Ho-Ho-Hoji-Chai

Hojicha is the biproduct of making Sencha and Bancha and comes from the discarded misshapen leaves and stems during those teas' production. An extra step is added, through roasting the tea, which creates a very different flavor profile and makes for a lightly caffeinated cup. Deceptively rich, with notes of honey, cacao and wood.

Known as the “King of Spices,” the best black pepper is grown in southern India near Cochin. The berries of the perennial black pepper vine are harvested when unripe, then sun-dried until they blacken. Quality is determined by oil content and appearance. Black pepper is spicy, pungent and often has a light salty characteristic—an important feature in chai blends. After the black pepper has been harvested, it is steam distilled to produce the essential oil.

Seductively fragrant, with floral notes and a menthol bite, cardamom is a bush in the ginger family that grows to 10 feet high. Popular in Persian and Indian cooking, it is also widely used in tea and chai blends. We believe the best is produced by indigenous Mayan farmers in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Its pale yellow flowers turn into clusters of cherries that are dried. These whole green pods or the dark seeds inside are removed to spice tea.

Ginger, used in many cultures to enliven food and drink, is also known for its healthful qualities. A light stimulant, it can treat cold symptoms and sore throat. Ginger is cultivated most prominently in India, China, Indonesia and West Africa. After the plant flowers and the leaves die off, the roots are dug, washed, peeled and sun dried. Ginger’s spicy-sweet flavor adds spark and complexity to our Big Hibiscus.

Often called cinnamon, cassia is a spice with a significantly different flavor profile than true cinnamon. Grown in subtropical climates, its taste varies widely by origin, and quality is judged by the volatile oil content. In Kerinci in Sumatra, cassia bark is stripped and dried year round from a revolving crop of 10 – 12 year old trees that are continuously replanted. Cassia is sweet, hot and spicy and adds fragrance to our chai blend.

Cloves come from the dried flower of a subtropical evergreen tree that can grow to heights of 40 feet in Madagascar, Southern India, and Indonesia. Dried in the sun, these buds become their signature dark reddish black. Cloves are highly aromatic and are used in mulling spices, cooking, and enlivening various tea blends.

Cacao nibs come from the Theobroma cacao tree and are one of the main raw ingredients used for making chocolate. Whole cacao beans are shelled, fermented and then broken down into chopped bits of cocoa seeds. These nibs then go through an additional roasting step, resulting in a more flavorful and less bitter tasting cacao nib.