Lemon Cheesecake Bar Houjicha

12th day of my advent calendar from Sara!

This one smells oh so lemony. The taste is very lemon, maybe some lemon zest, and a note of the houjicha that is stronger at the end of the sip.

The lemon flavor is so strong, that I’m not really enjoying the houjicha much. It’s an enjoyable tea, but I think it could be better. I wonder how it would taste iced.

Trick or Treat! Decided to make some houjicha as my nightly cuppa tonight, as the caffeine is so mild in houjicha it should be fine as a bedtime tea. I picked this one up from Ost’s cupboard sale, so thank you Ost! This is the original version of the tea, not the reblend.

I love houjicha, but it is so hard to find houjicha blends. I really wish they were tackled more often. This is a very rich, woody, roasted houjicha base, but there is a distinct lemony flavor to the tea, which really comes out in the aftertaste; the citrus really lingers on the tongue. The lemon flavor also has a slightly floral quality to me, somehow; it reads with a bit of a floral sort of sweetness rather than fruity tart, I suppose? But aside from the slight floral sort of sweetness I get in the aftertaste, there isn’t anything particularly sweet, creamy, or that would otherwise make me think of cheesecake or associate this as a dessert tea; this is really just reading as a lemon-flavored houjicha. I’m enjoying the flavor, but I think it needs some added sweetness or creaminess to bring in the dessert element the name implies. I don’t milk or sweeten houjicha typically, but I wanted to try to get this closer to what I was imaginging, so I added just a mere tablespoon of warm vanilla almond milk mixed with a small dollap of lemon-infused honey to my cup, and that pushed in some of those sweet/creamy elements without overpowering the rich houjicha base.

This was heavy on the lemon balm and didn’t have much cheesecake or vanilla notes in here. The base also wasn’t as roasty as most houjchas I have experienced in the past. I liked this but seemed a little flat considering its name and description. Totally something I would sip on whilst sick, as a sweet positive about it is that it was extremely soothing to drink, however, it was not what I was expecting.

A tea that I won in April! The previous version was on my wishlist and this was the reblend for this month. I wasn’t sure if Anne would be adding a V2 entry for the new version, so I’m posting this in the old version. This blend is white teas added to the houjicha! I probably would like this blend better with the added white tea. Some white teas seem naturally lemony to me. There is definitely a lot more white tea here than houjicha. I can’t taste much of the houjicha at all, only hints of that roasted flavor. Sadly, NO cheesecake flavor for me. Huh. (I never seem to taste any cheesecake flavor in any of 52Teas.) But plenty of lemon — more like lemon verbena flavored than lemon grass but I always appreciate the many different lemon ingredients in a lemon blend. This blend isn’t special enough overall though. (And lower points for no noticeable cheesecake.)
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoon for a full mug// 25 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 18 minutes after boiling // 3-4 minute steep

Also, I just recently watched the new Ghostbusters and I’m wondering how in the name of anything holy there is not a marshmallow man parade float for NYC? And this movie should have certainly given someone the idea if the previous marshmallow man did not. Something is not right in the world if there is not a StayPuft marshmallow man in a NYC parade. I like meta things.

Yikes. Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this one.
It’s good!! but I find I have to really be in the mood for flavoured houjicha. Unflavoured is fine so I didn’t expect to discover that flavoured would be any different, with this type of tea specifically. Somehow it makes the liquor heavier. Go figure. Except for this last batch, which I cold brewed. and it was SO GOOD. and also the most vibrant in lemon, and cake. and cheese. and… well everything.
I find that too many lemony teas go off after awhile but so far this one hasn’t. At all!

Ok. Tea festival time tomorrow. YAY!!!

Hmm. I’m a sucker for cheesecake, so I was excited about this flavor. It disappoints on that front. Ignoring the name though, it’s a pretty tasty blend. The tart lemon flavor and roasty houjicha flavor balance each other out. There’s a hint of creamy vanilla that softens the tartness of the lemon and makes the flavor more evocative of dessert than fresh fruit. It’s also quite pleasant cold. Think more lemon meringue than lemon cheesecake. This was a nice enough blend, but I’m not heartbroken to say it’s a sipdown.

So we brewed up a giant mug of this at sil’s place yesterday so that she, omgsrsly, kitenna, indigabloom and I could try it without committing to an entire cup. And I do believe this was courtesy of indigobloom, so thank you!

I do not really like lemon-flavoured things, and I’m a person who typically adds things to my tea. I’m also not even entirely sure I know how hogicha is different from other green teas, so I had my reservations when I began to sip it. But I was surprised at how much I liked it. The lemon wasn’t overwhelming which I instantly liked, but there was enough flavor to make me really think I would enjoy a cup of this without additions. I really hope this is reblended, because I’ll certainly be getting myself some if that’s the case.

It was so very lovely to meet up with people I’d been talking to for years. Everyone got along so well, and I only wish more of you were actually there. I can’t wait to do it again!

Also, everyone needs to know that in another lifetime, sil actually worked as an independent living skills specialist for blind people! I’ve recently purchased a bonavida variable temp kettle, and because Mr. Keychange is blind as well, when it arrived at my house, we kind of opened it and just marveled at how short and fat and cute it was, and how neat the spout looks. So I hauled it over to sil’s place, and we practiced memorizing
how many times buttons needed to be pressed, how to change things up, etc. But the real kicker was when we practiced pouring. We started with cold water so I could get used to the motions, but then sil was like “we’ve gotta up this game, biatch, i’ma fill this bitch up with water that we’ll boil now.” and off she went. Pretty soon, there was a kettle, each part of which was hotter than hell sitting in front of me. But we worked out a way to line it up and test to see if it was lined up properly, and then I began to pour. And holy mother of god it worked. Sil was great at policing my left hand, which wanted to creep up to feel the spout. She was like “uh uh uh! get that hand out of there! you won’t be able to use it when the kettle’s boiling hot!”. So very clever! Anyway, everyone just needed to know that. some people are just so naturally good at striking a balance between sensitivity and expectations of your potential and skill, and it’s just so wonderful to see. The vast majority of people I meet have wonderful intentions and want to be helpful, but few are that intuitive.

Can’t wait to see all of you guys again!

I tried this tea yesterday along with everyone else, and I really really liked it. The toasty houjicha, the soft lemon… yum.

I was sad it wasn’t in stock, but I’ll definitely consider ordering when it comes around again.

tried this one yesterday courtesy of indigobloom I am a fan. I really enjoyed the softness of the lemon in this one, blended with the hojicha. It would be on my re-order list now that 52 teas has been taken over. First experience with the ‘new’ 52 teas and i’m a happy camper!

Sampled a bit of this from Indigobloom as well. Although it tasted ok (roasty, sweet lemon), I think I may have burnt my tongue a bit, which was sad. I believe I have some of this en route, so will get to have another chance at it (or a few) in the future.