Hojicha

Harney & Sons’ hojicha is actually a hōji kukicha: most hōjicha is roasted bancha leaves, while hōji kukicha is made by roasting the twigs that are a byproduct of mechanical harvesting of leaves for bancha. (They also sell a plain kukicha, made from twigs that haven’t been roasted.) In a funny little twist on tea making priorities, this twig tea actually has a few unextracted leaf fragments left in it, which drift to the bottom of the pot as it brews while the twigs remain afloat.

Amber-copper liquor, nice toasty smell. In fact, “toasted” pretty much sums up the aroma and flavor of this tea. There’s a little bit of tannic astringency from all the wood, but it doesn’t define the cup. I’ve never used milk or sugar with this one, but I suspect that adding both would produce something an awful lot like drinking a hot bowl of shredded wheat. There’s no traditional tea flavor to speak of.

This is definitely a comforting way to end a day, thanks to both the pleasant taste and the low caffeine content. Mike Harney writes in his book that the flavor of this tea closely resembles that of coffee, which I take as evidence that he doesn’t drink much coffee, but it’s definitely a nice option for introducing coffee drinkers (or lovers of breakfast cereal) to the tea world.

I believe this specific grade of Hojicha is called 雁ヶ音ほうじ茶 (Karigane Hōjicha), which is similar to Kukicha. The difference from Kukicha is that this form of Hojicha is roasted over a charcoal fire on porcelain.

This is one of the teas I ordered just before I went on my vacation.

Leaf Quality
This tea was only stems, as it is supposed to be. I did not find one leaf, so they did a good job of separating the two. The dry leaves smelled like the Genmai Cha I recently tried. Very toasty.

Brewed Tea
The color of the brewed tea was that of a Brandy or Scotch with a pinkish hue. It was also toasty, but not smokey. The flavor was very light, and savory. I could still taste the typical green tea flavor amid the toastiness. However, as toasty as the brewed tea smelled, I expected a stronger beverage.

I’m pretty satisfied with this purchase. Next time I’ll break the rules and steep longer to bring out more flavor. This tea was not very bitter, so I suspect that not much more bitterness should come out if I do so.

There are three words to describe this tea: toasty, toasty, and toasty.

This makes a nice cup of relaxing flavors of roasted tea. It is very similar in flavor to Genmaicha, a Japanese green tea with toasted rice, but even more toasty. Like the previous comment remarked, it is a nice and relaxing tea, though steeping it for only 1.5 mins gives it a more pleasant softness.

I remember trying a really pleasant hojicha in the last TTB, so I was excited to see this one. Unfortunately, this is not to my tastes. The flavor is super burnt and metallic. I only had a few sips because it really wasn’t great.

Hojicha is becoming my favorite tea to drink when I first wake up. I think all the woody smells, and the rich, dark taste are what do it. At the same time, I’m super ready to sip down on this one and try some other varieties. Too bad I have so much!

I decided to get a sampler of this because I wanted to try something just different and I needed to add a couple extra bucks to the order.

When I opened the packet, the first thought through my head was, oh, this was a mistake.
While it was brewing I could kind of maybe understand how some people might say that this is kinda similar to coffee. Not a lot, but there might be a wee itty bit of a similarity.

And then it finished brewing. I sit here smelling it, thinking, oh I do not want to taste this. But I will. I paid for it, I will give it a chance.

With my first sip, I am surprised. This tastes a lot better than I expected from the smell of it dry or the smell while it was brewing. The aroma improves as it cools.

I really have no clue as to how to describe this flavor or how to rate it. So I’m not. :)

This seems to be my winter tea. Had a cup of this one with my breakfast yesterday. There a is a nice nutty scent. The flavor is the usual roasty nut and grain. It is a bit lighter than the last one I had, but good for cold mornings. Thanks to cookies for this sample.

I would be drinking this right now. But my stainless steel Thermos mug is being much too excellent at keeping it way too hot. I brewed this almost three hours ago. A half hour ago I took a tester sip and about scorched the tip of my tongue off. I think it’s a perfect steep, but I won’t know until the tingling sensation goes away and I dare to sip again. :)

This is one of my absolute favorite teas. I love hojichas in general, but adore hoji-kukichas even more. You can oversteep for what seems like days and never encounter any bitterness. Just a beautifully roast-y, caramel-y, toasted brew. Because of the low caffeine I often choose this one at bedtime or later in the night when I can’t sleep and I’ve never had trouble falling asleep afterwards. This is one of my always-on-hand teas that I just can’t imagine being without.