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.
I tried it again, and it tastes even worse than i remember. I couldnt finish a cup. In my opinion this tea is a total waste of money. Or - it is just not for my liking at all.
This tea is for a special occasion, and I do not mean just happe ones. It will be good I suppose with a nice traditional winter stew, full of root vegetables and chunks of game meet or just beef brisket. Would not recommend to drink on its own.
I would like to experience more green teas like this. It does not easily oversteep. Love the roasted flavor. Similar to Genmaicha, but a little more seaweedy.
We purchased this tea for its health benefits and were not sure if the taste would be satisfactory. We found it to be mild and pleasant and a nice change. I would recommend this to anyone looking for this type of tea.
This tea has a smell very similar to pine needles. The taste is similar though it is surprisingly sweet with a little roasted effect. It kept its full body flavor through three steepings. I expect this tea to be a nice afternoon tea to have after school.
I really hated this tea the first time I tried it. It came in a sample packet. I was excepting a GREEN green tea, and this doesn't taste anything like a typical green. But after giving it a few more chances, I found myself really looking forward to the roasted flavor. It smells like soy sauce. More of a oolong than a green. I bought more!
This is a very tasty tea. Nutty, roasted flavor for a green tea. Unique. My favorite. I do, however, do not recommend putting your face into your newly opened bag and taking a big sniff. This tea tastes WAY better than it smells. But it's worth it, really!
Good hoji-cha, robust without being overpowering.
I wasn't sure what to expect, and at first I was a bit let down, but it really grew on me. Definitely worth exploring.
The flavor of this tea is wonderful - my cups of this have disappeared way, way too quickly. If you want a good green tea, this one is absolutely worth it.
When I say this tea is bad, I mean that it's bad in MY opinion. It may well be an excellent example of hojicha, and perhaps I've just discovered that I don't like hojicha tea at all. What I will say is that this tea has a very woody, seaweedy taste to it. I've read that these flavors are quite desirable in Japanese green teas, so perhaps my taste just isn't evolved enough to enjoy this. If you DO like a tea that reminds you of musty wood and seaweed, then this may well be for you!
On a side note, I don't seem to be allowed to write a review on the Gunpowder green tea, so I'll add some notes on it here, too. If you, like me, don't like Hojicha, you may well like Gunpowder. It doesn't have any of the seaweed taste, but it's fresh, crisp, and light. Gunpowder is what I thought green tea would be like and I'm really enjoying it.
Very nice tea. It's very mild and has a nice color to it.
Mellow but bold, has a light smokey finish at the end. I'll be getting a larger size of this tea in the future.
A perfect green tea for people who don't like green tea. The flavor is not unlike oolong.
Very grassy and hay tasting. Not my favorite.
This tea has an earthy, grassy taste and scent, even when only steeped briefly.
Very good for a unassuming relaxing night time tea.
I was skeptical about this tea when I first opened it up and smelled it. However, the taste is absolutely amazing, I've already ordered more. It's calming and just the flavor I need after a long stressful day. It has a roasted nutty flavor that is very deep and complex. I've been looking for a tea this good for a while. Def a keeper!
I adore this steeped lightly with no sweetener. I don't enjoy grassy green teas, so this is just up my alley.
Hojicha has been one of my favorites for years, and this one doesn't disappoint. It's got more stems than I've seen before in this sort of tea, but it has a great comfortable nutty flavor. It's definitely an always-have-some-on-the-shelf tea.
My husband is an inveterate espresso drinker, but wanted to try green tea for the health benefits. We did a lot of sampling and taste testing before he settled on this one. To my surprise, although I generally like the 'fruity' blends of green tea, this one is a winner for me also.
I kind of love this tea. It has a roasty, malty flavor, and reminds me a little of Chinese restaurant tea. I didn't need my usual milk and sugar, just a small sprinkling of stevia extract for a very light sweetening. I think this may be my new favorite green tea.
This tea is very smooth. It has no astringency whatsoever.It is great with meals.
