Hōjicha
Hōjicha is a Japanese green tea. It is distinctive from other Japanese green teas because it is roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal. It is roasted at to prevent oxidation and produce a light golden colour, as opposed to other Japanese teas which are steamed. In general, the base of a hōjicha consists of leaves from the second harvest or after.
Description
Visual appearance
Dry hōjicha tea leaves are brown wedge-shaped needles. The tea is fired at a high temperature, altering the leaf colour tints from green to reddish-brown.Infusions have a distinctive clear red appearance and nutty fragrance. Hojicha is sometimes sold in a powdered form and used to make steamed milk drinks.
Taste
Once infused, hōjicha has a nutty, toasty, sweet flavor. The tea has little to no bitterness.History
The process of making hōjicha was discovered in 1920 by accident when a Kyoto merchant had unsaleable bancha. By roasting the bancha, the merchant created a new flavor; hōjicha.Hōjicha is often made from bancha, tea from the last harvest of the season. However, other varieties of hōjicha also exist, including a variety made from sencha and kukicha. Kukicha is made primarily from the twigs and stems of the tea plant rather than the leaves alone.
Hōjicha infusions have a light- to reddish-brown appearance and are less astringent. The lower levels of astringency in hōjicha are due to the tea losing catechins during the high-temperature roasting process.
The roasted flavours are extracted and dominate this tea: the roasting replaces the vegetative tones of other varieties of Japanese green tea with a toasty, slightly caramel-like flavour.
The roasting process used to make hōjicha also lowers the amount of caffeine in the tea. Because of its mildness, hōjicha is a popular tea to serve during the evening meal, before sleep, and preferred for children and the elderly.