What is Hojicha?

Hojicha (焙じ茶) meaning ‘roasted tea’, is still a green tea although it is not green in colour. This type of tea is, unlike common green tea, brown in colour as the leaves are roasted in order to achieve their unique character and nutty flavour. Hojicha can originate from either Sencha, Bancha or Kukicha but most often one would find it made from the slightly bigger and coarser leaves of the sun- grown Bancha or Kukicha. As these leaves are more dense and show a firm structure they are not so heat sensitive and can easily be further processed by roasting after steaming and drying. For roasting the tea leaves evenly a charcoal or sand roasting technic is often used for the final step. By bringing the tea to a high temperature almost all of the tea’s caffeine is extracted from the leaves. This makes Hojicha a wonderful drink throughout the day and especially suitable for the evening. Due to its roasted flavor it is often consumed by people who want to change from coffee to tea.

What is Genmai?

Genmai (玄米) refers to Japanese unpolished brown rice. Because it is not refined,it contains more vitamins and nutrients than white rice.

The Genmai (brown rice) we use at Obubu is a type of “Mochi-gome”, a rice used to make Japanese Mochi rice cakes.

It is steamed without being refined and then roasted, which makes it a very crunchy and flavorful.

Farmer Profile

Akihiro “Akky” Kita is our president and lead farmer here at Obubu. His desire to make this tea available to the general public is the foundation of Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms. In college, Akky took up a part-time job as a farmhand in Wazuka, and fell in love with the tea of this region. He made the decision then to leave college and devote his time to mastering the art of tea farming. Recognizing the need for independent farmers like himself to spread the joy of drinking Japanese tea, he travels each year during the winter off-season to bring Japanese tea to people all over the world.

Genmai (玄米) refers to Japanese unpolished brown rice. Because it is not refined,it contains more vitamins and nutrients than white rice.

The Genmai (brown rice) we use at Obubu is a type of “Mochi-gome”, a rice used to make Japanese Mochi rice cakes.

It is steamed without being refined and then roasted, which makes it a very crunchy and flavorful.

Genmaicha (玄米茶) is a traditional Japanese tea that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Genmaicha, meaning ‘brown rice tea’, is a combination of Japanese green tea and roasted rice. Although it is called Genmaicha, white mochi rice is usually used to create this blend. This is due to the fragrant aroma the white rice develops by roasting. After steaming, drying and roasting the rice is traditionally combined with Bancha tea in a proportion of 1:1, although this ratio can change depending on the manufacturer. Nowadays a lot of Genmaicha variations, such as Sencha Genmaicha or Houji Genmaicha are also offered by different tea producers. Some might call Genmaicha ‘popcorn tea’ as some sellers add popped grains that look just like popcorn. The pleasant roasted taste also reminds people a bit of popcorn. This is a good tea for those who are just beginning to get familiar with the taste of Japanese tea.

Farmer Profile

Akihiro “Akky” Kita is our president and lead farmer here at Obubu. His desire to make this tea available to the general public is the foundation of Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms. In college, Akky took up a part-time job as a farmhand in Wazuka, and fell in love with the tea of this region. He made the decision then to leave college and devote his time to mastering the art of tea farming. Recognizing the need for independent farmers like himself to spread the joy of drinking Japanese tea, he travels each year during the winter off-season to bring Japanese tea to people all over the world.

Tea Cultivation, Processing and Brewing Guide

What is Genmaicha?

Genmaicha (玄米茶) is a traditional Japanese tea that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Genmaicha, actually meaning ‘brown rice tea’ is a composition of Japanese green tea and roasted rice. Combining the two traditional Japanese products tea and rice makes Genmaicha an unmistakable exponent of Japanese culture. Although it is called genmaicha, white mochi rice is usually used to create this blend. This is due to the fragrant aroma the white rice develops by roasting. After steaming, drying and roasting the rice is traditionally combined with Bancha tea in a proportion of 1:1, although this ratio can change depending on the manufacturer. Nowadays a lot of genmaicha variations, such as sencha genmaicha or houji genmaicha are also offered by different tea producers. Some might call Genmaicha ‘popcorn tea’ as some sellers add popped grains that look just like popcorn. The pleasant roasted taste also reminds people a bit of popcorn. This is a good tea for those who are just beginning to get familiar with the taste of Japanese tea.

