From Shizuoka with Care: The Origin of Our Hojicha
Every tea has a place. Ours begins in Shizuoka, a prefecture on Japan's Pacific coast, nestled between the sea and the slopes of Mount Fuji. It is Japan's largest tea-growing region, and for good reason: the conditions here are among the most favourable for tea cultivation in the world.
Shizuoka, Japan's Tea Country
Shizuoka produces a significant proportion of Japan's total tea output, but quantity has never been the main story. The region is equally known for quality, its rolling hills, mild climate, and mineral-rich volcanic soil create conditions that produce leaves with a naturally sweet, rounded character that is distinctly Shizuoka.
The Pacific Ocean moderates temperature throughout the year, reducing the extremes that can stress tea plants and concentrate too much bitterness in the leaf. The volcanic soil, remnants of centuries of geological activity from Mount Fuji and the surrounding mountains, contributes a particular mineral depth to the flavour. And the area's reliable rainfall keeps the plants consistently hydrated, important for producing leaves that are tender and flavourful rather than coarse and astringent.
Why Shizuoka for Hojicha
While Shizuoka produces many types of Japanese tea, it has a particular affinity with hojicha. The naturally sweet, round character of Shizuoka leaves responds exceptionally well to the roasting process, the heat draws out the inherent sweetness and warmth of the leaf, producing a roasted tea that is smooth, comforting, and free of the harsh edges that lower-quality hojicha can carry.
There is also a long tradition of hojicha production in Shizuoka. The craft of roasting, knowing when to apply heat, how long to hold, how to balance the roast so it deepens without burning, is passed down through generations of producers. The medium roast we favour for our hojicha is the product of that accumulated knowledge: enough heat to produce the characteristic nutty warmth, but not so much that the delicate sweetness of the leaf is lost.
Organic Certification
Our Hojicha is certified organic. This means the tea plants are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, relying instead on the natural fertility of Shizuoka's volcanic soil and the careful management of the growing environment. For a tea you drink regularly, and hojicha, for many people, becomes a daily ritual, knowing that what is in your cup is free from chemical residues matters.
Organic cultivation in Shizuoka is not simply an ethical choice; it also produces tea with a cleaner, more expressive flavour. When the soil is managed naturally, the plant's own character comes through more clearly.
What This Means in the Cup
Our Organic Hojicha is a medium roast, 30g, producing approximately 30 servings. In the cup it delivers a warm amber colour, a roasted nutty aroma, and a flavour profile that is smooth, rounded, and naturally sweet, with gentle cocoa notes and no bitterness. It is a tea that asks nothing of you. It simply settles you.
Prepared as a simple bowl with hot water, or as a latte with oat milk, the Shizuoka character comes through clearly: warm, grounded, and quietly distinctive.
Medium Roast, Why It Matters
Hojicha can be produced at various roast levels, from light to dark. A light roast preserves more of the original green tea character, grassy notes remain detectable, and the colour is a lighter amber. A dark roast pushes further into coffee-like territory, with deeper caramel and smoke notes and a much reduced tea character.
Our hojicha is a medium roast, the point at which the roasting has fully transformed the leaf's flavour without obscuring the underlying sweetness and the natural character of Shizuoka tea. The cocoa notes are present, the nuttiness is defined, but the tea is still recognisably tea rather than a roasted product that happens to have started as leaves.
This balance is a matter of preference and also of craft. Too little roast and you lose the transformation that makes hojicha distinctive. Too much roast and you lose the subtlety that makes Shizuoka worth specifying. Our medium roast sits exactly where we want it.
30g, About 30 Servings
Our Organic Hojicha comes in a 30g tin, producing approximately 30 servings at 1 gram per cup. For daily evening use, a single tin lasts about a month, a reasonable rhythm for a ritual that repays consistency.
