The Gyokuro Hojicha KAHO

Palate. Royal Blue Tea describes the Gyokuro Hojicha KAHO as having a light, gentle, smooth mouthfeel with almost no bitterness or astringency. Its light roast is credited with producing a distinctively sweet, mellow aroma, an effect the producer attributes to the shallow degree of roasting.^{[1],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7]}

Structure. On the points the claims support:^[6]

• Astringency: almost none
• Bitterness: almost none
• Body: light, gentle, smooth mouthfeel

Specifications. Classification and formats:^[2],[9]

• Category: Japanese green tea, gyokuro hojicha (玉露ほうじ茶) type — a gyokuro-based roasted tea
• Tier: Grand (also given as Grand/Deluxe for the leaf product)
• Formats: bottled tea; loose-leaf tea
• Loose-leaf packaging: bag or paulownia wood box (桐箱)

A roasted gyokuro from stems alone. The Gyokuro Hojicha KAHO (玉露焙じ茶 KAHO香焙) is a roasted gyokuro-based green tea built not from bancha, the common base for hojicha, but exclusively from the stem, or karigane, portions carefully selected from first-flush gyokuro leaves. Those stems are then roasted, making it a gyokuro hojicha (玉露ほうじ茶) rather than a leaf hojicha. The defining production gesture is a long-duration, light-roast (浅炒り焙煎) technique, a shallow roast that Royal Blue Tea describes as demanding subtle adjustment and intuition and as having been praised by chefs in the culinary world.^{[1],[2],[3],[4]}

Brewing (loose-leaf). The loose-leaf Gyokuro Hojicha KAHO can be prepared in three styles. The Strong brew (芳醇濃厚) uses 6 g of tea leaves, water at 80°C, 220 cc of water, and a 40-second steep. The Medium brew (スタンダード) uses 5 g of leaves, water at 80–90°C and 220 cc across two infusions, steeping 2 minutes for the first and 3 minutes for the second. The Light brew (あっさり) uses 3 g of leaves, boiling water at 100°C and 220 cc across four infusions, with steeping times of 30 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds and 1 minute respectively.^[8]