Hojicha

I believe this specific grade of Hojicha is called 雁ヶ音ほうじ茶 (Karigane Hōjicha), which is similar to Kukicha. The difference from Kukicha is that this form of Hojicha is roasted over a charcoal fire on porcelain.

This is one of the teas I ordered just before I went on my vacation.

Leaf Quality
This tea was only stems, as it is supposed to be. I did not find one leaf, so they did a good job of separating the two. The dry leaves smelled like the Genmai Cha I recently tried. Very toasty.

Brewed Tea
The color of the brewed tea was that of a Brandy or Scotch with a pinkish hue. It was also toasty, but not smokey. The flavor was very light, and savory. I could still taste the typical green tea flavor amid the toastiness. However, as toasty as the brewed tea smelled, I expected a stronger beverage.

I’m pretty satisfied with this purchase. Next time I’ll break the rules and steep longer to bring out more flavor. This tea was not very bitter, so I suspect that not much more bitterness should come out if I do so.

Harney & Sons’ hojicha is actually a hōji kukicha: most hōjicha is roasted bancha leaves, while hōji kukicha is made by roasting the twigs that are a byproduct of mechanical harvesting of leaves for bancha. (They also sell a plain kukicha, made from twigs that haven’t been roasted.) In a funny little twist on tea making priorities, this twig tea actually has a few unextracted leaf fragments left in it, which drift to the bottom of the pot as it brews while the twigs remain afloat.

Amber-copper liquor, nice toasty smell. In fact, “toasted” pretty much sums up the aroma and flavor of this tea. There’s a little bit of tannic astringency from all the wood, but it doesn’t define the cup. I’ve never used milk or sugar with this one, but I suspect that adding both would produce something an awful lot like drinking a hot bowl of shredded wheat. There’s no traditional tea flavor to speak of.

This is definitely a comforting way to end a day, thanks to both the pleasant taste and the low caffeine content. Mike Harney writes in his book that the flavor of this tea closely resembles that of coffee, which I take as evidence that he doesn’t drink much coffee, but it’s definitely a nice option for introducing coffee drinkers (or lovers of breakfast cereal) to the tea world.

There are three words to describe this tea: toasty, toasty, and toasty.

This makes a nice cup of relaxing flavors of roasted tea. It is very similar in flavor to Genmaicha, a Japanese green tea with toasted rice, but even more toasty. Like the previous comment remarked, it is a nice and relaxing tea, though steeping it for only 1.5 mins gives it a more pleasant softness.