DATA
How 18 companies label hojicha roast levels
We counted how 18 hojicha sellers divide their products on their official sites. Four described the depth of their roast in words; none published a roasting temperature or time.
Key findings
- Four of the 18 companies described the depth of their roast in words.
- None published a roasting temperature or time.
- The other 14 divided their products by plant part, grade, method or origin.
- The labelling standard names 17 kinds of tea, including hojicha; no roast-level term is among them.
- Roast level appears in neither the 11 required nor the 7 optional label items.
Table
| Divided by (companies) | Businesses |
|---|---|
| Words for the depth of the roast (4) | Nakamura Tokichi Honten (炒りが浅い, lightly roasted) / Fujita Chaen (深焙り and 浅焙り) / HOJICHA CO. (Light Roast, Gold Roast, Dark Roast) / Ito En (深炒り) |
| Part of the plant, leaf or stem (4) | Fukujuen / Arai Seicha / Kirin / Uogashi Meicha (grades of stem hojicha) |
| Grade or trade name (3) | Kanbayashi Shunsho Honten / Gion Kitagawa Hanbee / Chasandai |
| Method or process (4) | Kaneju Farm / Yamamasa Koyamaen / Tsuchiyama Hitoban Hōji / Lupicia (two-stage firing) |
| Origin or certification, or no account given (3) | Itohkyuemon / Ocha no Igeta / Ooigawa Chaen |
How it was counted
- We opened and counted the official sites of 18 hojicha sellers on 24 September 2026.
- How the 18 companies were chosen is not recorded in the original article (selection criteria unrecorded).
- We looked at what each divides its products by, and placed each company in one group only, under its main axis.
- Four sites are drawn in JavaScript, so we reopened them in a browser the same day and read the text.
- Everything counted is the sellers' own product description, not a measurement of components.
- Labelling rules were checked against the Japan Tea Central Association's labelling standard for green tea (last revised 10 July 2026).
- Some businesses have no individual URL in the article's source list (unverified).
Sources
- 日本茶業中央会「緑茶の表示基準」（最終改正 令和8年7月10日） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 中村藤吉本店「ほうじ茶について」（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- HOJICHA CO.「Hojicha」商品一覧（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 伊藤園「深炒り番茶ほうじ茶」（北海道・東北エリア販売商品。販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- カネ十農園 ほうじ茶の商品ページ（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 山政小山園 ほうじ茶・茎ほうじ茶（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 祇園 北川半兵衛 ほうじ茶の商品一覧（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 茶三代一 ほうじ茶・番茶の商品一覧（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 土山一晩ほうじ（滋賀県茶業会議所の地域ブランド） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 大井川茶園 ほうじ茶の商品一覧（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
- 藤田茶園「玄米茶とほうじ茶」（販売元の説明） ↗（checked 2026-09-24）
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, "How 18 companies label hojicha roast levels" (surveyed September 2026). https://japan-hojicha.org/en/data/roast-label-survey