Ageing hojicha?

[.m.]

I've been wondering about how well does Hojicha age and how does it change with age. Anybody has an experience with it?

[Noonie]

When you say ageing, do you mean when you open a package, or in storage?

[.m.]

I mean storing for a couple/several years. Would it sort of mellow up, or would it slowly deteriorate like a green tea would?

[William]

I think it mostly depends on how the tea is stored and the water content of the leaves (that diminish through the roasting process).

[kyarazen]

I mean storing for a couple/several years. Would it sort of mellow up, or would it slowly deteriorate like a green tea would?

yes it will mellow up.. and the fragrance will change.. it depends on how roasted the hoji is. i used to get some varieties from yunomi.us with different options of roast available, some of the smoky roasts lost the smoke intensity (unfortunately!).

some will turn from a nutty roasty flavour into a toasty bread aroma, in some hoji chas there is this "bitey" edge of tongue and back of throat acidic feel and age does make it go away