Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Genus Morus’

“All around the mulberry bush the monkey…”

Okay, I’ll stop.

According to Tula Teas, a tisane made of steeped mulberry leaves (from genus Morus alba) is popular for those seeking green tea grassiness without the caffeine kick. Health properties associated with mulberry leaf infusions are alleviation of hyperuricemia, gout, as well as a treatment for leukemia. It also happened to be a personal favorite tisane of Tula’s founder for its apparent calming effects.

I can see where one could make a case for it being a green tea alternative. The mid-green, reedy pieces looked like Chinese-style sencha or Japanese aracha on first glance. Light brown, twiggy roots amidst the batch, though, dispelled that comparison, so did the smell. This had a very grassy, wildernessy smell – but much more wild than that of green tea. I likened it to dried nettle leaf, only nuttier.

On a cursory glance, I couldn’t find any brewing instructions for this. I figured the best approach was one I typically used for herbals – 1 rounded teaspoon in 8oz. of boiled water steeped for three minutes. It looked hearty enough.

This is the first time I’ve ever said this…but the liquor brewed up brass. Seriously, brass. Not gold, not pyrite, not bronze, not amber – brass. Color-wise, it appeared to be hedging up to oolong territory. However, the aroma reminded me very strongly of kukicha by way of guayusa. There was a sweetness at the tail-end of the scent. Taste-wise, it delivered a nutty punch on intro, followed by creamy, buttery texture in the middle. The finish tapered off nicely to a sweet echo. Would I be weird if I said it reminded me of steeped peanut butter?

Point being, I can see where some people draw the comparison to green tea. The nuttiness is very similar to a lower-grade, pan-fried sencha or bancha. As luck would have it, I kinda like those teas. This wouldn’t be my first choice for an alterna-green tea – that honor still belongs to green rooibos – but I can see how some would bee-line to it. What’s really odd is my body was thinking I was having a caffeinated green tea…bizarre…

You can purchase the Green Mulberry Leaf directly from the Tula Teas website.