Yamamotoyama, Hoji-cha

This is a bagged tea. I bought it because I wanted something I had never tried before, I like the oolong by this company, and it is cheap. $2.29 for 16 bags. This is labeled as a roasted green. The bag smells a bit smoky. I brewed it for 2 minutes with below boiling water even though directions called for boiling. The scent of the wet bag reminds me of Genmaicha. The brew is surprisingly almost as dark as a black tea.

First sip is too hot for me to catch much taste, so I got a slice of Jewish sweet bread while the cup cooled. Wow, did the bread help bring out the flavor. No bitterness or hint of astringency. I thought by the smell of the bag it might taste a bit smoky, but its not. This is a simple roasted green tea like the box says. Hojicha is a bancha tea that has been roasted traditionally over charcoal. I steeped a second cup with a new bag and this time used boiling water per the directions. It made only a slight difference in taste.

Bottom line: Could you do better? Sure, but for a $0.14 tea bag it is pretty darn good.