Hōjicha

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Hōjicha (also Houjicha, Japanese 焙 じ 茶 , dt. "Roasted tea") is a roasted green tea from Japan. The leaves of the Hōjicha turn brown when roasted, at first glance it resembles black tea . The taste differs significantly from the "green" green teas.

Manufacturing

Houjicha.jpg

Low-quality green teas are mainly used for Hōjicha . Mostly it is sencha or karigane of low quality or bancha or larger tea leaves, which are picked with the harvest and later sorted out.

In the beginning, Hōjicha is processed similarly to green tea. After the harvest, the leaves are steamed on the same day, so the green color is retained. Then the tea leaf is rolled in various ways while applying heat. The tea is then roasted at a high temperature, giving it a brownish color and a unique, piquant and slightly nutty aroma.

When is Hōjicha drunk?

Roasting causes the tea to lose a large part of its caffeine content as well as some of the other typical ingredients. So Hōjicha is less encouraging and contains less acid. It is one of the teas that are classified as stomach-friendly. In Japan it is mainly drunk in the evening, by the elderly and children. Even toddlers and babies drink hojicha in Japan. Hōjicha is served with food in restaurants. In the hot Japanese summer it is served chilled.

Preparation of hojicha

Roasting makes the tea less sensitive to high temperatures and can be infused with almost boiling water without becoming bitter.

5 to 10 g of Hōjicha tea leaves are required for 200 ml of tea. The hot water (90–100 ° C) is poured over the leaves, the infusion takes between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. Hōjicha is infused up to three times.

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