Hojicha is Japanese green tea that has been roasted. Roasting turns the leaves reddish brown and gives the tea a toasty, softly sweet taste with very little bitterness, and that flavor is what makes it so good with milk. Here is how to make a hojicha latte at home, hot or iced, with hojicha powder or with leaves.

What is hojicha?

Most Japanese green teas are steamed and dried to keep their fresh, green taste. Hojicha goes one step further: the tea is roasted, which turns the color brown and the taste warm and nutty. Our Mt Fuji hojicha is roasted in heated sand, a traditional method that spreads the heat evenly and keeps burnt notes out.

Hojicha powder is roasted tea ground into a fine powder, so you whisk it into water just like matcha. It is the easiest way to make a latte, because the whole leaf goes into the cup and the roasted taste stays strong under the milk.

What you need

• Hojicha powder, or hojicha loose-leaf tea or tea bags
• Milk: dairy, oat, soy or almond milk all work
• A bamboo whisk, a small electric frother, or a jar with a lid
• A small sieve or tea strainer
• A sweetener if you like: honey, maple syrup or brown sugar

Hot hojicha latte with powder

1. Sift 2 to 3 g of hojicha powder (about 1 teaspoon) into a cup.
2. Add 30 to 40 ml of hot water at 80 to 90°C and whisk until smooth, with no lumps.
3. Warm 150 to 200 ml of milk to about 60 to 65°C, and froth it if you like.
4. Pour the milk over the hojicha and sweeten to taste.

Hojicha is more forgiving than matcha with hot water, so you do not need to let the kettle cool as long.

Iced hojicha latte

1. Whisk 2 to 3 g of hojicha powder with 30 to 40 ml of hot water until smooth, or shake it hard with cold water in a sealed jar.
2. Fill a glass with ice and pour in 150 to 200 ml of cold milk.
3. Pour the hojicha over the milk for the layered look, then stir before drinking.

Hojicha latte with tea bags or loose leaf

No powder? Brew a strong hojicha and use it as the base.

1. Put 2 tea bags, or 2 teaspoons of loose-leaf hojicha in an infuser, in a cup.
2. Pour in about 100 ml of water at 95°C and let it steep for 2 to 3 minutes. That is longer than for a normal cup, so the tea stays strong once the milk goes in.
3. Remove the tea, add 100 to 150 ml of warm frothed milk and sweeten to taste.

For an iced version, let the strong tea cool, then pour it over ice and cold milk. You can also cold-brew hojicha in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours and add milk when you are ready to drink it.

Tips for a better hojicha latte

• Always sift the powder: like matcha, hojicha powder clumps easily.
• Start with 2 g and add more if you want a stronger roasted taste.
• Brown sugar, maple syrup and honey all suit the toasty flavor.
• Keep the powder sealed, away from heat and humidity, so it keeps its aroma.

Which hojicha to choose

For lattes, our Mt Fuji hojicha powder (30g can) is made from first-flush leaves grown on Mt Fuji in Shizuoka, sand-roasted and stone-ground. If you make lattes every day, the 100g bag is the practical size. For brewed hojicha, try the loose-leaf tea or the tea bags. See the full hojicha collection, and read How to make matcha for hot and iced matcha lattes.