshi plums.

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Photo: Umeboshi Plum with Twig Tea (Kukicha) Remedy

 

We have been offering California organic umeboshi plums since 2011. My longtime friend Kazuko and her husband, Jyunsei, planted about 450 ume plum trees after they move to the US in 1968. It was their dream to make California organic umeboshi plums. They also grew organic red shiso leaves (Japanese medicinal herb beefsteak) on their property in order to make umeboshi plums (the plums’ color comes from red shiso leaves).
They made their umeboshi plums in the truly traditional way: They grew the ume trees organically, picked the plums by hand, and sun-dried them for three days under California’s long hours of sunshine. When I went to help them make the plums, I learned to continuously turn each one for hours so it wouldn’t get burned or stick to the bamboo mat.

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Photo: Drying ume plum before pickling with red shiso leaves

 

For many years, Jyunsei and Kazuko have used only selected sea salt and organic, home-grown red shiso leaves to make their premium hand-made California organic umeboshi plums.

Jyunsei passed in 2000, and Kazuko kept up the work by herself, but she eventually retired in 2008. Since Jyunsei passed, Kazuko was not able to promote her umeboshi plums widely. Settled in a retirement home now, she still has the plums but no access to sell them. We decided to help her and seize this opportunity to spread the love and care with which she and Jyunsei prepared these plums. We have sold at least 400 pounds of them all over the US. I even gave them to Japanese friends as gifts, and they said they never see such high-quality aged organic umeboshi plums in Japan anymore.

The plums we received from Kazuko were made in 2003–05, so they are aged. They contain more alkaline and super enzymes with high healing properties than any umeboshi plums you can find anywhere.
Umeboshi plums are like wine; the aged ones are rich in enzymes and have a naturally sour, delicious flavor. Most companies limit their production to a yearly basis, and many of them are not organic, while others use preservatives. So, this is a rare occasion to find aged, organic umeboshi plums.

 

We have a limited quantity, so if you want to get these special California organic umeboshi plums, click here to order.

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When you receive the plums, transfer them to a glass jar or container and keep them in a cool dark place—but not in the refrigerator—to preserve the enzymes and healing properties.

 

Hope you get to taste these rare umeboshi plums before they are all gone.

Love,

Sanae💖

 

Healing Your Body and Mind with Winter Soup Cooking Class

As I wrote about How to Make Nourishing Soup in summer time…I realized that our bodies need more nourishing foods like soup, which has more liquid, every day. It does not have to be a large amount—just 1–2 cups a day.

We are offering Healing Your Body and Mind with Winter Soup cooking class.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

$60 per person

At Studio mugen in Santa Monica

Learn how to prepare heartfelt healing soups for your body and mind.

This class you will learn how to make delicious soup using plant-based umami dashi for your winter season.

 

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Photo: Plant Base Umami Dashi

 

SAMPLE MENU:

Plant-Based Umamidashi

Nabe Miso Noodle Soup

Brown Rice with Daikon Soup

Burdock Soup

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Photo: Burdocks

 

If you are interest to take this cooking class, please email sanaehealing@gmail.com

 

Love,

Sanae 💖