Hōjicha Co.

I hope all my fellow Canadians here on Steepster had a good Thanksgiving this weekend!

I took advantage of the extra days off to enjoy some hojicha whisked up at the park. It’s finally starting to feel a bit more like Autumn so I’ve been enjoying taking time for lakeside tea and watching the colours of the leaves slowly change! The hojicha was an awesome option because it was very easy to just bring a bowl and a carafe of water and whisk it on the spot while there to enjoy the deep toasty and caramelized nutty and popcorn-like flavours while enjoying the cool, crisp Autumn air.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CU5CqlKg1Cd/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08f8M_knSZo&ab_channel=DavidDeanBurkhart

Made myself a chilled latte this morning with Asian Pear jam/simple syrup, almond milk, and then some thickly whisked up hojicha powder poured over. It was sooooo good, y’all! Fresh, floral, and juicy creamy Asian pear mixed with the already nutty almond milk and even more roasty toasty nutty goodness from the hojicha powder. It felt like it shouldn’t have worked so well, but it was delish and decadent while still feeling light. Mmmm!

On instagram Hojicha Co always posts the most delicious latte drink recipes made from muddle fruits/fruit compote and hojicha powder so I decided to take a stab at making my own. I made a thick muddled infusion of cherries and strawberry using sugar and then added that to the bottom of a cup. Then I topped with coconut milk and, finally, some whisked up hojicha powder. I wish I’d captured a photo because it was very pretty. The resulting drink was thick and creamy with lots of deep roasted barley and peanut notes and just a hint od dark red fruit sweetness from the fruits. I definitely want to try this again – it was very tasty and very pretty!

#matchamonday

Technically this isn’t matcha, but it’s pretty darn close and I’m gonna count it for the day. I was kindly gifted this hojicha powder by the delightful TeaWithJann ! She’s so sweet!

It’s unsurprisingly amazing. Everything I’ve had from Hojicha Co. has been fantastic so far. It smells sweet, toasty, nutty and inviting and all whisked up it’s easy to build up a thick froth. The taste first struck me as tasting like popcorn, but upon deeper reflection and more tasting I realized it was more that it reminded me of sweet, caramelized and nutty tasting Cracker Jack popcorn – but heavy on the peanut. Very toasty and smooth, and quite cozy for a chilly morning where the weather seems unable to decide if it wants to rain or not…

Can’t wait to experiment with this one even more!

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDbfUWKg44I/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSsHCZbDKRo

Sipdown (298)

I have to say I was afraid of this one in comparison to the gold roast since I thought it would be more roasty and more akin to coffee. However, trying them side by side, I think this is actually smoother than the gold roast somehow. I think because the overall sip is that roasty, smokey, vegetal quality vs. the gold roast where the roastiness comes in more to the end of the sip and lingers in the aftertaste.

This, to me, is less umami and more nutty and the consistency of the flavor makes it seem like I am drinking a liquid version of roasted nuts. Of the two Roswell Strange so kindly shared with me, this is surprisingly the one I like a lot more. In fact, this mug is done and I am still working on the gold roast. Thank you Roswell Strange for the chance to carry out this fun experiment!

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Roswell Strange is awesome and shares all the teas with me so when she exploded my cupboard in December, this was among the tea explosion. In addition, she also gave me the Hojicha Dark Roast from the same company to try so today I am trying them side by side.

I steeped them according to Hojicha Co’s instructions: 8 g/250 mL in 80C water for this one and 90C water for the Dark Roast for 30 seconds.

Hojicha is not my favorite but as far as they go, this one is quite nice. It’s got the classic hojicha roastiness of course but it is very smooth. It is sort of two note in the sense that the front of the sip is a sweeter/umami flavor and the back end of the sip is when the roast pops up and lingers in the aftertaste. I think that makes the roastiness stand out a bit more so if that’s the quality that you want in a hojicha, this has it in spades.

The website boasts caramel sweetness for this one but I am not really getting that. Unless it is umami caramel, that is a little burnt.

Thank you Roswell Strange for sharing both teas. Of the two, I thought for sure this would be my preference but while I can tell it is a good quality hojicha, I much prefer the dark roast.

The flavour of the dark roasted Hojicha is everything I had hoped it would be. It’s earthy and grassy but the smoky roasted flavour is a larger note. To me, this flavour profile is extremely cozy and soothing. It’s extremely rich and strong.

This bag is pretty old and has been open for some time, so I was anticipating the quality of the tea to have been drastically impacted, but it’s surprisingly unaffected. It’s rainy here in LA (again), so the toastiness is particularly cozy.

I haven’t had a cup of straight hojicha in a while. This was a welcome reminder of how much I love it. Caramel, nutty, roasted.

Made this western style with some of my new infused maple syrup. The brand WytchWood has been on my radar for awhile, and they just came out with a pumpkin spice infused syrup, so I caved and placed an order. I also got their Gingerbread Marshmallow infused maple syrup as well, which is what I used here. SO GOOD. The caramelization of the hojicha is really amplified by the syrup and creates such a cozy, comforting tea experience. This hojicha continues to be my favorite.

I definitely had to up the rating on this. Not sure what I was thinking before. I’ve been drinking this quite a lot because it’s absolutely delectable, and the rain we’ve had lately makes for perfect toasty hojicha weather.

This is my first foray into hojicha, and I was not disappointed. A mild roasted note, with caramel and a slight nuttiness. So comforting and delightful. I can’t wait to try the hojicha powder that I also ordered.

