Hojicha Green Tea
Hojicha is a Japanese green tea that is mainly from bancha (the older leaves of the tea plant) which is lightly roasted, giving it a nutty (caramel) flavor. It is low in caffeine and even suited for children. The hojicha green tea always goes with Japanese meals that are highly flavored and is known to help in digesting the food imbibed by a person.
No Japanese meal is complete without this tea as a concluding feature. This tea is best taken when hot but it is also served cool, but not cold. Meals in Japan at night always have this tea as it is a very light tea and low in caffeine content. Thus sleeping after taking hojicha green tea is not a problem at all. Where coffee drinkers sometimes hesitate to take coffee because it could affect their sleep, drinkers of the hpjicha green tea do not worry at all. In fact the tea has relaxing effects on a person, promoting even sleep.
It is easy to prepare hojicha green tea. Just measure 3 teaspoons of loose leaves into an infusion basket and then boil the water between 160 degrees to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. After three minutes remove the infusion basket and start pouring the tea. When it is still too hot the technique in taking the tea is just to sip it little by little. Soon the soothing, relaxing effect surely follows. Another cup of it will do no harm to the drinker, if he desires to have more of the tea.