Kyobancha
Last Updated: Jul. 29, 2013
↑About Kyobancha
Kyobancha is a unique style of green tea that originated in Kyoto, Japan, near Uji, where most of it is produced. Kyobancha is often called akachan bancha(赤ちゃん番茶), which can be translated "bancha for babies", because it is very low in caffeine. It is also sometimes called haru bancha(春番茶), meaning "spring bancha", because it is harvested in spring.
Although it is technically a type of bancha, as well as a type of hojicha, and can be classified in either category, it is quite different in character from the typical examples of both of these types of tea, and we thus classify it in a category of its own.
Kyobancha is produced from tea leaves that have lasted through the winter. It is then roasted. The roasting imparts a smoky quality to it. The combination of the use of large, mature leaves, which are naturally lower in caffeine, and the roasting process, which breaks down caffeine, makes this tea very low in caffeine.
Uncommon even in Japan, Kyobancha has been virtually unknown in Western Countries until recently.
↑Recent Kyobancha Reviews — RSS 
87 / 100
The aroma is delightfully loamy and mildly roasted, it reminds me of the forest at the end of autumn. Brewing the tea makes the roasted aroma and loamy aroma more intense and it brings in notes of umami as well.
The taste is earthy, loamy, and a hint of woody with very mild roasted flavor. I have to be careful to n...
80 / 100
Roasting the bancha leaves produces a tea that combines the best of hojicha and bancha together in one brew. The light grassy flavors are enhanced by the light smokiness, and the astringency is cut to a minimum. The sample I had of this was used up quickly as I tried brewing it both hot and cold the same day, and both ...
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