Green tea from Japan that is rendered brown by roasting Bancha (a summer crop tea, harvested after Sencha) tea leaves. An Adagio customer favorite, with a toasty nutty flavor and slightly mesquite note. Earthy and warm quality, soothing finish.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Hojicha, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
Delicious! The Adagio description matches perfectly. This one is nice when I want that roasty toasty cozy type tea flavor and want a green tea. The flavor is comforting and complex. For me it's maybe a similar mood to Wuyi Ensemble, but the flavor has some different notes.
What a fun change of pace! A toasted green tea. Surprising and pleasantly pungent. I start my day with green tea and this one is in my rotatation.
Excellent! Not just Hojicha, but where Adagiio sources this tea. Better, more consistent flavor than from other vendors, and most similar to that I used to get when living in Asia.
I was surprised how much I liked this one. Ordered it out of curiosity and will be ordering more.
hard pass. confirmed that I do not care for Japanese greens. however I can see how Japanese green tea lovers might thoroughly enjoy this
Nice toasted flavor, reminds me of Genmai Cha. It has a toasted rice flavor. It does not taste like a typical green tea so if you are looking to try a green tea, this is the one for you to try.
Not my cup of tea. Over roasted . I have to blend this with other teas to drink it.
Really enjoyed this. It's great with a little bit of cream and honey. Lightly toasty and comforting.
My go to every day tea. Always goes with everything. Never too strong for me. Company loves it and I give Hojicha tea as part of my gift baskets .
💯 % recommend.
Unique... even odd? But very tasty... no bitterness or acidity, just an 'earthy' green tea. Great contrast to my usual green tea, the Sencha overture
Certainly a unique tea! It's not bitter like black tea, but also not as vegetal as you'd expect from most green teas, especially Japanese ones. Rather, it has an almost buttery toasted-grain flavor. It's a cozy, comforting hot sip!
This was a new one for me and did not disappoint. Enjoyed the deep taste, drank on the weekends when I have time to savor my tea.
Loved this tea with a fresh cookie on a cold night. I also used it for kombucha and the flavor is amazing.
I first tried this tea in the green tea sample pack so I’m happy Adagio introduced me. However, now that I have tried more than 10 brands of Hojicha, including one I brought home from Japan, I wish Adagio’s was more roasted. This tea is acceptable hot but does not taste good as iced tea, which is my favorite way to have it.
An incredibly inviting tea, nutty and smooth, tastes the way a friendly hug feels. My favorite green tea. Can easily be over-steeped though!
I love this! I had tried the latte version with the powder, and this hits similar but different! It is toasty and awesome!
I'm not a huge green tea fan, but as this is roasted it's not typical green tea, and is much more delicious to my palate. Very warming.
I love having a non-herbal tea option I can drink at night. Hojicha is warm and comforting and the caffiene is so low you can drink it before bedtime.
Very nice toasty flavor without any bitterness. I like to add a little milk but then I'm a big fan of milk tea in general.
a nutty, toasty, roasty 'green' tea that stands out from the crowd. Rich, full, no bitterness detected.
This is a roasted green tea. It's very earthy in a way that I didn't personally find very appealing. I prefer teas with a brighter, cleaner falvor.
Toasty and nutty. Reminds me of genmai cha, but I got less bitter green notes. It's not bad, but not a favorite. Glad I tried it
I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's really good. It has a lovely toasty honey flavor that really shines with a little sugar. I would definitely order this one.
Also, the sample had a generous amount of tea, which I appreciate! I steeped it for 3 minutes at 175.
This was a very nice nutty tasting tea both hot and cold.
Lynn: Hojicha is one of my favorite teas. It has such a nice toasted vegetal flavor. Warm and soothing with low enough caffeine to dink in the evening. I like it best with a spoonful of milk and a few drops of honey.
Andrea: I'm passing on this one. Not a fan of hojicha.
2mins @ 180°F
Such a savory green today. This one has roasted toasty notes that I love. It's also described as nutty, but for me it was more akin to toasted rice flavors. It has just the slight grassy green flavor hiding very much in the background, but enough to remind that you are drinking a roasted green tea. Nothing added to this awesome cup. 180° 3 min
A very earthy and nutty tea! It isn't bitter at all, and it's very smooth - I can see where this one would be an acquired taste, but I'm very much a fan of earthy-tasting teas, so I greatly enjoyed this one!
'Weird'. That would be my general comment. It certainly didn't taste green... or black... it had some smokey, earthy elements... overall it was just 'weird'. Not a win for me.
