What is Kyô-bancha tea?
Winter is slowly turning to spring, but here in Portland it's still sweater weather! The cool mornings and evenings have encouraged us to savor the warm, chocolaty notes of our our organic Kyô-bancha... and to be honest we do not mind that at all. What makes our Kyô-bancha special? Read on to find out!
What is Kyô-bancha?
Kyô-bancha, which originated in the Uji region, is what we call a more "rustic" tea. Comprised of unrefined harvest (called aracha) the tea showcases large leaves of varying sizes and stems collected from pruning the tea plants. This is truly a zero-waste tea!
Kyô-bancha's defining characteristic is in its roast. The tea is roasted for varying times and to different temperatures (depending on the producer) to extract different flavor characteristics — much like how different artisans roast coffee to showcase different flavors. Furthermore, tea leaves grown for Kyô-bancha or houjicha are grown in full sunlight, which results in a high concentration of the super-antioxidant Catechin.
Our producer's Kyô-bancha is exquisitely chocolatey in aroma and exhibits a warm, satisfying earthy flavor similar to roasted chicory or cocoa nibs. We love drinking it hot, but have to admit it's amazing cold-brewed as well (just in case you're lucky enough to live somewhere warm year-round).
Bonus - it's low in caffeine!
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Why Is Hojicha Spelled Three Different Ways?
Ever wondered why hojicha appears as hōjicha, hojicha, and houjicha? The variation comes from different romanization methods of the Japanese word ほうじ茶. While all three spellings refer to the same delicious roasted green tea, hojicha is the most common in English-speaking markets. Learn more about the nuances of Japanese romanization and which version you should use!
