What is Hojicha? Types of Hojicha tea, how to make tea and use when drinking

Green tea has been known and used for over a thousand years and is popular all over the world. In particular, Hojicha is one of the most sought-after teas with a unique flavor and aroma. So let’s go to learn more about Hojicha tea.

What is Hojicha?

Hojicha is the name of a famous green tea, originating from the land of cherry blossoms. This type of tea appeared only in the 1920s, made from Sencha, Bancha or Kukicha. After harvesting, people will bring this tea to steam, wither and dry. The tea is deep roasted at a high temperature of up to 200 degrees Celsius. Through this process, all bitterness will be removed. It gives Hojicha tea its distinctive aroma, reddish brown color and smoky flavor.

What is Hojicha?

Hojicha tea, after drying, has a distinct reddish-brown color instead of the characteristic green color of other green teas. While many other green teas will have a grassy aroma, Hojicha that goes through the roasting process has a smoky, earthy smell. After brewing, the tea color will be clear, slightly bitter taste mixed with a little sweetness, giving off a characteristic passionate aroma.

In Japan, Hojicha has a fairly low caffeine content, making it a popular tea to enjoy at kaiseki parties, dinners or before bed. Because of the preliminary processing, especially the roasting of the tea leaves, the amount of caffeine is reduced, and in the old leaves to make Hojicha have a lower caffeine content than the young leaves.

Hojicha teas

Kukicha, Sencha and Bancha Tea

Kukicha, Sencha and Bancha Tea

Currently, there are two types of Hojicha tea on the market. One is derived from the young leaves of Sencha or old leaves of Bancha that are harvested every autumn and the other is made from the stem of the Kukicha tree.

For the two types of tea derived from leaves, after the drying process of nearly 200 degrees Celsius, the catechins in the tea leaves have been lost, so this type of tea after brewing will have a slightly bitter taste, mixed with a little herbal sweetness. Natural medicine, has the scent of leaves.

As for the form made from the Kukicha stem , the heat process will not affect the L-Theanine too much, so this type is often preferred and has a higher price tag than the leaf tea.

Hojicha tea powder

Hojicha tea powder

When making tea to drink, people often use Hojicha in the form of leaves, and Hojicha tea powder is a popular ingredient for preparing or processing dishes that need a special taste of tea.

Hojicha tea powder is like tea leaves, also has a natural, gentle scent and characteristic sweet taste, contributing to creating a unique flavor for delicious desserts in every Japanese family meal in particular. .

What’s the difference between Hojicha, Sencha and Matcha?

What’s the difference between Hojicha, Sencha and Matcha?

The easiest thing to distinguish between these three teas is in terms of color: Hojicha is reddish brown, Sencha is dark green, and Matcha has a bright emerald green color.

As for the taste, we can easily feel: Hojicha has an umami taste, rich and naturally sweet, emitting the scent of earth smoke. Sencha tea has a slightly bitter taste at first, then gradually turns slightly sweet, the scent emitted is the smell of plants. And Matcha has a more bitter taste than Sencha, but the sweetness after is kept longer, also giving off a vegetal scent.

How to make Hojicha tea

How to make Hojicha tea

Step 1 You put about 5-6 grams of Hojicha tea into a dedicated teapot.

Step 2 Pour about 250ml of boiling water at a temperature of 90 – 95 degrees Celsius (which is boiled water that has been cooled for about 2-3 minutes) into the kettle and steep the tea for a period of 45 seconds to more than 1 minute.

Step 3 Pour tea into each cup and enjoy while still hot. The rest of the tea in the pot can be used to brew 2-3 more times.

Note:
– Do not use hot water that has just been boiled to make tea, because it is easy to burn the tea and lose its characteristic flavor.
– Do not steep tea for more than 2 minutes when brewing with hot water, it will make the tea bitter. When mixed with cold water, you should soak for 4-5 minutes longer to taste better.

Where to buy Hojicha tea?

Where to buy Hojicha tea?

You can absolutely find Hojicha tea at supermarket stores, food stores or e-commerce platforms in the market.

Reference price:

• The price of Hojicha tea 50g in powder form ranges from 60,000 – 90,000 VND
• The price of Hojicha tea 100g in leaf form is about 95,000 – 115,000 VND.

So Tnhelearning.edu.vn has compiled the information you need to know about this Japanese-origin Hojicha tea. Follow the latest articles of Tnhelearning.edu.vn to learn more about many other delicious teas!

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