Houjicha 2012 by the Ogose Tea Farm - Green Tea Review

Edited post on the 22nd of August 2014 for the new tea blog

Hello readers!

I bought some teas last year around summer time and recently found that unopened package of Houjicha from Japan. I was blessed today with a baby-free day so I did a lot of things... Amongst them was to taste a new tea! I also received a nice book for Christmas: The Tea Drinker's Handbook by François-Xavier Delmas, Mathias Minet and Christine Barbaste. I noticed all those names were French so I wondered if this was a translation of a French version... After a little research it turned out that yes, the original is French and VERY pricy. I'll stick with the English one, thank you! It was the same for the "Thé" book versus "Tea", the translated version was much cheaper (which I purchased of course)! My tea-related book collection is starting to look very well. I own about 11 of them some even in German and some about etiquette, even one about a Japanese samurai's experience on tea. But enough of my vain and proud rambling about books, onward to tea!

For the tea review of today, I give it a 4/5, which is almost too high, but I found I just really liked how good this tea made me feel. I'd drink it every few days no problem (Gotta leave some space for other teas.)!

And just for reference, here is what I mean when I say the liquor colour is "ocre":

From Wikipedia about the colour "Ocre"

Houjicha 2012

By the Ogose Tea Farm in Japan

Dry leaf:

• Rough medium length and large needles
• Colours of dried autumn leaves: medium to dark greens and browns with a little light browns
• Dry feeling in the hand with a little spring left in it
• Smells of nuts, peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, sweet, earthy, honeyed nuts

1st Steeping (Senchado technique)
30 seconds - ~30 ml teacup of water - 1 heaped teaspoon - 100C

Liquor:

• Ocre colour with a little peach colour
• Dust at the bottom of the cup
• Clear and a little shiny
• Smells like sunflower seeds, smoke and hazelnuts
• Pollen sweet aroma

Taste:

• Cantaloupe attack, melon fruits, sweet
• Low astringency, powdery
• Medium-small body
• A bit silky (supple, slightly oily liquor)
• Watery texture
• Little smoked hazelnut taste that fades slowly

Wet leaves:

• Dark green and brown
• Very shiny
• Very aromatic (floral-like) like a cross between a lightly oxidized wulong and a little nutty like a longer oxidized wulong

2nd Steeping (Senchado technique)
15 seconds - ~30 ml teacup of water - 1 heaped teaspoon - 100C

 Liquor:

•  Lighter ocre-peach  colour than the 1st steeping
• Dust at the bottom of the cup
• Clear and a little shiny
• Smells almost floral like a short oxidized wulong
• Smells like smoked hazelnuts and (not smoked) sunflower seeds
• Pollen sweet aroma

Taste:

• Mild watered down hazelnut palate with a lingering sunflower seed taste
• A little more robust in the middle (as opposed to start and finish tastes) which gives it a slightly stronger body at that moment
• A bit silky, water texture
• A little sour finish not unlike green apples

While I think this tea definitely lacked body, I found that both steepings brought something interesting and worth tasting. That cantaloupe peak at the start of the first tasting was realy surprising and a little exiting! I didn't expect cantaloupe and I liked it. I found that the cantaloupe was more noticeable if I slurped the tea with a spoon so you might want to try that if you fail to find the taste. Then again, you might find something totally different and quite as interesting! I'd like to hear about that.
The 2nd steeping brought a bit more body, but just as I thought it was a bit boring, the sour green apple taste kicked in! Yum yum for green apples.

If you find yourself trying any Houjicha, don't be shy and share your thoughts on it!

Ja matta ne~