Roasted Green Tea "Hojicha"

• Type: Green tea
• Origin: Kagoshima prefecture, Japan  
• Cultivar: Blend (Yutaka Midori, Asatsuyu, Saemidori, Okumidori and Yabukita)
• Flavours: Roasted almond / toffee / biscui
• Full body 

Hojicha is a Japanese green tea, roasted at a high temperature for a few minutes to create a less-caffeinated and toasty-flavoured beverage. Created in Kyoto 100 years ago, and probably one of the most popular Japanese teas.

Our Hojicha was produced from a blend of leaves and stems from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd harvest from the Kirishima and Chiran regions. They were then roasted in two stages for a gentle release of flavour.

Most Hojicha is roasted once at a high temperature (190°c to 195°c), instead this tea followed a two-step roasting process. Starting at a lower temperature (170°c to 175°c), this was followed by a second roast at a higher temperature (195°c) to an even and slow release of the moisture.

This technique created a very well-balanced roasted tea with some nutty, caramel and biscuity flavours. The roasting also reduced the amount of catechin in the leaves reducing the astringency.