Hojicha Dark Roast

Why do heavily roasted teas always register as having a dill note to me? Does anyone else get that? I’m not complaining, I love dill, but it’s just such an odd note amongst all the others.

So i was expecting something much more deep and coffee-like out of this Houjicha compared to the basic roast. In fact, it is sweeter and more mellow than the basic roast, which is a surprise to me. It is so incredibly mild it is a perfect bedtime tea. I am not really getting any smoky flavor though, despite Obubu’s description of the tea, but that is A-OK with me. I don’t think this sweet roasty cha would benefit from that.

The flavors are the usual houjicha ones, a roasted, toasted, deep nutty taste with hints of grain. This one has a bit of sweet bread flavor as well. Really delicate for a houjicha. I’ve had some that taste like coffee or cigar smoke. This one is much more mild and sweet. Great!

The afternoon cuppa….

I don’t think I’ve ever had a dark roast houijcha before so I was looking forward to trying this. It’s pretty yummy! It definitely has a roasted flavor that is reminiscent of coffee, but there’s also a fruity, sort of cherry flavor about it and something creamy that would best be described as caramel. Normally houijcha is nothing for me to get super excited over, but this was a delicious sample. Glad I was able to try it…

Another exciting tea from my swap with Jennkay! Thanks!

I’ve had houjicha before, but it was cheapo bagged stuff. This is much smoother! I love the roasty flavor and low caffeine. This kind of thing is really nice to have around. Very toasty and satisfying :)

The sky outside is crazy dark, it looks like a massive amount of storms are heading my way. Of course I have no idea if it will storm, but I really hope it does, thunderstorms are my favorite form of weather. It really feels like spring today, which I am sure cannot last, but all the snow melting has made everything into mud, which makes for some happy mold spores. But let us focus on a different time of year today.

Today’s tea is Dark Roast Houjicha from Yunomi.us and grown by Obubu Tea Farms in Kyoto Prefecture. This is the third strongest roast of the Houjicha presented by Obubu Tea Farms, described as having a smoky flavor that is both light and sweet, that sounds like my kind of tea. The aroma of this tea is in one word, yummy. But that is a boring description, the aroma is very roasted and mildly smoky with notes of cedar wood and autumn leaves. It very much so smells like the clean and smoky autumn air in a forest, it makes me nostalgic and full of longing for autumn in the mountains.

Brewing the leaves makes the aroma much richer with stronger notes of cedar and hints of earthiness. The tea leaves smell savory, like dried oak leaves and roasted wood. Again it is very evocative of autumn air. The liquid however is sweeter, like freshly mown hay and roasted nuts. There is still notes of cedar smoke but it is much fainter.

Perhaps tasting this tea will infuse me with the essence of autumn, I have no idea what that would even mean but maybe it will take away the longing for mountains. The taste is richly roasted, intensely so, though not intensely smoky like their Smoky Roast Houjicha. There is a mild hint of cedar smoke that blends well with the roasted tea flavor. The tea starts off savory and roasted and fades to sweetness so it is like a hint of honey by the end of the sip. As the tea cools I notice a woody quality and a hint of astringency. Overall I think I like this one just a little more than the Smoky Roast, but I will have to try the other roast levels before I officially name a favorite.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/yunomius-and-kyoto-obubu-plantation.html

I noticed, that when getting ready to taste the tea, you are hit with a smoky/woodsy aroma, which is one of the tea’s strengths. The liquor is a dark orange/brown, almost a deep amber. The tea has a robust, roasted flavor with notes of nutty, sweetness and a hint of chocolate. (for a detailed review please visit :http://tyrosoftea.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/obubu-farms-houjicha-%E2%80%93-dark%C2%A0roast/)

I noticed, that when getting ready to taste the tea, you are hit with a smoky/woodsy aroma, which is one of the tea’s strengths. The liquor is a dark orange/brown, almost a deep amber. The tea has a robust, roasted flavor with notes of nutty, sweetness and a hint of chocolate. (for a detailed review please visit :http://tyrosoftea.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/obubu-farms-houjicha-%E2%80%93-dark%C2%A0roast/)