This houjicha has a really noticeable bitterness in the aftertaste, and seeing that it is made from Sencha of the Summer Sun, it’s understandable. That tea also has a bit of bite to it. It’s hard to describe what sets this houjicha apart from others. It has a bit of that bitter green tea taste that you get from more bitter/robust sencha.
To be honest, I don’t really prefer this to the simplicity of the regular houjicha made from bancha. I like my houjicha to be mild, or maybe just slightly robust, but this one is really robust and smokey/bitter in the finish. The scent has notes of cedar and mustard and the tea itself tastes roasty like a houjicha usually does, but maybe with a bit more of a coffee-like bitterness in the finish. The bitterness really lingers a bit, but it also has a cooling sensation and it is a clean kind of bitterness. It is similar to the subtle bitterness of walnuts.
Not bad stuff, but I think I like the simpler kind more.
Flavors: Cedar, Coffee, Roasted, Smoke, Walnut
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Houjicha shouldn’t be bitter, IMO. I probably would rebel against that too. If I’m drinking houjicha, I want a sweet, possibly caramelly, roasty, smooth tea. I’d be happy with smokiness, but not bitter. Sad.
Yeah, Obubu even advertises their Sencha of the Summer Sun as having “a bitter taste that is strong at first”, and it comes through in this houjicha version of it. I’ve had the sencha by itself and it definitely is robust. It’s good, but it’s sharp unless you brew it with less tea than you might usually use for sencha. Unfortunately, using less tea didn’t really make the houjicha lose its bitterness, though it wasn’t too bad, just not really my thing when it comes to houjicha.
Houjicha shouldn’t be bitter, IMO. I probably would rebel against that too. If I’m drinking houjicha, I want a sweet, possibly caramelly, roasty, smooth tea. I’d be happy with smokiness, but not bitter. Sad.
Yeah, Obubu even advertises their Sencha of the Summer Sun as having “a bitter taste that is strong at first”, and it comes through in this houjicha version of it. I’ve had the sencha by itself and it definitely is robust. It’s good, but it’s sharp unless you brew it with less tea than you might usually use for sencha. Unfortunately, using less tea didn’t really make the houjicha lose its bitterness, though it wasn’t too bad, just not really my thing when it comes to houjicha.