Gyokuro Hojicha

Tea (Camellia sinensis)Greensub-style

Gyokuro Hojicha is roasted tea made from gyokuro material. Stems, known as karigane, can be used for this preparation. The name identifies both the shaded source tea and its roasting.

How gyokuro hojicha is prepared

Prepared as an infused roasted tea. Hojicha can be brewed with hotter water than unroasted gyokuro; a specific tea’s recommended preparation remains the best guide.

Cold Brewing

Beverages using this technique · 1
Royal Blue Tea
The Gyokuro Hojicha KAHO
Still amber0% ABV
prepared as Cold-Brewed Gyokuro Hojicha

Royal Blue Tea uses Cold-Brewed Gyokuro Hojicha in The Gyokuro Hojicha KAHO: gyokuro Hojicha infused in cold water. The linked provenance notes karigane stems from first-flush Gyokuro.[5][6][7]

In depth

Shaded tea, then roasting

Gyokuro is shaded in the garden before its leaves are harvested. Hojicha describes a roasting treatment applied to green-tea material. The combined name therefore tells us two different things: where the base tea sits within Japanese tea production, and what happens to it after that. Roasting develops a different character from an infusion of unroasted gyokuro.[1][2]

The role of stems

Gyokuro hojicha can be made from stems. Stems separated during gyokuro production are traditionally called karigane; the related name shiraore is used in Kyushu. These are parts of the tea plant, rather than a separate botanical ingredient. The exact material affects the finished tea: a stem-based preparation has a different dry appearance from one made from whole leaves.[3][4]

What the roast contributes

Hojicha’s roast changes the dry material toward brown and gives the infusion its characteristic toasted and nutty notes. Those family characteristics are useful context, but they do not establish that every gyokuro-based roast is sweeter or better than other hojicha. The finished tea’s roast and recipe determine how the shaded base material comes through in the cup.[2]

Infusion rather than a fixed recipe

The roasted tea is steeped in water. Hojicha is commonly prepared hotter than unroasted gyokuro, which is often brewed with cool water to emphasize umami. This distinction is more useful than transferring a precise gyokuro brewing recipe to the roasted tea. Neither the name nor the roast alone establishes a particular caffeine level.[2][1]

Part of Hojicha