Cooler water for a light roast, hotter water for a deep roast—it is a tempting rule, but actual product instructions include the reverse. Kenjō Kaga Bōcha uses boiling water for 25 seconds; Minocamo Chaho’s direct-fire deep-roasted hojicha uses water at about 80°C for 1 minute. Read the two examples without taking temperature out of its context.
For Kenjō Kaga Bōcha, set the quantities before the short wait
Maruhachi Seichajo’s Kenjō Kaga Bōcha is made by lightly roasting stems from the first harvest. Its loose-leaf guide for 2 people uses 6 g of tea, about 3 tablespoons, and 260 mL of boiling water, with an infusion time of 25 seconds. These quantities are for loose tea; use the separate instructions for the same brand’s tea bags.
The short 25-second wait is not the whole recipe. Tea and water quantities also make up the cup described. Filling your usual teapot with water and timing only 25 seconds does not reproduce those conditions—an important point when reading the instructions.
The direct-fire deep roast has two separate one-minute waits
Minocamo Chaho’s direct-fire deep-roasted hojicha uses tea stored at low temperature for one year before being slowly roasted deeply. Its method begins by pouring about 180 mL of thoroughly boiled water into a separate vessel, such as a teacup, and waiting about 1 minute for it to cool to roughly 80°C.
Meanwhile, put 2 teaspoons, about 5 g, of tea in a teapot. When the steam has become gentler, add the water and wait 1 minute. The first minute cools the water; the second infuses the tea. They start at different points. Treat the cooling time as this product guide’s estimate, not a guarantee that every vessel reaches the same temperature.
Light and deep do not explain every difference
The products differ in their materials as well as roast level, and their tea and water quantities also differ. This comparison therefore cannot establish the reverse rule that light roasts need hot water and deep roasts need cooler water. What it shows is the need to read each product’s specified conditions.
This is not an experiment that changes only roast level in the same raw material. It compares brewing methods that shops provide for their respective teas. Instructions for making a particular product taste good and a trial isolating roast level’s effect have different purposes.
When adjusting towards your taste, record what you changed
Start by brewing as the product instructs. If you try a change next time, note whether it was tea quantity, water volume, temperature or infusion time; this helps you recall its relationship to the previous cup. Changing everything at once makes it harder to know what helped, even if you like the result more.
Record aroma, the impression in the mouth and the impression after drinking, rather than only “good” or “bad”. Keeping a stronger taste separate from a taste you like makes it possible to consider adjustments other than simply adding more tea.