Green · Uji, Kyoto, Japan
Hōjicha
Low caffeine
Green tea roasted over high heat until russet and sweet. Low in caffeine, evening-gentle, chestnut-warm.
Recipe
- Temperature
- 90 °C · 194 °F
- Leaf
- 4 g
- Water
- 250 ml
- First steep
- 0:45
- Each next steep
- +0:15
- Steeps
- 3
Suggested starting point.
Time this brew with Pekoe
Aroma notes
roasted chestnut · caramel · cedar
Tasting notes
toasty · smooth · calm
Harvest
May–June · September
Making
Plucking 
Steaming 
Rolling 
Roasting
Origin
Uji, Kyoto · Japan
Between Kyoto's hills, the Uji river's mist softens the light. Under the shading nets the leaf keeps its sugars and its umami.
Lore
A Kyoto merchant is said to have roasted unsold bancha over charcoal around 1920, and invented a new tea in the act. The roast converts the leaf's bite into caramel warmth, which is why hōjicha is Japan's evening cup, poured even for children.
