Everyone by now has heard of Matcha Latte, the green cappuccino. Have you ever heard of the Hojicha Latte? Several people have told me that this is one of Japan’s newest tea trends. The first time I heard about this innovation was at World Tea Expo 2017. The latest, in order of time, was producer Miki of Theanine, who brought me a sample of her Hojicha powder on her last visit.
Let’s come with order: what is Hojicha? It is a roasted Japanese green tea with a woody scent and a distinctive flavor reminiscent of dried fruits, particularly hazelnuts.
Hojicha traditionally comes in leaves, like all teas. The new trend leads to grinding these leaves into a fine powder, similar to cocoa or the famous Matcha. In this way tea becomes very practical in the kitchen. For example, to prepare a decidedly different cappuccino, suitable even for children because of the sweet taste of this tea and the low theine content. Thus Hojicha Latte was born.
In Japan they are also starting to use this licorice-colored powder for other preparations such as pastas, cakes,… and there are some who propose it in ice cream.
We start with the basics: here is my recipe for Hojicha Latte.
Recipe: Hojicha Latte
- 1 coffee spoon of Hojicha powder (you can buy it ready-made, for example on Amazon, or reduce Hojicha leaves to powder with a coffee grinder)
- 70 ml natural water
- 100 ml of milk (cow or vegetable of your choice)
To prepare the Hojicha Latte, heat the water to 80 to 85° C.
In a cup pour a tablespoon of Hojicha powder. Add the hot water and dissolve the tea with the chasen (the bamboo whisk for matcha), a spoon or a kitchen whisk. Another very practical solution is a cocktail shaker: shake all the ingredients and pour into your favorite cup.
If you do not have a shaker, having dissolved the Hojicha in the water, add warm milk. I love cappuccino foam so I whip the lukewarm milk with a milk frother (or creamer) before pouring it into the cup.
In my opinion, Hojicha naturally tastes sweet so I do not recommend sweetening your drink but enjoying it as is.
Another tip: I tried this recipe with almond milk but I did not like it. Hazelnut milk may be interesting but I have yet to experiment with new solutions.