master the hōjicha
sit beside the roaster and shape the cup by hand. begin with the pour we would serve you — then make it your own. matcha is the leaf kept from the sun; this is the leaf given to it.
our signature pour — a balanced leaf roasted dead in the window, brewed hot and short. deep caramel, a clean finish, an aroma that fills the room. the cup we would set before you. move anything to your taste; there is no wrong cup here.
leaf and stem in balance — the studio's cup.
the window — warmth and sweetness, no smoke. where great hōjicha is made.
a steady hand — the safe middle.
hot water pulls the roast forward. a fired leaf does not fear it.
long enough to open, short enough to stay clean.
the traditional cup — hot, and unhurried.
what you roasted
the cup you just crafted began as ordinary green tea. the same leaf could have gone the other way.
both begin as the same plant, camellia sinensis — often the very same harvest. everything else is a fork in the road. hōjicha is a surprisingly young, and once humble, tea: the roasting method traces to 1920s kyoto, where a merchant set the stems and coarse late leaves the market would not buy over a charcoal fire — and turned the least valued part of the harvest into something with its own warmth. it is not a lesser tea. it is a different answer to what a cup is for.
the window
you felt it on the roast: a narrow band where the leaf is toasted, not burnt — with a cliff on the far side, and no way back over it.
the window — warmth and sweetness, no smoke. where great hōjicha is made.
· stop here ·burnt is a temperature. toasted is a decision.
reading the cup
now read the cup you made — in order, the way those who taste for a living do. they never take it all at once.
01 · read before the lips — twice
warm grain, caramel, roasted chestnut; never smoke or ash. smell it hot for the bright top notes, then again as it cools, when the deeper, sweeter register comes forward.
beginners taste flavour. practitioners taste order.
how to enjoy it
water just off the boil — a fired leaf takes the heat matcha never could, and gives its aroma up to it. a short steep, because hōjicha gives its best quickly and turns woody when pressed.
the studio's note
near boiling. a minute, no more.
three ways to waste a good cup
water too cool
the one place hōjicha inverts matcha — a roasted leaf wants near-boiling water to release its aroma. too cool, and the cup stays shy and hollow.
steeped too long
chasing strength; hōjicha gives its best quickly and turns woody when pressed.
drunk too fast
the deepest mistake — hōjicha is the one tea that asks you to slow down.
our hōjicha creations
roasted-leaf · plant milk
hokkaido plant-based hōjicha
our roasted leaf, slow-steamed plant milk, and a finishing dust of cinnamon bark. the everyday evening cup.
so, why is hōjicha unique?
because it is easy to make, and difficult to make well — and the difference is entirely care.
we source ours from a single japanese roaster and prepare it here in siem reap with the temperature and timing the roast asks for — gently cooled for the cambodian evening. we brought it here because the evening deserves the same seriousness as the morning.
hōjicha — roasted japanese green tea, explained
Hōjicha is Japanese green tea that has been roasted. It is not a plant or a place but a process: finished green tea, usually a later-harvest sencha or bancha, is roasted over heat until the leaf turns from green to chestnut brown and its character shifts from grassy to toasted grain, caramel and roasted chestnut. The method traces to 1920s Kyoto. Roasting also drives off much of the caffeine, making hōjicha a low-caffeine tea traditionally drunk in the evening.
It is made by choosing and balancing leaf and stem, roasting over steady heat judged by eye and nose rather than a timer, stopping the roast at the point of caramel and warmth by cooling, and then steeping the roasted leaf like ordinary tea rather than whisking it like matcha. Quality is decided before the fire, in the leaf, and in the restraint of the roast: too little heat leaves the tea grassy and unfinished; too much burns the sugars to carbon and bitterness. Great hōjicha stops in a narrow window where the leaf is toasted, not burnt.
Compared with matcha, hōjicha is the same plant taken in the opposite direction: matcha is shaded before harvest and whisked with cool water; hōjicha is roasted after harvest and steeped with near-boiling water. Matcha is vivid, green and high in caffeine; hōjicha is amber, toasted, gently sweet and low in caffeine. To taste hōjicha well, read it in order: aroma first (warm grain and caramel, never smoke), then a sweetness that arrives underneath without sugar, then bitterness that should resolve and clear, then a clean, quieting finish. Serve it with water just off the boil and a short steep; it is excellent hot, iced, cold-brewed or as a latte with plant milk, and its low caffeine suits the evening and warm climates.
What is hōjicha?
Hōjicha is Japanese green tea that has been roasted. It is not a separate plant or region but a process applied to ordinary finished green tea — usually bancha or sencha — roasted until the leaf turns brown and its flavour shifts from grassy to toasted, caramel and gently sweet. Roasting also drives off much of the caffeine, which is why hōjicha is traditionally drunk in the evening.
Is hōjicha still green tea?
Yes. Hōjicha begins as finished Japanese green tea and is then roasted. The roasting changes its colour, aroma, flavour and caffeine, but it remains green tea by origin — the same plant, Camellia sinensis, taken through an extra step of heat.
How is hōjicha made?
Hōjicha is made by roasting finished green tea. The maker first chooses and balances the leaf and stem, then roasts it over steady heat, judging by eye and nose until grassy green becomes chestnut brown, then cools it to arrest the roast at the point of caramel and warmth. It is then steeped like ordinary tea rather than whisked like matcha.
How does roasting transform the tea?
Roasting drives off grassiness and much of the caffeine while caramelising the leaf's own sugars, creating toasted-grain, caramel and roasted-chestnut aromas. The craft lies in stopping within a narrow window: too little heat leaves the tea green and unfinished; too much burns the sugars to carbon and bitterness. Great hōjicha is stopped where the leaf is toasted, not burnt.
Does hōjicha contain caffeine?
Yes, but much less than most green tea. Roasting drives off a large portion of the caffeine present in the base leaf, which is why hōjicha is traditionally served in the evening, to children and to the elderly. It is low in caffeine rather than caffeine-free.
How is hōjicha different from matcha?
Both come from the same plant but are taken in opposite directions. Matcha's character is built before harvest by shading the leaf to concentrate it; hōjicha's is built after harvest by roasting. Matcha is stone-ground, whisked and drunk whole; hōjicha is roasted and steeped. Matcha wants cool water; hōjicha wants near-boiling water. Matcha is vivid, green and high in caffeine; hōjicha is amber, toasted and low in caffeine. Matcha suits the morning; hōjicha suits the evening.
How do you taste hōjicha well?
Read it in order rather than all at once. First aroma, before drinking: warm grain and caramel, never smoke or ash. Then sweetness, which in good hōjicha arrives underneath, a moment after the sip, with no sugar added. Then bitterness: a trace is healthy if it resolves and clears, but a dry, ashy heaviness signals an over-roast. Finally the finish, which should be clean and quieting.
How should hōjicha be served?
Use water just off the boil and a short steep, since a roasted leaf gives its best quickly and turns woody when over-steeped. Hōjicha is excellent hot, iced or cold-brewed, and as a latte with plant milk. Its low caffeine and warm, caramel character make it especially suited to the evening and to warm climates when gently cooled.