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Hojicha (sometimes spelled houjicha) is a Japanese green tea that has been roasted at a high temperature. It is usually made of bancha, but it can also be composed of sencha or kukicha. The process of making hojicha first came about in Kyoto, during the 1920s. It is believed that roasting the leaves over charcoal was a way for merchants to make low grade tea more desirable. The leaves of this roasted tea have a crimson-brown colour, along with a strong, nutty aroma.
Kojic acid is a chelation agent produced by several species of fungi, especially Aspergillus oryzae, which has the Japanese common name koji. Kojic acid is a by-product in the fermentation process of malting rice, for use in the manufacturing of sake, the Japanese rice wine.It is a mild inhibitor of the formation of pigment in plant and animal tissues, and is used in food and cosmetics to preserve or change colors of substances.ojic acid also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The cocrystals of kojic acid with quercetin were found to have two times better cytotoxic activity to human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and human colon cancer cells (Caco-2) in comparison with quercetin itself.