This is the Chaju Hōjicha, a deep roasted green tea produced by Masudaen, a Japanese tea manufacturer located in Makinohara, Shizuoka. Its deep-steamed sencha (tea leaves are steamed twice as long to reduce the tea’s bitterness and accentuate its sweetness and umami flavour) was the winner of the Japanese Green Tea National Competition in 2019, while the company itself was an Emperors’ Cup Award-Winning Manufacturer in 2015, making it one of the 5 best tea producers in Japan.
The tea was a translucent deep brown-red colour with a fragrant smoky aroma. Served chilled, this fragrance translated to deep smoky notes in the sip, which began with a gentle sweetness that developed with a bold roasted bitterness in the finish that lingered with a moderate astringency in the aftertaste. The tea had a fragrant and smoky hōjicha aroma and flavour that complemented both sweet and savoury foods but lacked the elegance of the rich yet light mouthfeel of the Kirin Namacha Hōji Sencha.
This Chaju Hōjicha contained 500 ml. It was produced in Japan and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2021.