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–+ servings
Hojicha leaves, pan and wood spoon
5 from 6 votes

How to roast green tea (hojicha)

Learn how to roast green tea at home to get hojicha: a mild and comforting low caffeine tea
Print Recipe
Prep Time:2 minutes
Cook Time:2 minutes
Resting time:5 minutes
Total Time:9 minutes

Equipment

  • Frying pan with lid

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp green tea (15 gr. / half oz.)

Instructions

  • Make sure your pan is clean and dry; otherwise you could transfer fat or odors to your hojicha.
  • Heat the empty frying pan for a couple of minutes, until it's hot (you'll get it quicker with the lid on).
    Heating empty pan with lid
  • Once the pan is hot, turn off the heat and place the pan (briefly, for about 4-5 seconds) on a damp towel. It will make a “shhhh” sound.
    The shhh-sound shows you that the pan is hot enough. Also, putting the pan on a damp towel make the heat even.
    Cooling down frying pan before roasting hojicha
  • Take the pan away from the towel. Extend the tea on the pan and leave it rest, with the lid on, for 2 and half minutes.
    Green tea leaves in pan with lid
  • After that time, remove the lid and turn the heat on (medium-high or high). Roast moving the tea carefully.
    Roasting hojicha from green tea leaves
  • You’ll soon get the signature roasted smell from hojicha. After 1-2 minutes, the leaves will begin to generate some smoke.
    The smoke is the signal to turn the heat off. But if your tea isn’t brownish yet, you can roast a minute longer (just make sure you don’t overdo it: the tea shouldn’t get black or smell burned)
  • After turning the heat off, continue to move the leaves for a couple of minutes, using the residual heat until the smoke stops.
    You can use your hojicha leaves immediately or store them like any other tea (in a closed recipient on cool and dry environment or freezed).

Video

Notes

  • Hojicha has MANY ROASTING LEVELS: some are darker than others, but there is no relation between the roasting intensity and its quality.
    This means you can roast your tea lightly or stronger, depending on how you prefer it (if you are new to roasting, I recommend to begin with lighter a roasting to avoid burning the tea).
  • You can use any kind green tea leaves (but not matcha powder).
  • Once you have your own roasted Hōjicha, you might like trying a hōjicha latte

Nutrition

Calories: 2kcal
Course: Drinks, Tea
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: Japanese tea, low caffeine
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 2kcal