I really enjoy hojita tea, this one has a really nice flavor. Is really good with a splash of milk and honey.
tastes great, nice and strong, reminds me of my mother land
Hard to describe...its very much like a baby pu erh and lapsong. Very woody.
Is it weird to down-grade a tea because it's toasty, malted profile was exactly as advertised? I think the problem really was more me and less the tea. It was a good deal stronger in character than I expected, but if you're looking for a green tea with a strong, woody body and a character that might even remind you of a pu-erh, this is for you.
Grassy and earthy at the same time. I liked it, but I don't know that I'll make a point of ordering it again.
Grassy and toasted flavor, really nice and not as bitter as I usually find green tea
This tea smelled terrible. In fact, the scent made me a little sick.
But the tea itself? That tasted pretty good actually! It had a very perplexing flavor that I'm unsure of how to describe. It tasted like a mix between a green tea and an oolong. That's really the best description I can think of.
Like this tea quite a bit. The toasted flavor reminds me somewhat of genmaicha.
I will be back to do a review of this. Got this tea for someone else and will see what their feedback is.
This is now my favorite green tea, it's absolutely perfect to start your day. Especially if you're looking for something with less caffeine than that of black tea or coffee. Full of roasted earthy flavors and smells, it will make you think it's Autumn and you'll start the water for your next cup after sipping the first. Simply delicious, especially with honey and a great price. I was able to steep it three times.
Just not my cup of tea. Some love it, but I don't go for the toasty flavor.
Absolutely hated it! I will not be buying this again. The smell alone was something i was not expecting at all! Reminded me of an awful teriyaki trail mix you buy. The smell is incredibly woodsy with an undefinable saucy smell than i could not put my finger on and the taste was not at all tasty in any way.
This tea reminds me a bit of barley tea (which I like). It's much less grassy than other green teas, and less acidic/astringent. While drinking my tea, I was also eating something with freshly ground black pepper, and I wound up eating half a peppercorn while drinking it, which was a good-interesting flavor. I'll try the tea again and pay more attention to steeping time next time.
Really enjoying this hojicha! It has a nice flavor that isn't too strong (as long as you don't brew it too long).
it smells TERRIBLE but hey ya taste good kinda like chamomile
This was a nice surprise. I purchased a sample because I found a 'cinnamon toast' blend that included it but it's very nice on it's own also. Toasty and nutty.
Toasted teas just not really my bag I suppose, but this can be pleasant if you're in the mood.
Nutty with little smoky notes, a very intensely woody green, but not complete popcorn-in-a-cup like genmai cha. I can't wait to blend with it!
I got a sample of this. I was a little under whelmed. The description made it sound like it would be bold and smokey, but it honestly just taste like black tea. I probably won't get any more. But inward impressed with the sample size. It's a very generous portion!
An interesting tea that I believe I got as a free sample. Not my usual choice, but still good.
Grassy , slightly smokey chocolaty flavor. I'm sort of on the fence about this tea, will have to give it another try.
An interesting tea, not quite similar to anything else I've had.
Very smooth flavor with a lot of the same note as genmai cha. Less acidic, it seems. Soothes pain, which is a huge plus in my book!
I'm a massive genmaicha fan so I jumped at the chance to try another toasty, nutty green tea. And it's great, really. Every bit as toasty and nutty as I wanted it to be. And exactly as toasty and nutty as the genmaicha I already drink is. So much so that they are virtually indistinguishable to me. I hardly need both, so I'll probably just stick with my old fave from now on.
This tea has grown on me. The toasty flavor has a mild savory note.
Hojicha proved to be a really interesting tea. Its overtones of toasted/nutty/earthy grasses seemingly make it ideal more for blending than enjoying alone -- I could see this tea adding a flavorsome, hay-roasted underbelly to many a blend. As with all green teas that walk on the more-unusual side, beware of ye olde (bitterness-inducing) oversteeping.
I adore hojicha. It's an interesting more-or-less green tea with distinct toasty, barley notes (to me), and none of the grassy taste more common in other green teas.
Great solo at any time of day, or in a blend with a coordinated black tea.
This is a earthy tasting tea, I enjoy the tea. I mix it with other earthy tasting teas..