DATA
Hojicha brewing guides compared (27 of 29 with figures)
We gathered 29 brewing guides (18 tea merchants and manufacturers, 11 public bodies and organisations) and lined up the 27 that give figures. Across 26 of them, leaving out one magazine interview, steeping time varies about tenfold and the amount of leaf about fourfold.
Key findings
- The standard condition is boiling water for 30 seconds; the composition tables measure at 90°C for 30 seconds.
- Steeping time runs from 25 seconds to about 4 minutes, about tenfold (26 guides, leaving out one magazine interview).
- Leaf per 100 mL of water runs from 1.0 g to 4.2 g, about fourfold (the same 26).
- Not one guide gives different temperatures or times by depth of roast.
- Only Fujita Chaen splits its figures, and it does so by the flush of the raw leaf.
- Two guides recommend water in the 80s °C; neither gives the roast as the reason.
Table
| Source | Weight of leaf | Volume of water | Water temperature (as written) | Time | Leaf per 100 mL (calculated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2020 (Eighth Revised Edition) | 15 g | 650 mL | 90°C | 0.5 min | 2.3 g |
| “A Study of Tea Brewing Methods” (1973), Table 7, standard infusion methods | 15 g | 650 mL | boiling water | 30 sec | 2.3 g |
| Shiga Prefectural Tea Industry Council (kettle) | 10 g | 1 L | — | 30 sec | 1.0 g |
| Nakamura Tokichi Honten (kettle, simmered) | 40 g | 2–3 L | boiling | about 2 min | 1.3–2.0 g |
| City of Fuji, Shizuoka | 3 g (per person) | 150–200 mL | boiling water at 100°C | 30 sec | 1.5–2.0 g |
| Fukujuen (hinome bō-hojicha) | 3 g | 180 mL | water brought to the boil | about 1 min | 1.7 g |
| Lupicia (Karigane Nikki) | 2.5–3 g | 150 mL | boiling water | 2–2.5 min | 1.7–2.0 g |
| Ito En (Ocha Hyakka, brewing page) | 4 g | 200 mL | 95°C | 30 sec | 2.0 g |
| Lupicia (Shigaraki aged hojicha and others) | 3–4 g | 150 mL | boiling water | 30 sec–1 min | 2.0–2.7 g |
| Ujitawara Seichajo | 6–8 g | 200–300 mL | about 90–100 degrees | about 30 sec | 2.0–4.0 g |
| Maruhachi Seichajo (Kenjō Kaga Bōcha, loose leaf) | 6 g | 260 mL | boiling water | 25 sec | 2.3 g |
| Maruhachi Seichajo (Kaga hojicha, loose leaf) | 6 g | 260 mL | boiling water | 30 sec | 2.3 g |
| Fukujuen (hojicha range) | 3 g | 130 mL | boiling water | about 30 sec | 2.3 g |
| Arai Seicha (kuki-hojicha) | 3 g (per person) | 130 cc (per person) | boiling water | 30 sec–1 min | 2.3 g |
| Maiko no Cha Honpo | 15 g | about 650 mL | boiling water | 30 sec | 2.3 g |
| Saitama Prefectural Tea Industry Association | 9 g (for three) | 390 mL | boiling water | 30 sec | 2.3 g |
| World Green Tea Association | 3 g (per person) | 130 mL | hot water brought to the boil | about 30 sec | 2.3 g |
| Morinoen | 10 g | 400 mL | boiling water (100°C) | about 4 min | 2.5 g |
| Kyoto Prefectural Tea Industry Council | 10 g | 300–400 mL | no temperature given | about 30 sec | 2.5–3.3 g |
| Kanbayashi Shunsho Honten | 10–15 g | 400 mL | boiling water | 30–40 sec | 2.5–3.8 g |
| Minokamo Chaho (direct-fire dark-roast hojicha, loose leaf) | about 5 g | about 180 mL | about 80°C (after cooling) | 1 min | 2.8 g |
| Fukujuen (shiroi kuki-hojicha) | 4 g | 130 mL | boiling water | about 1 min | 3.1 g |
| Nakamura Tokichi Honten (kyusu) | 10 g | 300 mL | 100°C | 30–40 sec | 3.3 g |
| Kaneju Farm (bōcha, loose leaf) | 4 g (per 100 mL) | — | 90°C | 40 sec | 4.0 g |
| Kaneju Farm (hojicha, loose leaf) | 4 g (per 100 mL) | — | 90°C | 30 sec | 4.0 g |
