Houjicha, Houjicha, Houjicha

When I returned home today after a short hike, our livingroom was still filled with the rich aroma of the houjicha Maura had prepared this morning. This evening, in a more scientific atmosphere, we conducted a serious tasting of the two varieties we bought yesterday. I liked the leaf/stem mixture better because it had a much more complex flavor. Both share that nutty, roasted taste, but the mixture had more to it. It's also worth noting that the flavor remained in my mouth long after I put down the teacup. I think Maura had a good idea when she suggested using the kuki (stem only) houjicha as an ingredient in cooking. I'll let you know how those experiments work out.

We've been watching The Tea Culture, a set of three DVD's we picked up in Hong Kong last winter. In it they describe how tea was used as a cooking ingredient long before people figured out how to brew the beverage. In some areas of China this tradition still lives, and elswhere new tea recipies are being formulated. The video is great to watch. It has both Cantonese and Manderin soundtracts, and subtitles in English and two kanji scripts. Obviously the English translator struggled with the job, as sometimes we must work hard to puzzle out his intended meaning. But the video has beautiful views of many regions of China, and great industrial processing scenes.