From Spirited Away · 2001 · Pairing
Roasted Green Tea (Hōjicha)
Serve when
Pour it the bathhouse way — a homely brown tea for workers between shifts, and the cup on Zeniba's table when kindness finally wins.
What to drink
The spirit world runs on tea — trays of it in the bathhouse, and a proper pot at Zeniba's cottage where Sen, No-Face, and company are finally fed like guests. The right cup is hōjicha: roasted green tea, toasty and gentle, the everyday pot of a Japanese bathhouse. A suggested pairing for the buns and onigiri alike.
What to drink
Toasty, low-caffeine, zero bitterness — hōjicha is comfort in a cup, which is exactly the register Zeniba's cottage scene plays in.
Ingredients
Method
- Use a generous spoonful of leaves per two cups.
- Pour hot water and steep just 30–45 seconds — hōjicha gives fast.
- Refill the pot for a second, rounder steep.
- Serve to whoever's at the table, spirits included.