Gongfu!

This is my favourite of Hojicha Co’s offerings, and it’s perfect for a brisk late-Autumn afternoon. Deeply toasty and mineral tasting, with a notes of charred peanuts and hazelnut, espresso beans, barley, roasted dandelion root, burnt sugar, and just a little bit of bitter, earthy cacao peppered throughout. Not a ton of rested value here, so definitely a session on the shorter side. However that small handful of steeps you do get are wonderfully delicious and rich!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCuhTDky_AT/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orjmWv5ReRw&ab_channel=TheBottlemenVEVO

Gongfu!

This was so smooth with strong notes of brown rice, perfectly toasted warm and golden grains, lightly Buttered popcorn, roasted chestnuts, and an almost caramel-like lightly sweet finish. I really do love all the teas that Hojicha Co carries, but this is probably my favourite. Always has been, really. I just love the rich, dense flavour that comes with a darker roast!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2LR0adunPN/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0UFpACoJB4

Gongfu!

This was a morning session where I was just trying to channel all those cozy Autumn vibes! Hojicha is one of my fabourite things to drink in the Fall, but this dark roast in particular always speaks my language any time of year. Notes of charred peanuts, roasted chestnut, treacle, and a hint of coffee. So, so smooth despite the heavy roast. It practically oozes comfort!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CixjaJBOZZF/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fm4A79TgIw

It was cold and rainy all morning and afternoon today, and all I wanted was to curl up in mass amounts of blankts and drink Hojicha – the plus side of working from home, however, is that I was able to do exactly that in between meetings/conference calls.

This is my favourite of Hojicha Co’s offerings – so it should be no surprise that this is what I brewed up. I can see a bit of a field from my apartment, and all the foliage is turning orange and red now so sipping this while listening to the rain and watching the field was pretty picturesque “Autumn vibes”. I felt cozy and happy!

Western style mug!

This is still super good as a Western brew, but admittedly it’s leagues better when prepared Gongfu – it definitely feels a little richer and when nuanced when prepared that way. That said, this is still deep and toasty with a caramelized sugar and roasted hazelnut sort of vibe. I love me a good mug of cozy Hojicha!

Had a mug of this last week but I did the thing where I just guzzled the mug and didn’t really take mental note of it, and now I don’t remember exactly what it tasted like aside from the fact that I definitely really liked it and the finish was a little mineral/metallic.

I’ll make this again and be more observant, though!

Gongfu!

This was a Sunday session paired with some very juicy and sour gooseberries! I’ve enjoyed hojicha when paired with lemon or yuzu in the past, so I thought the bright acidity of the gooseberries might pair really well. It’s an alright pairing, but the gooseberries over power the roast of this green tea so I’ve had to adapt to eating the gooseberries in between steeps and then waiting until the taste is just lingering on the palate before sipping. However, with this adjustment it’s working quite nicely!!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTvFyzRLIR_/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6QzVyzq9nI

H is for… Hojicha Gold Roast!

I was far too excited for “H day” because I realized right away that would mean getting to indulge in plenty of Hojicha for the day – in fact, I seriously debated doing an all Hojicha day because I definitely have enough Hojicha in my stash to support that, but I did diversify a little bit though…

This is one of my favourite of the different roast styles carried by Hojicha Co – it’s got the depth that I want in a Hojicha but is still sweet and nutty. I found this mug had a lot of notes of caramelized grains/sugars and nuts along with that rich roasty body. I do really like dark roasted hojicha – but ignoring heavy roasts, I would say this might be the best example of a hojicha I love on a more light end of the spectrum.

Though, this is still more of a “medium” roast versus actually being light roasted.

Yixing pot gongfu!

Toasty Gold Roast session with green mango, cilantro, and mint chutney salad! Perhaps not the most natural tea and food pairing I’ve ever done – especially because this salad is actually so fucking spicy but I’m still enjoying the caramelized peanut notes of the tea, and with long steeps it has the intensity to stand up to the heat of the salad.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGvReusALAu/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHDUAOkR0TU&ab_channel=SideOneDummy

Gongfu – trying it out first in something ceramic before I start drinking it w/ my Hojicha dedicated yixing pot. This company was one I found on instagram, and I noticed a few teaple who’s taste I trust had ordered from them, some come Autumn and the change of season I decided to bite the bullet and do a trial order. I actually think they seem well priced, and shipping was very reasonable as well. Order showed up quickly, too!

Does looking at rabbit fur glaze make anyone else emotional or is that just me!? Very happy to finally have a rabbit fur glaze piece of teaware in my collection – picked this one up from Camellia Sinensis! Broke it in this afternoon with this trial run Gongfu session.

This tea is actually amazing though!! It starts off very smooth and toasty, with sort of a medium-ish roast and plenty of grilled peanut/hazelnut brittle notes and caramel sweetness! There’s a mild and pleasant astringency, which hits at the side of the mouth. Soft undertones of a sweet juicy/ripe red currant type of note transition into a more prominent finish. The delicious aftertaste of raw hazelnut and a coppery/mineral taste lingers for so long!! As the session progressed it just got more and more hazelnut heavy in taste. Damn this is gooooooddd!!

Makes me very excited to try out the dark roast, as well!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B30LSuKgXRb/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5XajZNGbHo

Special shout out to my coworker Steven, as well, who has been helping me tackle The Mountain Goat’s very expansive discography…