How to choose dried mugwort | How to identify domestic products and buy online without going wrong

Many people want to buy dried mugwort for use in mugwort mochi, mugwort tea, and mugwort steaming, but are unsure "where is it sold?" and "which should I choose?" Dried mugwort is hard to find on supermarket shelves, and choosing it via mail order or specialty shops is the basic route.

In this article, Agriture, which handles dried vegetable processing in Kyoto, explains where you can buy dried mugwort, how to choose without failing, how to select by use, and check points when buying by mail order. If you choose dried mugwort with good aroma and color, both cooking and tea come out differently.

What kind of plant is mugwort (yomogi)?

Before choosing dried mugwort, knowing what kind of plant mugwort is deepens your understanding of how to choose. Mugwort is a familiar plant for Japanese people, but it has wide uses—food, tea, moxibustion, and bathing—and its uses also differ by region.

A plant of the family Asteraceae, also called the "Queen of Herbs"

Mugwort (yomogi) is a perennial of the family Asteraceae that grows wild across Japan. Since ancient times it has been used as food such as kusa-mochi and tea, and has also been used as a raw material for moxa in moxibustion and as a medicinal herb. Because it is highly fragrant and has wide uses, it is sometimes called the "Queen of Herbs." In Okinawa it is called "fuchiba" and used in dishes such as rice porridge and soups. This variation in use by region is also a feature of mugwort.

Its season and aroma components

Mugwort's season is spring, when tender young leaves are harvested. Its distinctive fresh-grass aroma comes from aroma components such as cineole, adding a spring-like flavor to cooking and tea. Besides being a familiar caffeine-free health tea, it is also used for bathing and mugwort steaming to make use of its aroma, and is sometimes incorporated into beauty-salon menus. The advantage of dried mugwort is that drying lets you enjoy this aroma and color throughout the year. That is exactly why, when choosing dried mugwort, how much of the aroma and color remains becomes the basis for discernment.

Where can you buy dried mugwort?

Dried mugwort is an ingredient handled by a limited number of shops. Organizing where you can get it saves you the trouble of searching.

Hard to find at supermarkets

Dried mugwort is not often seen on ordinary supermarket shelves. It is sometimes handled at confectionery-ingredient shops, natural-food stores, and some roadside stations and farm-produce stands, but often it isn't stocked, so if you want to obtain it reliably, using mail order is realistic. Especially when you want to search by narrowing conditions such as domestic and additive-free, or want to choose a form such as leaf type or powder, mail order is easier to choose from than the storefront.

With mail order you can choose the origin and specifications

The advantage of mail order is that you can choose specifications—domestic or origin-specified, leaf type or powder type—when buying. You can choose dried mugwort suited to your use while checking reviews and product information. Of course for those who want to make mugwort mochi or mugwort tea, but also for those wanting to start mugwort steaming at home, or when a Japanese confectionery shop or salon needs a bulk quantity, mail order lets you choose the amount and specifications you need and have them delivered. There is also a method of picking mugwort yourself, but because of the worry of mistakenly eating a similar plant, if you want reliable quality, a commercial product is reassuring.

How to choose dried mugwort without failing

Because differences in appearance are hard to tell with dried mugwort, how you choose changes the result. The more you want to value aroma and color, the more you should confirm the following points.

Look at color, aroma, and the state of the leaves

Appearance and aroma are basic points you can confirm both in-store and from mail-order photos and descriptions. Use the following three as guidelines.

• Color: The more vivid or deep green it is, the better a guideline for its condition
• Aroma: Whether the fresh-grass aroma firmly remains
• State of the leaves: Whether they are not excessively crumbled into powder

Confirm the origin and processing method

Domestic products with a clear origin make quality easy to discern and are reassuring. The drying method is also important; drying all at once at high temperature breaks down mugwort's green color and makes it prone to fading. Ones dried at a controlled low temperature are characterized by more easily retaining a deep green color and fresh-grass aroma. Choosing simple raw materials that don't use additives or glucose makes them easier to use for both cooking and tea.

Choose by the amount you use and ease of storage

Because dried mugwort gives aroma even in small amounts, for home use the basic rule is to choose an amount you can use up. If you use a lot at once, as with mugwort steaming, a large pouch is suited; if you use a little at a time for cooking and tea, a small volume is suited. Confirming whether the best-before-date guideline and storage method are clearly stated lets you use it up before the aroma fades. Dried mugwort is an ingredient with low moisture that keeps well, but after opening, the basic rule is to seal it and store it in a cool, dark place.

