Hojicha

History

Created in Kyoto in the 1920s, reportedly by a merchant roasting unsold stock rather than discarding it. It is one of the few famous teas whose origin is an act of thrift, and it turned a low-value harvest into a category of its own.

Brewing

• Western brewing (teapot or mug)

  1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 90–100 °C · 1 authored infusion

  Open in the brew assistant

• Kyusu brewing (Japanese style)

  3–5 g/100 ml · 80–90 °C · 3 authored infusions

  Open in the brew assistant

• Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)

  3–4 g/100 ml · 75–85 °C · 4 authored infusions

  Open in the brew assistant

Common mistakes

• Using cool water as one would for sencha, which leaves it thin and papery
• Assuming the brown colour means it is oxidised

If you like this

Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.

Compare this tea with another

Written comparisons

Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.

• Green tea styles compared — Five green teas spanning steamed and pan-fired, shaded and unshaded, roasted and fresh. The fixation method splits this category more than any origin does.
• Hojicha vs genmaicha — Two toasty Japanese green teas sold side by side, whose toastiness comes from entirely different places. One is roasted after processing; the other has roasted rice blended into unroasted leaf, and the distinction changes what each is good for.
• Hojicha vs Bancha — Hojicha is made from bancha, so they are not alternatives so much as before and after. Roasting is the only step between them and it changes almost everything.
• Matcha vs hojicha — Two Japanese green teas at opposite ends of everything: one shaded and milled, the other roasted from the coarsest leaf. They are the strongest and gentlest things in the Japanese range.
• Hojicha vs black tea — Hojicha is brown, toasty and low in caffeine, which leads almost everyone who meets it to file it as a black tea. It is a roasted green tea and the distinction matters.
• Best teas for beginners, compared — Four teas chosen for one property only: they are hard to brew badly. This compares them on how forgiving they are, not on which is best — and makes no claim about anything other than flavour and technique.
• Kukicha vs hojicha — Two low-caffeine Japanese teas often recommended for the same reasons, made from different parts of the plant by different means.
• Hojicha vs genmaicha: which to start with — Both are recommended to newcomers for the same reason and they solve different problems. Choosing between them depends on what put you off green tea.
• Bancha vs hojicha — Hojicha is roasted bancha, so this is a before-and-after rather than a choice between two teas. Roasting is the only step between them, and it removes exactly the character that puts people off green tea.
• What should my first loose leaf tea be? — Four candidates and the case for each, judged on how hard they are to get wrong rather than on how impressive they are. Both cost little and both are near-impossible to ruin, which matters more than either being impressive.

Journeys featuring this tea

• Moving beyond tea bags — Someone comfortable with loose black tea who has never tried the other categories.
• Exploring green tea — Someone who wants to understand green tea rather than tolerate it.
• Understanding tea families — Someone who has heard there are six kinds of tea and wants to know what actually separates them.
• Building a home tea setup — Someone who wants to buy equipment in the order that actually improves the cup.
• I like coffee — A coffee drinker who finds most tea thin and wants something with body and roast.
• Learning to taste tea — Someone who can tell they like one tea more than another and cannot say why, and would like to be able to.

Guides covering this tea

• Why roasted teas taste nutty
• Choosing your first tea
• From green tea beginner to enthusiast