Hakuta bancha (伯太番茶）is a type of sun-dried bancha named after Hakuta town, in Shimane prefecture.
This tea is low in caffeine and has a faint bitterness. Although not as popular as kyobancha (another regional type of bancha), it is produced all year round and you can easily order it online in Japan.
How hakuta bancha is made
The bancha leaves are harvested and immediately steamed. Then they are dried under the sun.
Once dry, the leaves are roasted at low heat for a period of time. Note that there is no rolling process involved, unlike other types of Japanese green tea.
The finished leaves look rather big, and have a dark brown color. It looks as if they had withered naturally.
How to brew hakuta bancha
I haven’t seen formal brewing instructions for this tea, but from what I’ve seen it’s brewed just like kyobancha:
Use about 10 gr of hakuta bancha leaves for a liter of water. In other words, you can brew for many cups at once. Just to be sure, you should follow the instructions from the package.
Boil the water and add the leaves directly in the pot, or use a big tea pot such as a dobin (土瓶, earthenware tea pot). The leaves are too large for a kyusu! Brew for 2 to 3 minutes.
I’ve read that you can re-steep it 2 or 3 times. Both the taste and color of the liquid are similar to houjicha.