| Ippodo Tea (Gokujo Hojicha) | 10 g | 240 mL | 100°C | 30 sec | 4.2 g |
| Ippodo Tea (basic bancha-type teas) | 10 g | 240 mL | 100°C | 30 sec | 4.2 g |
| Ryuoen Chaho (magazine interview article) | 10 g | about 210 cc | water at the boil | 20–30 sec | 4.8 g |
| Jurouen | about 8 g | — (for a 540 mL kyusu) | 95°C | about 1 min | — |
| Ujien | — | — | 90–100°C | 30 sec | — |
| Shiga Prefectural Tea Industry Council (kyusu) | 3–4 g | — | 100°C | 30 sec | — |
| Zojirushi (Kakushiaji) | — | about 200 mL | water just off the boil | 30 sec | — |
| Fujita Chaen (hojicha in general) | 3–4 g | — | boiling water | 30 sec | — |
| Fujita Chaen (hojicha from first-flush tea) | 2–3 g | — | 80–90°C | 1 min | — |
| Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, “Japan, a Great Tea Nation” | — | — | 90–100°C | 30 sec–1 min | — |
| Shizuoka Prefectural Tea Industry Council | 15 g (for five bowls) | — | boiling water | 30 sec | — |
| JA Kyoto Yamashiro | 3 tablespoons | plenty | 100°C (the text says water at a rolling boil) | 30 sec | — |
| Japan Tea Instructor Association | — | — | hot water | about 30 sec | — |
| Japan Tea Central Association | — | — | — | — | no brewing page |
| Shizuoka Tea Merchants’ Industrial Cooperative | — | — | — | — | no brewing page |
| Spread (excluding the Ryuoen Chaho row) | — | — | 80–100°C | 25 sec to about 4 min = about tenfold | 1.0–4.2 g = about fourfold |
How it was counted
- We listed 29 businesses and organisations whose brewing guidance we looked up: 18 tea merchants and manufacturers and 11 public bodies and organisations.
- Two have no brewing page, so 27 guides with figures are compared.
- Alongside them, the conditions in Japan's food composition tables and a 1973 research group report are shown as two reference rows.
- Water temperature is shown as each source writes it; "boiling water" is not converted to °C.
- Leaf per 100 mL is not a published figure but is calculated from the leaf weight and the water volume.
- The Ryuoen Chaho row comes from a magazine interview, so it is left out of the spread, which is taken from the other 26.
- Checked on 22 September 2026. Some rows have no individual URL in the article's source list (unverified).
Sources
- 文部科学省「日本食品標準成分表2020年版（八訂）」茶類の浸出条件 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 茶のいれかた研究会「茶のいれかたの検討」茶業研究報告 40:58-66（1973） ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 日本茶業中央会サイト掲載「12ヶ月のお茶給食献立集」 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 農林水産省サイト掲載PDF「おいしいお茶の入れ方」 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 農林水産省「お茶大国、ニッポン。」 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 伊藤園「お茶百科」玄米茶・ほうじ茶のいれ方 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 伊藤園「お茶百科」お茶と水・湯の温度 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 一保堂茶舗「基本の番茶類（ほうじ茶・玄米茶等）」 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 一保堂茶舗「極上ほうじ茶100g袋」 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 森乃園「お茶の美味しい淹れ方」 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 滋賀県茶業会議所「土山一晩ほうじ」道具別の淹れ方 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 柳桜園茶舗の淹れ方（媒体の取材記事） ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
- 藤田茶園「お茶日和」ほうじ茶の淹れ方 ↗（checked 2026-09-22）
Related articles
How to cite this data
To cite it, you can use the line below as it is. Please include the page's URL.
Japan Hojicha Association, "Hojicha brewing guides compared (27 of 29 with figures)" (surveyed September 2026). https://japan-hojicha.org/en/data/brewing-guide-comparison