HOJICHA SAND ROASTED

Description

Hojicha is a Japanese green tea that is produced in an unusual manner – it contains not only tea leaves, but primarily of choppedup roasted stems. The result is a tea with an original flavour that is reminiscent of freshly baked brown bread.

The majority of hojicha on the western market is finely cut and strongly roasted. We, on the other hand, wanted to present you with something unique – a hojicha with long, lovely stems, subjected to a lighter sand roasting. This method goes back to the Edo period (17th – 19th centuries).

The stems come from a spring harvest (sencha), whereas the leaves were from a second harvest (bancha). You can still see a distinct green reflection in them both. This tea has actually preserved a noticeable fresh green tea aftertaste, but the bready, woody, even mineral notes clearly dominate. Hojicha is often drunk after meals and also in the evenings as it contains a lot less caffeine than leafy teas.

Harvest: spring/summer 2024
Origin: Kyoto, Japan
Cultivar: mixed
Profile: crust of baked bread, hazelnut, currant

Additional information

Weight	N/A
Kraj pochodzenia	Japan
Kolor	Green

Our impressions

Szymon

That’s the hojicha I was fighting for! My favorite tea for breakfast. A lighter roast definitely does this tea good.

Antoni

This is a green tea that doesn’t have green leaves, green infusion, green aroma, or green flavor. The roasting process completely transforms the original kukicha, turning all its sea-like flavors into tastes of nuts, hay, and crusts of baked bread. Most hojicha available on the market is roasted very heavily, making the roasted flavor coarse and overwhelming. Here, it’s different—the traditional roasting on heated sand enriches the flavor of this hojicha rather than masking its flaws. Take a closer look, and you’ll notice delicate green reflections on its leaves and stems. With each brewing, you’ll see more and more of them.

Szymon and I often argue about the best way to brew this tea: he likes to use boiling water to bring out as much nuttiness and rich roasting as possible. I cool the water to 80°C to give the green notes under the leaves a chance to come through and bring out more sweetness. Let us know which method you prefer!