Another tea from the Global Japanese Tea Association course. I freaking love hojicha but apparently, I’ve been steeping it wrong. We were taught to try a minute or less. And I mean really if it tastes good it doesn’t matter overall but I also believe it is good to respect tradition and the way the farmer brews it. The dry leaf is heavenly. Notes of maple syrup (the good kind, not that fake stuff), brown sugar, and sweet roasty-toasty notes. When brewed for a minute the wet leaf produces roasty notes with bits of charcoal. The taste is quite nice. More roasty notes with charcoal.