Culinary Teas Hojicha Gold Green
Tea Review
A Roasted Green Tea with a Bad Aroma
and So-So Taste
Summary : This tea is a green tea purists nightmare.
It looks like no green tea I've ever seen, and has a pretty nasty aroma
too. The flavor isn't that great, either.
Review : During my last order with
Culinary Teas
I did what I normally do when I order tea...I more or less ordered "randomly,"
getting some teas I thought I would like as well as some teas I've never
even heard about before. And that is how I came to possess a sampler
package of their Hojicha Gold Green Tea.
Well, what a surprise this tea turned out to be. First off, the leaves
of this tea are brown. In some ways it almost looks like shredded tree
bark or something. Yet, I won't judge a tea by it's looks. The reason
for the brown tea leaves, by the way, is because the green tea leaves
are fire-roasted.
But then the aroma of this tea hit me. All I could initially say was,
well...unpleasant. The aroma had a roasted smell about it, really almost
a "burnt smell" about it. After my very unpleasant tasting experience
with the Japanese Genmaicha
Tea, this was not a good thing. Yet I'm a
survivor so I pressed on.
Here is how
Culinary Teasdescribes this tea : "The roasted green tea takes on a full bodied character
with almost cinnamon toast-like notes. Delicious character that many tea drinkers
enjoy."
Once this tea is brewed, rather sadly, the aroma of the tea didn't go
away. Indeed, it may have even become stronger. As such, when drinking
this tea...even before I sipped it...I had the peculiar feeling that
what I was about to drink was "burnt water," strange as it sounds.
And really, the flavor of the tea even seems to be a "bit burnt." Of
course, in reality, the flavor is roasted, not burnt. But yet, when tasting
the tea...there isn't a huge difference between "roasted" and "burnt."
Now admittedly, I'm not a fan of things "roasted." So it was probably
no surprise that I would not like the flavor of a green tea whose leaves
have been roasted. The reason I mention that is because this tea does
contain high quality tea leaves, similar to other teas that
Culinary Teas
has.
Thus, I guess what I'm saying is that if you like "things roasted,"
in particular roasted coffee, well...perhaps you will like this tea
to some degree. Indeed, the aroma of this tea even reminded me a bit
of a weird coffee. That said, if you are looking for a more traditional
green tea, you will NOT find it here.
Recommendation : No. The combination of the rather
nasty aroma of the tea, along with it's "roasted flavor," I found quite
un-appealing. I suppose if you like things "roasted" you may enjoy this
tea to some extent, however.
Tea Information and Brewing Instructions
- Tea Reviewed : Hojicha Gold Green Tea
- Manufacturer :
Culinary Teas
- Available from :
Culinary Teas
- Type of Tea : Green
Tea
- Leaf Type : Loose
- Date of Review : February 3rd, 2007
- Tea Rating :

- Brewing Instructions : Use 1 teaspoon of
tea leaves per cup. Pour water with a temperature of 180 degrees
over leaves. Let brew for 2-3 minutes. The leaves in this tea
are powerful enough
that you can use them 1-2 additional times, although do expect
some flavor loss if you do this.
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