Tossy
A short note on the person writing these articles: the name, and the work.
Editor-in-chief, Roast & Blend Lab
Who is Tossy?
I am Tossy. I founded the Japan Hojicha Association, and I write the articles on this site.
My title is Editor-in-chief of the Roast & Blend Lab. The lab is where the roasting and the blending of hojicha get tested — by experiment and by talking to the people who roast. That work is under way, and it becomes an article once something has been checked.
That is the whole of it. I am not asking to be read on the strength of a qualification or a career. Read the sources, and the conditions printed beside the numbers, and decide from those.
Why the association exists
Buying hojicha, you meet the words “light roast” and “dark roast” constantly. What I could not find was anywhere that explained, with its sources shown, what the difference actually changes. So I decided to look into it myself and write up whatever could be checked, in the order it was checked. That is how the association started.
What this lab promises
Every source, with its URL
Anything quoted is listed at the foot of the article with the link. Nothing is written in a way that keeps a reader from reaching the same source.
Numbers come with their test conditions
Figures for caffeine or for aroma compounds are printed with the conditions they were measured under. A number whose conditions are unknown is left out.
No health claims
Nothing here says hojicha works, cures or slims. Where a public body has published guidance, it is reported within the limits of that guidance.
A standing errata page
Corrections are recorded rather than quietly made. The errata page is in preparation.
Contact
Email is the way to reach us. Corrections to an article are welcome at the same address.