Tea: Houjicha Green Tea
A Hojicha from Arbor Teas - Organic
Brand: | Arbor Teas |
Style: | Hojicha |
Region: | Japan |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Loose? | Loose |
# Ratings: | 2 View All |
Product page: | Houjicha Green Tea |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1452 teas reviewed
✓ 16 of Hojicha
✓ 219 of Green Tea
✓ 32 of Arbor Teas
✓ 65 from Japan
Review of Houjicha Green Tea
June 6th, 2013
Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
7 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 67 of 100 |
Very Good | Good | Good Value |
A twiggy hojicha with a lot of large leaves and quite a lot of stem. Looks like roasted bancha with perhaps a bit of kukicha in the mix (more twig than typical for bancha). Looks very dark in color, but the aroma is not quite as overwhelmingly roasty as some of the dark-roast hojicha I've tried.
Brews a very dark cup with a strong roasted aroma, but the flavor is extremely mild, with almost no bitterness, and even somewhat sweet. A twiggy hojicha with a lot of large leaves and quite a lot of stem. Looks like roasted bancha with perhaps a bit of kukicha in the mix (more twig than typical for bancha). Looks very dark in color, but the aroma is not quite as overwhelmingly roasty as some of the dark-roast hojicha I've tried. A hint of vanilla like tones in the aroma...mostly roasty, with some woody qualities.
Very smooth flavor. I brewed this tea a few times, and I didn't do anything noticeably different, but the second steeping it came out much more sour. I disliked that a lot. In one brewing, there was an oddly astringent finish...leaving a sort of gritty or dusty feeling on the palate.
This seemed expensive for what it was. It wasn't bad but wasn't otherworldly either. I've had several hojicha's that I preferred that were also cheaper.