Farmer Profile

The Obubu Team as a whole are responsible for this Tea with each member caring for the Tea Garden, Harvesting and Processing. This tea comes from the Blue Forest Tea Garden, we initially thought to create an organic garden but to do so we would need to wait three years before being able to apply for Organic Certification. We decided that we would only add the leaf which had grown and been trimmed back into the garden. We would aim to provide an alternative to Organic Tea production for the small scale farmers who aim to create delicious Japanese teas in a sustainable business model and delicious teas. This is an alternative solution to a national and increasingly international problem from the Tea Garden up, forget grass roots, more like tea roots!

Tea Cultivation, Processing and Brewing Guide

What is Genmaicha?

Genmaicha (玄米茶) is a traditional Japanese tea that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Genmaicha, actually meaning ‘brown rice tea’ is a composition of Japanese green tea and roasted rice. Combining the two traditional Japanese products tea and rice makes Genmaicha an unmistakable exponent of Japanese culture. Although it is called genmaicha, white mochi rice is usually used to create this blend. This is due to the fragrant aroma the white rice develops by roasting. After steaming, drying and roasting the rice is traditionally combined with Bancha tea in a proportion of 1:1, although this ratio can change depending on the manufacturer. Nowadays a lot of genmaicha variations, such as sencha genmaicha or houji genmaicha are also offered by different tea producers. Some might call Genmaicha ‘popcorn tea’ as some sellers add popped grains that look just like popcorn. The pleasant roasted taste also reminds people a bit of popcorn. This is a good tea for those who are just beginning to get familiar with the taste of Japanese tea.

Farmer Profile

Akihiro (Akky) Kita is our president and lead farmer here at Obubu. His desire to make this tea available to the general public is the foundation of Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms. In college, Akky took up a part-time job as a farmhand in Wazuka, and fell in love with the tea of this region. He made the decision then to leave college and devote his time to mastering the art of tea farming. Recognizing the need for independent farmers like himself to spread the joy of drinking Japanese tea, he travels each year during the winter off-season to bring Japanese tea to people all over the world.

Tea Cultivation, Processing and Brewing Guide

What is Genmaicha?

Genmaicha (玄米茶) is a traditional Japanese tea that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Genmaicha, actually meaning ‘brown rice tea’ is a composition of Japanese green tea and roasted rice. Combining the two traditional Japanese products tea and rice makes Genmaicha an unmistakable exponent of Japanese culture. Although it is called genmaicha, white mochi rice is usually used to create this blend. This is due to the fragrant aroma the white rice develops by roasting. After steaming, drying and roasting the rice is traditionally combined with Bancha tea in a proportion of 1:1, although this ratio can change depending on the manufacturer. Nowadays a lot of genmaicha variations, such as sencha genmaicha or houji genmaicha are also offered by different tea producers. Some might call Genmaicha ‘popcorn tea’ as some sellers add popped grains that look just like popcorn. The pleasant roasted taste also reminds people a bit of popcorn. This is a good tea for those who are just beginning to get familiar with the taste of Japanese tea.

Farmer Profile

Nakai’s family has been farming tea for eight generations. Almost 30 years ago, his father began farming organically after discovering high levels of pesticides in his blood. This news was the inspiration to grow tea in a safe and natural way. Now Nakai’s teas are certified by the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) and have equivalent USDA and EU organic certification.

How to Brew Genmaicha

What is Genmaicha?

Genmaicha (玄米茶) is a traditional Japanese tea that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Genmaicha, actually meaning ‘brown rice tea’ is a composition of Japanese green tea and roasted rice. Combining the two traditional Japanese products tea and rice makes Genmaicha an unmistakable exponent of Japanese culture. Although it is called genmaicha, white mochi rice is usually used to create this blend. This is due to the fragrant aroma the white rice develops by roasting. After steaming, drying and roasting the rice is traditionally combined with Bancha tea in a proportion of 1:1, although this ratio can change depending on the manufacturer. Nowadays a lot of genmaicha variations, such as sencha genmaicha or houji genmaicha are also offered by different tea producers. Some might call Genmaicha ‘popcorn tea’ as some sellers add popped grains that look just like popcorn. The pleasant roasted taste also reminds people a bit of popcorn. This is a good tea for those who are just beginning to get familiar with the taste of Japanese tea.

