As a tea lover, have you ever bought various teas, carefully stored them, only to find them becoming damp? Today, we'll introduce a method to turn such tea leaves into a delightful tea time experience. Even if the tea leaves have been opened for a while or have become slightly damp, you can still enjoy them to the last drop by turning them into hojicha. The process is simple - just a quick roast in a frying pan. If you spend just 10 minutes in the kitchen before your café time, a gentle yet aromatic scent will gradually fill the room. By the time you start drinking your tea, you'll surely be completely relaxed.
How Color and Flavor Change with Roasting Time
While homemade hojicha is easy to make, the color and flavor change depending on the roasting time. Once you've mastered the basic roasting time, it can be fun to experiment to find your preferred roasting duration.
・Before Roasting
This is the state of the green tea leaves before roasting. We recommend consuming opened tea within 2 weeks to 1 month.
・Light Roast
Only the stems turn brown, and you can enjoy both the freshness of sencha and the aroma of roasting. This offers a unique flavor not found in store-bought teas.
・Heavy Roast
The tea leaves become darker, and both the taste and aroma are distinctly hojicha. The strong presence of flavor stands up well even when mixed with milk.
Hojicha Recipe
＜What You'll Need＞
・20g of tea leaves (lightly steamed ones are recommended. This weight is after removing fine tea particles)
・Frying pan
・Wooden spatula or turner
・Cooking paper
・Tea strainer, sieve, small plate, etc. (for sorting fine tea particles)
＜Instructions＞
[1] Sift out fine tea particles
To ensure even roasting, sift out the fine tea particles. Use a tea strainer or sieve, or if unavailable, slowly tilt a small plate with tea leaves to transfer them to another container, leaving fine particles at the bottom of the plate.
Tip: Enjoy the sifted fine tea particles as regular sencha.
[2] Start roasting on low heat for 30 seconds
Line the frying pan with cooking paper and heat on low. Stir the tea leaves with a rice paddle to roast evenly without burning. A pleasant aroma will start to emerge after about 30 seconds.
[3] Switch to high heat and continue roasting
Roast on high heat for about 5 minutes to make light roast hojicha. For heavy roast hojicha, return to high heat and roast for an additional minute.
Tip: It's recommended to consume the roasted hojicha within a week.
[4] Brew the tea
For 4g of tea leaves, slowly pour 120ml of 100°C water and steep for 30 seconds.
Tip: To make hojicha milk tea, steep 4g of tea leaves in 100ml of hot water for 1 minute 30 seconds, then mix with 50ml of milk. Add sugar or honey to taste if desired!
