Obubu #12: Hojicha (Dark Roast)

Another 5 star review for this delicious Hojicha. It is earthy and rich and flavorful and has all the good qualities you would expect from a Hojicha. So far the best Hojicha I have...view more had. Part of me wants to hoard what I purchased and the other part of me wants to drink it every day. I suppose I will just have to buy more sooner than later.  view less

5g, 90s, 90°C, 200ml

The leaves really look like tree bark, and it steeps up a deep brown.
The aroma is fantastic. It's roasty, reminding me of a deep toasted da...view morerk rye bread, there's a nice underlying deep caramel bordering on molasses aroma there as well.

Drinking it, there's a touch of astringency and bitterness you'd expect from such a heavily roasted tea. Flavours are dark toast and burnt wood, but not smokey. It's kind of like the not quite burnt parts of a wood fired pizza, if that makes sense. There's a berry finish with a hint of tartness.

This may be one of my favourite Hojicha I've had! view less

First off - my whole family loved this tea. My father only drinks oolong and blacks, my sister only drinks scented, my mother only drinks chamomile. They absolutely adored the tea....view more

Smell: Smelling straight from the ziploc, sweet and nutty smell. Hints of almond too.

Leaves: Dry brown black leaves. Turns blacker once steeped (and looks like miniature logs once you let them dry!)

3g used:
1st steep: Rich roasted taste. A bit of sweetness towards the end but not too noticeable.
2nd steep: Same
3rd steep: Flavour starts to drop. Sweetness fades entirely. Roast flavour diminishes. Left with a rather 香 steep.

5g used:
1st steep: Sweet nutty taste. Sweetness is caramel-like.
2nd steep: Same
3rd,4th steep: Flavour starts to fade. I recommend steeping it for 2x the time taken for the 2nd steep.

Overall an incredible houjicha. Great value for money and friendly with all types of tea and non-tea drinkers. It also has close to no caffeine so it is a great after-dinner tea too. Get it!

(note: my sister tasted earthiness in the tea but I didn't. Perhaps I've drunk too much pu erh but I'm not too sure.) view less

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.

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 full review: ...view moreramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/yunomius-and-kyoto-obubu-plantation.html view less