Does anyone have any input on brewing or a purchasing hojicha?

I was traveling in Japan this spring, and encountered hojicha in all
the restaurants and hotels wherever I went. (quick sidenote: I wonder
if that's a seasonal thing. I had studied in Japan during the
fall/winter season and didn't encounter it then, but maybe I was just
oblivious!)

I fell in love with the nutty flavor of hojicha. Then I found out it
was low in caffeine that was even better, since I am pretty sensitive
to caffeine! I returned to the states with two types of hojicha, one a
semi-pricey tin with dried sakura cherry blossoms in it, and one
every-day foil packet of hojicha.

But in trying different brewing times and water temps, I still end up
with a rather flat tea, not the tea with rich, hearty body that I had
in Japan. Maybe I just need Japanese water to make the flavor complete
But if anyone has any advice on brewing, or where to get good
hojicha, I'd appreciate it!

Hi,

I'm the furthest thing imaginable from an hojicha expert, but I do kinda
like it myself. I've tried both
http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/detai...FG=Green +Tea
and Upton's TJ41, both of which are pretty good. If you want to go further
afield, http://www.sencha.com/ has a varied selection, though I haven't
tried any.

Rishi recommends using a fair amount of leaves - 1 Tablespoon per 8 oz;
Upton recommends 1 teaspoon or so for 6 oz. Both recommend around a 3 min.
steep. You may not be using enough tea.


Doug


"amatouTT" > wrote in message
om...
> Does anyone have any input on brewing or a purchasing hojicha?
>
> I was traveling in Japan this spring, and encountered hojicha in all
> the restaurants and hotels wherever I went. (quick sidenote: I wonder
> if that's a seasonal thing. I had studied in Japan during the
> fall/winter season and didn't encounter it then, but maybe I was just
> oblivious!)
>
> I fell in love with the nutty flavor of hojicha. Then I found out it
> was low in caffeine that was even better, since I am pretty sensitive
> to caffeine! I returned to the states with two types of hojicha, one a
> semi-pricey tin with dried sakura cherry blossoms in it, and one
> every-day foil packet of hojicha.
>
> But in trying different brewing times and water temps, I still end up
> with a rather flat tea, not the tea with rich, hearty body that I had
> in Japan. Maybe I just need Japanese water to make the flavor complete
> But if anyone has any advice on brewing, or where to get good
> hojicha, I'd appreciate it!