Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Steepster Select
Tea Description:
Roasted in small batches, this houjicha comes from exclusive 1st flush leaves and stems. Constant monitoring during production ensures a perfectly balanced sweet (caramel-like) and salty (umami richness) flavor profile. A daily favorite at Steepster!
Taster’s Review:
When I opened the single serving pouch of this Houjicha Ichiban Green Tea from Steepster (the second tea that I’m sampling from my February Steepster Select Box!) I was greeted with a delicious, roasty-toasty scent. I love the aroma of a good Houjicha, it smells so warm and cozy, like comfort food. Houjicha is comfort tea!
And this is an amazing Houjicha! It is sweet and delicious with its warm, toasty nut flavor. Some of the other tasting notes written about this tea suggest a grassy taste, but I don’t get a lot of grassy/vegetative notes from this tea nor can I recall any Houjicha right off hand that I’ve tasted where I’ve experienced a vegetative note. Usually, the roasting of the leaves turns the vegetal notes of the green tea into a nuttier flavor, and that’s what I’m tasting now.
But I do taste a slight buttery quality and hints of chocolate … a very subtle chocolate note that I can’t recall noticing in a Houjicha before. Interesting! And I also do taste a slight “saltiness” to this that accentuates the nutty flavors very nicely. It’s a nice balance between savory and sweet.
This is a mighty fine Houjicha! I’m glad I got to try it!
Learn more about Steepster Select here.
Organic Jasmine Cacao Green Tea from Spicely Organics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tea Description:
This chocolaty jasmine flower and green tea blend has a lingering effect . The gentle jasmine flowers add a hint of relaxation to the invigorating combination of antioxidant-rich green tea and cacao nibs. INGREDIENTS: Organic Houjicha, Organic Jasmine Flower, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Carob
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Jasmine Cacao Green Tea from Spicely Organics is not at all what I expected – it’s so much better than I anticipated it being! When I see jasmine and green in the name of a tea, my immediate thought is not a houjicha tea. But that is what Spicely Organics used for the base of this jasmine green, and I think that is what makes this tea so good.
Because the base tea flavor is toasty and nutty rather than vegetative, the chocolate-y notes meld well with the sweet, exotic jasmine. I don’t know that it would have worked as well with a grassy green tea that has been scented with the jasmine blossoms.
The jasmine here is rather subtle, and takes a back seat to the nutty flavors of the houjicha and the earthy cacao notes. I still taste the distinct flavor of jasmine, but it isn’t a dominating flavor.
The chocolate notes are nice. Yeah, I would like a stronger chocolate flavor – but when do I not? As it is, though, I think that there is a good balance between chocolate and toasty, nutty houjicha. This is a warm, nutty tasting tea with mid-notes of chocolate with hints of jasmine that peek their way in and out throughout the sip.
A really unusual and tasty tea. This is one I’d recommend to someone who typically doesn’t like jasmine teas because it isn’t like a typical jasmine. It would also be a great tea for those who love the roasty-toasty teas like houjicha with a twist. This one is familiar, but different enough to shake things up. I like it.
Hoji Cha Gold (Houjicha Gold) from Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
Product Description:
This Houjicha is special! Made by roasting mature sencha instead of bancha, Houjicha Gold boasts a much more intense flavour with lingering buttery sun flower tones. Relying on the name it turns bright golden in a cup and gives off a room-filling pleasant roasted fragrance. As it is made from sencha we recommend steeping it shorter than other houjicha.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love hojicha (or houjicha, or Hoji Cha)! I just love that toasted flavor that comes of roasting the green tea leaves. The roasting process changes the green tea flavor, converting the “vegetative” or “grassy” taste of a Sencha and/or Bancha tea into a sweeter flavor that tastes like sweet, freshly roasted nuts.
And in this “line of work” I have had the opportunity to try MANY different hojicha. Some I’ve liked better than others (although I can’t really recall ever not liking a hojicha that I’ve tasted.) But this Hoji Cha Gold – also called Houjicha Gold – from Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations is one of the very best, if not THE best, that I’ve tried!
