Bamboo leaf vs mulberry leaf
Two clean, mild East Asian green leaf drinks, both closer to a light bancha than to anything floral. One is a woodland grass that is not actually bamboo, and the other is the silkworm’s food.
botanical
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Bamboo leaf | Mulberry leaf |
|---|---|---|
| The plant | Lophatherum gracile, a grass of the Chinese understorey — not true bamboo despite the name. | Morus alba, the white mulberry, planted in enormous quantity for sericulture. |
| Flavour | Very clean and lightly sweet with a cool green note, closer to cucumber water. | Mild, green and slightly savoury, with a hint of seaweed if steamed. |
| Processing | Cut in summer and dried flat in shade; sunlight browns it quickly. | Steamed or pan-fired, rolled and dried, borrowing green tea manufacture directly. |
| Where it is drunk | Southern China in hot weather, and blended into cooling drinks. | China, Korea and Japan, where kuwa-cha is a regional speciality of the silk districts. |
| The naming problem | True bamboo leaf is also infused and sold under the same English name. | Black and paper mulberry are different species that turn up under the same name. |
The short answer
Bamboo leaf is the milder of the two and the better answer for someone who finds most infusions too assertive. Both are best brewed below boiling.
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