Kirokuen: Spring Zairai Hojicha

Kiroku Tea Garden: Hojicha

60g

Hojiru is the Japanese verb meaning “to roast.” Kirokuen process their tea leaves in the sencha style then roast twice for a deep, rich flavoured hojicha. The roasting process removes much of the caffeine that is found in the tea so it is a great low-caffeine tea option that can be enjoyed hot or iced.

"Zairai" is not technically a cultivar as it is tea that has been grown directly from seed rather from cuttings. 

• Ingredients: Green Tea
• Farm: Kirokuen
• Cultivar: Zairai
• Location: Wazuka Village, Kyoto
• Harvest: Spring - second, late flush spring cutting bancha

Steeping Notes: 5g | 1min | 90°C | 200ml

About the tea farm: 
"Our 4th generation Kirokuen Tea Farm is in the heart of Wazuka, an area whose mountain tea fields and undulating terraced slopes thick with fog make perfect tea-growing conditions. Founded nearly 100 years ago, before cars and farming machinery were available, our mountain fields were cleared by hand by my Great-Grandfather, Kirokuen’s Founder.
Today, we’re in the unusual position of being entirely owned by women. After the death of my father, my mother, myself and my sister took over the running of the farm to continue our family’s legacy, one that began in these fields all those years ago."