Reprocessed Teas
In the page of classification of green tea, I talked about the variety of Steamed Green tea .
But green tea is not everything in Japanese tea.
Some of the tea leaves (sometimes buds or stems) are reprocessed to give many varieties in Japanese tea.
In this page, I’d like to introduce the typical Reprocessed Teas.
What are the Reprocessed Teas?
Hoji-cha（ほうじ茶）
Hoji-cha is made by roasting steamed green tea. In Japanese, ‘Hoji-ru’ means to roast or to fire.
Hoji-cha tends to be light-bodied and contains little caffein.
For this reason, we often drink it before sleeping.
You can enjoy the roasted aroma as well as its taste.
If you have Sencha which has already gone old, let change it into Hoji-cha by roasting it in skillet.
Kuki-cha（茎茶)
Kuki-cha is made from stems and stalks that are removed during the process of producing and refining “raw tea” called Ara-cha (荒茶) in Japanese.
Especially Kuki-cha made from the stems of Gyokuro and called “Kari-ga-ne(雁が音)” or “Sira-oré (白折)” is considered as the expensive type and very popular.
Rich in theanine and weak in astringency, it can be steeped at high temperature and good to warm yourself in cold winter.
Kona-cha（粉茶）
Kona-cha is made from green tea dust sifted or fanned during the process of producing and refining “raw tea”.
Kona-cha is often served at Sushi restaurant to clear the palate and lower the risk of food poisoning by the behavior of catechins.
Ban-cha（番茶）
Ban-cha is a tea hard to be defined.
In the past, Ban-cha indicated the teas among commoners other than Matcha or Sencha which were affordable only for those in higher social ranks.
Those Ban-cha were made in quite different manners depending on the region or family such as boiling, cooking, roasting etc.
Nowadays it generally refers to the tea made in the same method as Sencha but using hard or old leaves.
Powdered tea（粉末茶）
Powdered tea is made by grinding Sencha in machine.
It can be directly dissolved into water or oil without making waste.
Each particle is generally a bit bigger than that of Matcha and does not become so lumpy.
