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Kuki Hojicha｜日式焙茶 Tasting notes: Nutty, coffee, tobacco Origin: Uji, Kyoto, Japan Cultivar: Yabukita Oxidation: ⦿○○○○ Heavy roastedUsing every part of the plant, this Japanese tea is made of slow roasted leaf stems (“kuki”) for a silkier texture and a chocolatey, nutty flavour. Why we love it: It is much more chocolately and nutty and less astringent than other types of hojicha because it is made of leaf stems, not the leaves themselves. Our Kuki Hojicha is made using a traditional sand-roasting method, where the tea is mixed in with hot sand and slow roasted. This method, dating back to the Edo period (1600-1868), facilitates a slow, even heating and creates a lasting roasted fragrance unparalleled in other hojicha. It is said to have less caffeine than most teas, partly because tea leaves carry more caffeine than the stems, and partly because it is roasted over a high heat, which reduces the caffeine content. By roasting the leaf stems rather than throwing them out, this tea epitomises the Japanese concept of mottainai (no waste)—not wasting any part of the tea plant. Chinese vs Japanese green teas