Hojicha is a tea I'd never heard of before I read the Harney book, so I was particularly interested in learning more about this one.
Category: Japanese Green Tea
Purveyor: Harney & Sons
When purchased: March 2009
Dry leaf appearance: This tea looked like a lot of tiny stalks, and the color reminded me of pieces of broken wicker.
Wet leaf appearance: Like miniature bits of floating bamboo.
Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 190 degrees, 2 minutes.
Scent: Two very different observations here. First, when I opened the sample packet I thought I smelled something sweet like chocolate or cocoa powder. Once it was steeped, I detected a very toasty/roasty scent. It was a dramatic shift from the scent of the dry tea leaf.
Color: A nice shade of amber, what I think of as "tea" colored, which really threw me since this is a *green* tea!
Flavor: Based on that toasty/roasty scent I was getting, I wasn't at all sure I would like this tea, but I did. It had a uniquely rich flavor that I just haven't gotten in another tea. I would definitely try this one again.
Additional notes: In "The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea," Michael Harney says, "Another creative use of tea by-products, Hojicha is made almost entirely of the leafless stalks that come off with the leaves when tea plants are harvested mechanically." I like knowing that someone is being thrifty with the manufacture of this tea! Harney also describes this tea as "gently reminiscent of roasted coffee." In retrospect, I think I just might agree with that assessment. He also says "it might be the ideal cup to wean a coffee lover off that cruder rival brew." Spoken like a true tea lover!
Next week's tea: Gyokuro
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ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting review. I didn't know that they made tea from the stalks, but that explains how there can be such a vast difference in the appearance of teas.
ReplyDeleteHojicha sounds like a tea that my hubby (drinker of the cruder brew) and I could enjoy together. I just need to forget about my last toasty/roasty tea experience. ;=)