Premium Light Roast Houjicha

Origin: Shizuoka and Kagoshima Prefectures, Japan 
Cultivar: Yabukita, Asanoka, Okumidori, Yamanami, Asatsuyu, Shizuoka GABA tea 
Harvest: 1st Flush Spring 2022 
Elevation: 150-350m 

Houjicha is a category of Japanese green tea defined by its level of roasting. It is the coffee analog of tea. Green tea leaves and stems from sencha, kukicha and bancha are hot roasted and transformed by way of the Maillard reaction, like caramelizing sweet potatoes or striking the right roast in coffee or cocoa. 

This style of houjicha is light-medium roasted and made of purely first-flush sencha and kukicha lots. It is highly aromatic and stimulating with rich layers of flavor and a deep taste. We want to highlight the cultivar selection of the blend balance and strike the level of medium roast to preserve the complexities attributed to the cultivar selections. There are tasting notes in this tea like what can be found in some oolong teas. The tea is roasted very lightly which brings out the very special aromatics and sweetness of these tea cultivars we blended.

Add 4g−5g to a small (200ml−290ml) Kyusu teapot. 
Use 185°F water. 
Infuse for 1−2 minutes and decant. 
Repeat for another 1−2 infusions for 1 minute.