What makes this tea different? This houjicha consists of only roasted Sencha leaves (rather than a combination of Bancha and Sencha, or just Bancha leaves) … maybe that’s the reason for the better flavor. I don’t know.
What I do know is that I taste a really deliciously sweet, roasty-toasty, nutty flavor. I taste not just nutty flavors, but hints of caramel and even a slight floral tone that is interesting.
I like that is not just sweet. There is a savory note in this tea that hits the palate right about mid-sip. This savory note comes from the slight floral note … it’s slightly sharp and intriguing!
At the start of the sip, the palate is washed with sweet, nutty flavors, and then as the sip progresses, the palate perks up with the introduction of this savory note. It sort of wakes up and says “Hello, what is this?” and this allows the palate to really explore this tea.
I find myself appreciating this contrasting note because as much as I do enjoy hojicha teas … sometimes they are just a little too sweet. I like this uplifting sharpness to the cup, it cuts through some of the sweetness, and makes the tea taste more balanced.
A really enjoyable Houjicha, one that I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience!
Genmai Hojicha from Sara’s Tea Caddie
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Sara’s Tea Caddie
Tea Description:
A variation on two classic Japanese green teas: Genmaicha and Hojicha. With this blend you get the sweetness and buttery popcorn of a genmaicha and the toastiness of a roasted hojicha. Savoury and sweet, nutty and smooth. This tea is a perfect warming green tea for winter weather.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s a happy day when I go out to the mailbox and find my monthly Amoda Tea box in there! But I have to admit that when I opened my Amoda Box this month, I was a little disappointed. There was a repeat of a tea that we’ve had from Amoda in the box before: Minty Winter Wonderland from Tiesta Tea. I mean, sure, the tea is tasty. I enjoyed it last winter when it was part of December 2012’s box. But I subscribed to Amoda Tea to experience new teas, not to be reintroduced to teas that I’ve already tried. So I’m hoping that this isn’t going to be a trend on the part of Amoda Tea.
But, I am glad that this month’s box also included a packet of Genmai Hojicha from Sara’s Tea Caddie. This is a really tasty Genmai. I love the way the sweetness of the toasty Hojicha brings out the sweet, toasted rice flavor.
In a “typical” Genmaicha, the bittersweet grassy tones of the Sencha (or Bancha) are softened and sweetened by the addition of toasted rice. Here, the sweet, roasted flavor of the hojicha is compounded by the toasted rice – creating a deeper roasty-toasty flavor that is sweet and a little bit buttery.
It is a warm, cozy kind of flavor that is comforting when served hot, and very relaxing and refreshing when served chilled. I found that the toasty notes still came through nicely with the iced version – I liked that. When served iced, it’s especially tasty with a drizzle of honey!
Hojicha Green Tea from Aiya
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aiya
Tea Description:
Known for its unique, strong, roasted flavor, Hojicha is made by roasting lower grade Sencha and Bancha. Although Hojicha is from the green tea family, the roasting process turns its leaves to an autumn brown. Hojicha has a very distinct, mild and nutty flavor. It also contains less caffeine and tannins, resulting in a less astringent flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love the toasty, cozy taste of this Hojicha Green Tea from Aiya. The roasting of the Sencha and Bancha leaves creates such a lovely, nutty flavor that has a hint of caramel undertones.
Aiya has delivered another excellent tea! This tea is just exactly what I’ve come to expect from a good Hojicha. The leaves are a beautiful shade of tan that smell warm and toasty, like freshly roasted nuts. When brewed, the liquid is golden tan and fragrant.
The cup tastes smooth with a light astringency. There is no bitterness. The usual “vegetal” notes that you’d experience with Sencha and Bancha teas have become a sweet, warmly roasted flavor that is not grassy or vegetative. Instead, it reminds me vaguely of almonds that have just come out of the oven after being lightly toasted. The aftertaste is delicate and sweet.
The flavor is so soothing. It’s the kind of tea that I like to curl up to on chilly days like this one. When it’s cold and blustery out there, I like to be inside with my hands wrapped around a warm, porcelain mug of hot Hojicha like this one.