Farmer Profile

Akihiro (Akky) Kita is our president and lead farmer here at Obubu. His desire to make this tea available to the general public is the foundation of Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms. In college, Akky took up a part-time job as a farmhand in Wazuka, and fell in love with the tea of this region. He made the decision then to leave college and devote his time to mastering the art of tea farming. Recognizing the need for independent farmers like himself to spread the joy of drinking Japanese tea, he travels each year during the winter off-season to bring Japanese tea to people all over the world.

Tea Cultivation, Processing and Brewing Guide

What is Hojicha?

Hojicha (___) meaning ‘roasted tea’, is still a green tea although it is not green in colour. This type of tea is, unlike common green tea, brown in colour as the leaves are roasted in order to achieve their unique character and nutty flavour. Hojicha can originate from either Sencha, Bancha or Kukicha but most often one would find it made from the slightly bigger and coarser leaves of the sun- grown Bancha or Kukicha. As these leaves are more dense and show a firm structure they are not so heat sensitive and can easily be further processed by roasting after steaming and drying. For roasting the tea leaves evenly a charcoal or sand roasting technic is often used for the final step. By bringing the tea to a high temperature almost all of the tea’s caffeine is extracted from the leaves. This makes Hojicha a wonderful drink throughout the day and especially suitable for the evening. Due to its roasted flavor it is often consumed by people who want to change from coffee to tea.

What is Genmai?

Genmai (__) refers to Japanese unpolished brown rice. Because it is not refined,it contains more vitamins and nutrients than white rice.

The Genmai (brown rice) we use at Obubu is a type of “Mochi-gome”, a rice used to make Japanese Mochi rice cakes.

It is steamed without being refined and then roasted, which makes it a very crunchy and flavorful.

Farmer Profile

Akihiro “Akky” Kita is our president and lead farmer here at Obubu. His desire to make this tea available to the general public is the foundation of Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms. In college, Akky took up a part-time job as a farmhand in Wazuka, and fell in love with the tea of this region. He made the decision then to leave college and devote his time to mastering the art of tea farming. Recognizing the need for independent farmers like himself to spread the joy of drinking Japanese tea, he travels each year during the winter off-season to bring Japanese tea to people all over the world.

Genmai (__) refers to Japanese unpolished brown rice. Because it is not refined,it contains more vitamins and nutrients than white rice.

The Genmai (brown rice) we use at Obubu is a type of “Mochi-gome”, a rice used to make Japanese Mochi rice cakes.

It is steamed without being refined and then roasted, which makes it a very crunchy and flavorful.

Genmaicha (___) is a traditional Japanese tea that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Genmaicha, meaning ‘brown rice tea’, is a combination of Japanese green tea and roasted rice. Although it is called Genmaicha, white mochi rice is usually used to create this blend. This is due to the fragrant aroma the white rice develops by roasting. After steaming, drying and roasting the rice is traditionally combined with Bancha tea in a proportion of 1:1, although this ratio can change depending on the manufacturer. Nowadays a lot of Genmaicha variations, such as Sencha Genmaicha or Houji Genmaicha are also offered by different tea producers. Some might call Genmaicha ‘popcorn tea’ as some sellers add popped grains that look just like popcorn. The pleasant roasted taste also reminds people a bit of popcorn. This is a good tea for those who are just beginning to get familiar with the taste of Japanese tea.

Farmer Profile

Akihiro “Akky” Kita is our president and lead farmer here at Obubu. His desire to make this tea available to the general public is the foundation of Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms. In college, Akky took up a part-time job as a farmhand in Wazuka, and fell in love with the tea of this region. He made the decision then to leave college and devote his time to mastering the art of tea farming. Recognizing the need for independent farmers like himself to spread the joy of drinking Japanese tea, he travels each year during the winter off-season to bring Japanese tea to people all over the world.

Tea Cultivation, Processing and Brewing Guide