Hojicha is green tea that has been roasted at high temperatures over charcoal, rather than simply steaming like most other Japanese teas. This process gives Hojicha a deeply toasted caramel aroma and flavour, along with a dark reddish brown colour.
Roasting the tea also lowers levels of catechins and caffeine, making Hojicha far less astringent than other green teas. Because the vegetative aspects of the flavour are removed when roasting, Hojicha is usually made from Bancha, which is harvested at the end of the season and includes the stems along with the leaves.
Because of it’s lower caffeine levels Hojicha is appropriate for drinking in the evening.
Our Hojicha
Our Hojicha comes from Uji in Kyoto. Uji is the centre of production of high quality green tea in Japan due to it’s moderate riverside climate, perfect for tea cultivation. Some of today’s farms, factories and tea-houses have existed there for centuries, with cultivation and production practices being passed down through generations, Hojicha being one of the more recent additions to the family of Japanese teas made in Uji.
Preparation
Hojicha can be prepared similarly to black teas. As it has been roasted, it allows hotter brewing temperatures and longer steeping times without creating bitterness. In Japan it is sometimes prepared with as much as 4Tbsp per Cup of water – which may seem like a lot of tea but Hojicha is actually extremely light (which is why our 100g pack of Hojicha is larger than the 100g packs of our other teas)
We suggest starting with a ratio of 1Tbsp to 2Cups freshly boiled water, and then adjust to your liking.
Add 1Tbsp Hojicha to pot.
Pour in 2 Cups of water at 90°C.
Allow to steep for 3mins.
Enjoy!
Historically Hojicha was prepared first thing in the morning and allowed to steep all day, so you can definitely add more water to your pot as the tea is drunk.
The toasty flavour works well in iced tea and is reminiscent of chilled roasted-barley tea. You can prepare using the above method and then simply adding ice to quickly cool.
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