Hibiki-an Houjicha (Bancha)

I thought I should make the first review of the blog something a little bit different: a tea called Houjicha (also known as Bancha). This tea is made by roasting sencha leaves over a high heat. The roasting reduces the caffeine content significantly - one American study found it to have about 10% of the caffeine compared to other loose leaf green teas. So if you're like me and caffeine keeps you up, that's a plus.
Hibiki-an stock this at US$22 per 200g (7.05oz), and advertise it as being an affordable tea with a smooth, nutty aroma. Interestingly, the recommended brewing time is 10 to 15 seconds with boiling water. I was foolish enough to ignore this time limit on the first attempt, and the result was not pleasant. Repeating with fresh leaves was certainly required.

Leaf Appearance: Predominantly brown with a dash of green. The tea is a mix of stems, leaves and thin twigs. This gives it a very large volume, and as such Hibiki-an sent two large 100g packages rather than compressing the tea into one.

Dry Aroma: Earthy chocolate, roasted rice and nuts all feature - quite lovely altoghther.

Houjicha brews to a nice medium brown
colour.

Brewed Aroma: Roasted rice with a touch of smoke and nuts

Flavour: After following the correct instructions, you get a smooth tea. There isn't any astringency or bitterness, and there's a slight nutty taste, with notes of roasted rice. This lingers on the palate slightly after swallowing. Other than these flavours however, there isn't much else to it.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 - it's simple, smooth and tasty, perfect for before bed, but falls short of being anything other than a pleasant tea to quaff.