Roasting your own green tea at home or more specifically, making hojicha, is actually really simple. Hojicha is a Japanese green tea that is roasted after the leaves have been steamed. This is what gives it the reddish-brown colour and distinctive characteristics. It’s rich and earthy, not grassy or bitter like some other green teas. Thanks to the roasting process hojicha is also lower in caffeine. Ritsuo, the owner of one of my favourite matcha brands, guided me on how to roast green tea years ago and I have been enjoying the process and results ever since! If you have a low grade or old Japanese green tea and a frying pan, then you’re pretty much all set to begin.

Why Should You Roast Tea?

Aside from it being delicious and making your kitchen smell heavenly, roasting tea is a great way to use up tea in your stash. Green teas generally get stale faster than other types of teas, so roasting will allow you to re-purpose and create less waste.

You can also roast tea if you have a cheaper/low grade green tea at home. For instance, a cheaper sencha tends to use second harvests and older leaves, therefore the taste may have more astringency and bitterness than usual.

If you don’t love the taste of a tea because of the grade or other reasons, you don’t have to toss it out entirely. Give it new life by turning it into hojicha!

Why Should You Roast Tea?

• Sencha
• Bancha
• Kukicha

One thing to note though is that the leaves of a low grade may also be tiny and easier to burn. So, definitely stay alert during the roasting process. This isn’t something you can just set on a pan, and leave to fry for a few minutes on its own