Choose by use | Selecting between leaf type and powder

Dried mugwort comes in a cut (leaf) type that retains the leaf shape, and a powder type. Because there are suited and unsuited uses depending on how you use it, confirm before choosing.

Use	Suited type	Reason
Mugwort tea	Leaf (cut)	Easy to draw out the aroma by boiling
Mugwort steaming, bathing	Leaf (cut)	Aroma rises easily through steam or boiling
Mugwort mochi, dango	Leaf / powder	Powder gives even color, leaf gives a rustic texture
Bread, baked goods, latte	Powder	Can be mixed into dough or drinks without rehydrating

If you prioritize convenience, one that can be used as is without rehydratingMugwort powderis handy. For mugwort tea and mugwort steaming, where you enjoy the aroma by boiling, the leaf type is suited. Even with the same dried mugwort, finely chopped leaf blends easily into dough, while coarse leaf retains texture and color. The finer the particle size of powder, the more evenly the color comes out. For cooking, tea, and bathing, mugwort can be used in many ways with a single material. Uses by purpose are also introduced in detail inHow to Use Dried Mugwort.

Points on how to choose that change with your purpose of use

In addition to choosing the form of leaf or powder, "what to prioritize" also changes by use. Along with the type selection above, nail down the following priority points.

If using for mugwort steaming or bathing

Mugwort steaming and bathing are characterized by using a large amount at once. Therefore, choosing one with ample volume is economical. Because it's a use where you enjoy the aroma along with the steam, confirm as the top priority whether the fresh-grass aroma firmly remains. When using continuously at a salon or the like, whether you can source it stably at the same quality is also a judgment factor.

If using for cooking or sweets

In making sweets, good color governs the result. What you should prioritize is the vividness of the green; the more vivid green remains, the more spring-like the finished product. Choose between powder and leaf depending on whether you want to bring out even color or retain a rustic texture.

If drinking it as tea

If drinking it as tea, since you often use a little at a time, prioritize whether the volume is one you can use up before the aroma fades. Because it's something you put in your mouth and drink, whether the origin is clear and the raw material uses no additives is also a point to firmly confirm.

Check points when buying by mail order

Apart from discerning quality, confirming the display on the product page also prevents failure in mail order. Before actually adding to your cart, check the following points.

• Whether the ingredient name is "mugwort" alone, or whether unnecessary things are included
• Whether it's leaf (cut) or powder, and a form suited to your use
• Whether the volume is one you can use up at home
• Whether there is a description of the best-before date and storage method

Precisely because it's something you put in your mouth, choosing not by price alone but a product with a clear origin and processing leads to achieving both aroma and peace of mind.

Agriture's dried mugwort

Agriture's dried mugwortis a raw material made by low-temperature drying domestic mugwort centered on Mie Prefecture. Through controlled low-temperature drying, it retains a deep green color and fresh-grass aroma, and uses no additives or glucose. Because the aroma and color remain, made into mugwort mochi it comes out a vivid green, and made into mugwort tea the fresh-grass aroma rises easily. It can be used widely—mugwort mochi, mugwort tea, mugwort steaming, and bathing—and can be purchased from amounts easy to use at home. For Japanese confectionery shops, salons, and the like, we also supportcommercial procurement.

How to make mugwort mochi isHow to Make Mugwort Mochi with Dried Mugwort, and how to brew mugwort tea is also introduced inHow to Make Mugwort Tea.

Summary

Dried mugwort is hard to find at supermarkets, and choosing it by mail order is the basic route. If you choose one that retains a vivid green color and fresh-grass aroma, with a clear origin and no additives, both cooking and tea come out differently. Select between leaf type and powder to suit the use, and in mail order confirm the ingredient display, origin, processing, volume, and best-before date. Choosing dried mugwort suited to your purpose—leaf type for mugwort steaming, color-focused for sweets—makes the difference in the result. Enjoy a life with mugwort using domestic dried mugwort with good aroma and color.

Frequently asked questions

Recommended reading

• Complete guide to using dried mugwort | From rehydrating to popular recipes and storage tips
• How to Make Mugwort Tea | Easy with Dried Mugwort
• Dried mugwort (product page)