I’ve been hearing about how good iced houjicha is, so I finally tried it.
I wanted a big pitcher full, so I used 36oz water and 3 heaping TBSP (9 tsp, as the formula is 1 tsp per 4 oz water) of leaf.
After I got the water to a boil, I poured it over the leaves in our big glass teapot. I let it steep a little longer than suggested to make sure it was strong, filtered the tea into the pitcher and once it cooled to room temp put it in the fridge.
(You know what, even though its kind of boring to read, I put all those directions in most of my tasting notes in case I ever come back and want to know how I made something, in case it turned out well. Also, in case there is someone else who wanted to try it.)
Anyway, iced houjicha IS good. Strong sweetness, light roasted flavor, the benefits of iced tea without the bitterness you get from many mass produced, bagged black iced teas. I shouldn’t even compare the two, as they aren’t in the same category, but having dark-colored iced tea in a pitcher reminded me of what everyone drinks in the South (Lipton, Luzianne, etc.), but tasted SO much better.
Definitely recommended!
