Kagoshima Prefecture is the most southerly part of Kyushu. The Prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, from which a steady trickle of ash and smoke emerges, punctuated by louder mini-eruptions on an almost daily basis. It is advisable to carry an umbrella to ward off the ash. This naturally grown Hoji Cha is made from the first harvest in Spring instead of the cheaper later harvest. This gives a vastly superior taste and aroma quite distinctive and not at all astringent or smoky. The leaves are first stored and then roasted which lowers the caffeine levels and makes the leaves brown rather than green This tea, which should be drunk without milk, makes an ideal accompaniment for an evening meal, as well as taken just before going to sleep, in Japan it is often drunk by children and the elderly. It can be prepared and enjoyed cold during the summer. I Loved it
