HOUJICHA FF 50g

Houjicha Shimizu 

Sweet roasted nuts in the aroma and a bright brown colour in the infusion, you are in for a taste of houjicha taken to a whole new level. The roastiness here is just the right amount to bring out a noble flavor that can best be described as dark caramel.

Houjicha is a Japanese green tea whose name literally means "roasted tea" - usually a roasted bancha made from one of the later and less prized harvests and very heavily roasted. Houjicha Shimizu, however, is a very different story. Leaves and stems from the most valuable first (ichibancha) harvest were used to make it, and the roasting was masterfully done to the best degree. 

Compared to other Japanese teas, it contains a minimal amount of tein.

The history of houjicha began in 1920 in Kyoto - the mechanisation of the harvesting process made the work immensely easier, but compared to hand-picking, there was more debris, fragments and stems among the leaves that had to be sorted and discarded. Due to Japan being an island with limited resources, care is taken to be thrifty and minimise waste... and so one tea merchant had the idea to roast these scraps on charcoal - the success didn't take long to spread throughout Japan. 

Houjicha became famous in Europe as a "macrobiotic tea" - in macrobiotics it is served hot and cold as a strongly alkalizing - and therefore de-acidifying - drink. Those who have visited Japan will remember the first shock of tasting houjicha. In contrast, drinking Houjicha Shimizu is a delicious experience for the taste and smell buds.

 Shizuoka

Supplier: 

Mr Morishita 

Preparation

Houjicha is easy to prepare and resistant to higher temperatures and longer infusion.

If you like more delicate flavours, pour the first infusion with 90ºC water and pour it off after a minute, then pour the second infusion with just boiled water and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.

If you are a fan of full strong flavours pour boiling water for 3 minutes. 

Houjicha contains only a small amount of thein and is therefore also suitable as an evening drink.

Packaged in Japan in 50g packages to maintain maximum quality.
   

Certified by JAS.