Hojicha does not look like the green tea many people expect from Japan. Its leaves are brown. The brewed tea can range from amber to reddish-brown. Its aroma is roasted rather than grassy, and its flavor may remind you more of toasted nuts, warm grain, or caramel than fresh green leaves. Yet hojicha is still Japanese green tea. The key is simple: Hojicha is not one specific type of tea leaf. It is roasted tea. Different Japanese green teas and different parts of the tea plant can be roasted to make hojicha. That is why hojicha can vary in flavor, ...
