Hōjicha (also Houjicha, jap. じ 茶 茶, "roasted tea") is a roasted green tea from Japan.

The leaves of the Hōjicha are browned by roasting, at first glance it resembles the black tea. The taste differs significantly from the "green" green tea.

For Hōjicha mainly green tea like Sencha or Karigane are used. In the beginning, Hōjicha is processed similarly to green tea. After the harvest, the leaves are attenuated on the same day, so the green color is retained. Subsequently, the tea leaf is rolled under heat supply in various ways. Afterwards the tea is roasted at a high temperature to give a brownish color and a unique, spicy and slightly nutty aroma.

By roasting, the tea loses a large portion of its caffeine content as well as parts of the other typical ingredients. Thus, Hōjicha is less encouraging and contains less acid. It belongs to the teas, which are classified as gastro-friendly. In Japan he is mainly drunk in the evening, by elderly people as well as by children. Even small children and babies in Japan Hōjicha. Hōjicha is served in restaurants. In the hot Japanese summer it is served chilled.

Through the roasting, the tea is less sensitive to high temperatures and can be poured with almost boiling hot water without becoming bitter. About 12 g of Hōjicha tea leaves are needed for 650 ml of tea. The hot water (90-100 ° C) is poured over the leaves, the infusion takes only 30 seconds. Hōjicha is poured up to three times. You will find an exact preparation recommendation for each tea in the product description.