Description
Hojicha (organic) roasted tea
Although it looks more like black tea, Hojicha is actually a green tea. Japanese roasted green tea. It is distinguished from other green teas by its smell, taste and appearance, unusual for green tea.
How is Hojicha roasted green tea made?
It can be done in two ways.
- Tea is roasted (i.e. fried) in large pans
- The machine spins the leaves in large drums at a certain temperature. The leaves get a slightly brown color and a “roasted” aroma.
There is also a third way to get hojicha but it is very rare. In some specialty shops in Japan, it is roasted on the spot, by hand. Tea master prepares a small amount, just for that occasion.
If it’s darker in color, how come it’s green tea and not black?
The level of oxidation dictates the type of tea (the variation). It’s not just about the color of the leaf.
After harvesting, green tea is exposed to heat to stop oxidation as soon as possible. While black tea undergoes complete oxidation. For this reason, green tea retains fresher herbal notes, while black tea gets warmer notes. When hojica is produced, it is exposed to the same heat to stop oxidation as with all green teas. After that is it fried, and it gets warmer notes.
The process of making hojicha tea was discovered by accident in 1920 when a merchant from Kyoto had bancha that he could not sell. By roasting bancha, the merchant created a new taste – hojicha.
Hojicha is made from bancha, a tea with larger and older leaves, picked in the last harvests of the season. However, there are other varieties of hojicha tea, including a variety made from sencha or kukicha tea.
The roasted aroma and taste dominate this tea. The roasting process for hojicha, also reduces the amount of caffeine in the tea. Because it is milder, it is a popular tea for late afternoon and early evening. Like kukicha tea, some people also give it to children and the elderly. The taste is stronger and warmer, caramel-like, chocolatey and roasted.
- Country of origin: Japan
PREPARATION
3 g (cca. flat tablespoon)
70 - 80ºC
2-3min