If you like green tea, you might really like this one. This reminds me of a very earthy coffee. We all split the Communitea sample (4 of us, two teens, an adult and a child) and this is not one we will repeat. It was fun to try, but no one finished their teacup.
This isn't a bad tea in and of itself - it's more a 'not for me' rating. The taste is a vegetal earthiness that I'm just not a fan of, but that seems to be part for the course for most greens for me.
This is both smoky and a little vegetal- overall a refreshing tea.
This tea was a joyous surprise! I was truly expecting a green brew at first, so I was worried I had somehow overstepped it. The taste is still somehow 'green' - umami notes of sweet grass and seaweed still emerge - but with a hearty backbone of earthy and nutty 'oolong' flavors. This is the best of both worlds for me!
I love this tea iced or hot! Earthy and nutty notes. When iced, it reminds me slightly of the base tea I have had at my favorite boba tea spots (without the milk).
This is one of my favorite teas of all time. The roasted flavor is so unique and smooth. I love it with or without soy milk. I like brewing it strong in the AM and resteeping in the afternoon.
There’s something that appeals to me about toasted aspect of this and genmaicha. Have only tried in mid afternoon but feel like this could be an anytime cup.
This one hits the spot, I like the traditional tasting tea. The smoky taste delights me like you would not believe. I need this on the daily.
I had the pleasure of trying special hojicha-flavored Kitkats when I was in Japan, and it was absolutely lovely. I had a cup of this wonderful tea brewed back home and added some sugar and oat milk, and I was transported back to that first bite. So good!
My very favorite, no doubt about it. If you're looking for unadorned tea, this one is it. Smooth feeling in your mouth, no acidity or sharpness...just wonderful tea flavor...
While I enjoy a variety of regular teas sometimes I need something unique. The toasted flavor of the Hojicha is unlike any other. My tastebuds were very happy when Adagio notified me it was back in stock.
I love Hojicha.. at first I was like 'there's a lot stems and twigs here' haha but the flavor is really great. 176 F for 2-3 mins
The product's flavor description is accurate and I would add that it also tastes a bit like roasted barley tea. Still good even if you over steep. The only bad thing I would mention about this tea is that it is full of super fine particles that will get past an infuser and you have to wait for all of it to settle before drinking.
Some of you might think this tea is over roasted to the point of being slight burnt. If you prefer a more lightly roasted flavor tea try Formosa Oolong instead.
When I want a green tea with milk, this is the perfect way to get a slight hint of caffeine with a mild, sweet, smokey aroma.
So, I hate to rate this a bad tea. Flavor is so subjective and this is my first time tasting this type of tea. It is drinkable but the flavor feels like drinking a tea made from straw. I might gain a taste for it later on. But right now it is not my favorite. However, do not let my review stop you. Some people love the roasted flavor. I personally love the roasted flavor of genmaicha. But honestly this was not doing it for me.
Excellent green tea! I use it together with Jasmine Chun Hao and Gunpowder to brew Jun, and my kombucha and scoby are much brighter and healthier since switching to this combination!
If you have a preference for blacks and oolongs, but are looking to ease yourself in to the world of greens, this is the tea for you. Smooth and woody with earthy notes that make you think this just might not be a green. A great way to go!
CommuniTEA sample: 2 min @ 180 F. This is a great tea for people who think they don't like green teas. I often hear the complaints that they're either too grassy or too delicate in flavor but I think this is neither. It's toasty and smells kind of like cereal grains in a very warm, comforting way with some slightly savory notes to it. It also holds up to multiple infusions!
Really strange. Tastes a lot like a green tea pretending to be a black tea.
I appreciate that this tea is roasted and therefore tastes different from other green teas offered on this site. The nutty flavor is tasty and only needed the slightest bit of honey to satisfy me.
I really enjoyed this one, it’s got a mellow and smooth nutty flavor. I had a blend that featured this one that I’ve always enjoyed and I’m happy to see that it’s also good on its own. 3 minutes at 180*
Hojicha is a new experience for me. I totally see what some people say about the nori scent from the packet, but once brewed I don't get that at all. I had two packs (one from the monthly box and one from a previous order) so I brewed 9 grams at 176 degrees for 2 minutes. Trying it without sweetener I get a earthy, slightly coffeeish - slightly bakers chocolate flavor. With 1/4 tsp cane sugar and a tiny splash of milk it mellows more than I had thought it would and just kind of becomes one note that I can't quite name. I think I like this best plain, it's got a nice complexity that is surprisingly relaxing.