How to Roast Your Own Hojicha
Hojicha is green tea from Japan that has been steamed, dried, and then roasted. The taste of hojicha can be described as reminiscent of caramel, cocoa, or nuts, but every hojicha product has its own unique flavor profile, the same as any other tea. Much of the tea’s caffeine degrades during the roasted process, so hojicha is a good option for tea drinkers who are sensitive to caffeine, or those who want to drink tea close to bedtime.
Typically, hojicha is made from bancha, which is green tea harvested from the second flush of sencha, in late autumn. Bancha is a daily staple tea for many people in Japan, but it is considered of lesser quality than many other teas (such as sencha). So there isn’t as much nuance of flavor to be lost when bancha is roasted into hojicha.
Compared with other green teas, hojicha doesn’t have nearly as long a history. Merchants in 1920s Kyoto realized that by roasting certain batches of bancha that were otherwise unsellable, they could produce a new taste that quickly became popular.
Most often, hojicha is prepared by steeping and removing the whole leaves. But it is also available in powder form, which allows you to prepare it the same way you would matcha. Powdered hojicha is great for baking and other culinary purposes, too. Unlike matcha, which loses a lot of its flavor when exposed to heat in the oven, hojicha has already been roasted, so it will maintain its flavor throughout the baking process.
Many tea retailers offer some form of hojicha, and their producers’ expertise ensures a consistent roast at just the right temperature to bring out the best flavor in the tea. But you can also experiment with roasting hojicha at home.
How to roast hojicha at home
1. Select your tea
Maybe you’ve had some green tea sitting in your drawer for a while and it’s become stale. Or maybe you have a certain green tea that is too bitter for your personal taste, or too astringent. All of these would be great options. What you don’t want to do is use your special, high-grade green tea for your hojicha experiment.
2. Start with a low temperature
Measure out as much tea leaf as you want to make, and place it in a pan. (Cast iron is recommended, as long as you’ve cleaned it well enough to remove any scent or residue from cooking other foods.) Turn the heat on low and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula.
3. Turn up the heat
Gradually turn up the heat at small intervals until the roasting tea starts to release some fragrance. Continue stirring constantly to make sure the tea doesn’t burn.
4. Finish the roast
When the tea has become brown and fully aromatic, it’s probably done — but the exact timing is up to you! There are “light roast” hojicha products and “dark roast” hojicha products. The ideal roast is subjective, so it might take a few attempts to identify your personal sweet spot.
5. Steep your tea
Use a gaiwan, kyūsu, or teapot to steep your hojicha. The best temperature range for hojicha is higher than delicate green teas — around 195ºF to 205ºF (90ºC to 96ºC), and the best steeping time is usually 1 to 2 minutes. You can do a second steep, and potentially even a third, depending on the particular type of leaves you’ve used.
Special thanks to Linda Gaylard of The Tea Stylist, who was consulted in the development of this article.