Houroku

Roasting houjicha at home is very simple. Ridiculously simple really. All you need is a houroku (a special pot for roasting houjicha).

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First, place your sencha leaves into the houroku.

Turn the fire on at low temperature (the fire here is stronger than it should be so that we could photograph it).

Once the leaves have started to toast and turn color, begin stirring so that the leaves on the bottom and top are roasted evenly. The shape of the lip of the houroku allows you to stir without fear the the leaves will fly out. If using a frying pan, use caution so as not to spill the lightweight leaves.

In 10 - 15 minutes (depending on the leaves, the heat of your burner, etc.) the leaves should be a nice brown color and ready for steeping. Longer for a darker roast, shorter for a light roast. Easy, wasn't it?

Leave comments here after trying at home. They may be of use to other tea drinkers!

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What's the difference between home-roasted houjicha and the houjicha we sell? We roast ours in an oven built especially for roasting tea leaves. This allows us to control the roasting process, producing evenly roasted leaves at light, basic, deep, and smokey levels.