More and more Japanese teas are being produced using a combination of unusual methods as well as the standard Japanese tea making process. We review Karoyaka, a hojicha whose aroma is brought out by withering. Neither astringent nor bitter, this hojicha has a delicate and floral aroma and sweetness.
This is a tea that any tea lover will love to receive as a gift. It is unlike any other tea, with an aroma and taste that is new to most people.
Karoyaka is the Japanese word for lightness.
What is Karoyaka?
“Karoyaka” is the name of a brand of hojicha produced and sold by Hirumaen, a tea producer in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture. It was awarded the top prize at the Japanese Tea Competition in Paris. The technique of withering is used to bring out the aroma of hojicha, which has never been achieved before. Hojicha used to be regarded as a by-product of sencha, but with the diversification of tastes, it is becoming a popular tea. This tea has no quirks of taste or flavor and may well become a tea that wins many fans!
This tea has a gorgeous aroma not found in most hojicha teas!
Karoyaka Tea Leaves
The shape of this tea is quite different from that of the common hojicha. The leaves are large, lightly roasted and of a greenish hue. It has a light, flowery aroma. Because it is a hojicha, and because it is larger than a normal tea leaf, a little more tea leaf is used when brewing the tea.
Tips on How to Drink Karoyaka
“Brew it hot and brew it fast!” This is the tip on how to enjoy Karoyaka in a nutshell. The key to a good cup of Japanese tea is to brew it slowly with a little less hot water than gyokuro or josencha. However, as this is a hojicha, it is brewed quickly and without too much steeping. The longer you steep the tea, the more bitter it will become and the less you will enjoy its flavor. It is not necessary to cover the teapot with a lid.
Aroma and Taste of Karoyaka
The withered tea leaves give off a light, flowery fragrance. The withering process is a technique in which raw tea leaves are deliberately left to wither lightly before being used to make tea, in order to bring out their flowery aroma. The characteristic fragrance of Karoyaka is described as “honey aroma”, a term that has never been used before in Japanese tea. This is a term used for the Oriental Beauty teas of Taiwan, which are said to have a sweet, honey-like aroma. It has a light roasted Hojicha aroma too. It is not very bitter or astringent and has a slight sweetness to it. It has a pleasant lingering aroma after drinking.
Cold Brewed Karoyaka
Let’s see how it would taste in water! I used 5g of tea leaves, which is a bit more than I would have liked because of the bulk of the hojicha, and brewed it in 400ml of cold water for 4 hours. The color of the tea liquor looks delicious. The tea should have a characteristic withered aroma, but it does not have the “honey aroma” of a boiling water brew. You can change the way to enjoy it.
About Hojicha
Hojicha is a type of Japanese tea made by frying (roasting) tea leaves over a fire. Hojicha is more roasted and has a deeper flavor than sencha, which is a green tea with a fresher taste. It also has a dark brown liquid color. Hojicha was made as second or third green tea after the sencha harvest, or roasted and dried at home to make damp sencha drinkable again.
Just as coffee and black tea contain caffeine, which excites the central nervous system, so do sencha and gyokuro teas. Hojicha, on the other hand, is said to contain less caffeine. Even if you drink it later in the evening, you are less likely to have trouble sleeping at night.
Hojicha used to be considered as a lower level tea, but in recent years it has become more popular as a full-bodied tea, as evidenced by the fame that Kaga-bancha has gained.
