Woo, Hojicha! Probably one of my favorite roasted teas, coincidentally it was also my first roasted tea, discovered so long ago that I cannot remember in the last 15 years I wasn’t drinking it. This particular Hojicha appears very stick-heavy, but is not listed as a Kukicha, so maybe I just got lucky (I like sticks) and won the Kukicha lottery. The aroma is very distinctly roasted with notes of toast, a touch of smoke, a bit of burnt wood, and a slightly sweet finish. Brewing the tea is INTENSE, lots of strong roasted notes, like popcorn and toast with a burnt stick finish.
Tasting time! The taste starts out with strong toast and roasted tea taste, this moves into smoky sticks and brunt marshmallows. Of all the Hojicha I have had, this one is the first that combines the delicate sweetness of a slightly roasted Hojicha and the really intense almost smokiness of a charcoal roasted Hojicha, it is really quite balanced. Also, burnt marshmallow is a great note to have in tea.
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/simple-loose-leaf-october-subscription.html
Besides Hojicha is just plain fun to say.
Yesss, I love saying it :D