The ultimate comforting and toasty tea treat - treacle, toasted barley, sweet soy and cocoa.
People are talking about Hojicha powder as the next big thing after Matcha. I don't think that this is true because Hojicha is completely different in taste, effects and colour - it won't replace Matcha but certainly provides a less stimulating and more comforting alternative.
Most of us tea lovers already know Hojicha very well in its loose leaf form.
Hojicha is a roasted Japanese Green tea usually made from larger leaf Bancha, which makes for a delightful, roasted and warming tea with lower caffeine than your average Green.
It is considered a more affordable Green, but there are loads of pretty poor-quality brews on the market, made with excess stems and very rough pickings. Our loose-leaf Hojicha is an example of a primo version - made with a mix of flushes to create a beautifully balanced brew.
But the powder version of this tea is exciting - it does allow us to make strong 'shots' of Hojicha to mix in with lattes or other drink (and food) recipes.
We have been serving our 'Hoji Brown Latte' and our 'Hoji Chocolate Miso Walnut' cookies at the teahouse so we tasted many stone-milled Hojicha powders to find our favourite. Just like the loose leaf, most are too rough or too dark roasted to try to compensate for poor quality tea.
This powder is perfection.
High-quality leaves from Spring and Summer give the drink a distinctly 'tea' taste reminiscent of strong, malty blacks and Wuyi Oolongs.
The roast has been handled expertly to caramel the tea with treacle, toasted cereal, hints of black licorice and cocoa.
Crucially, the tea is not over-roasted, which makes for a one-dimensional and slightly acrid brew and not under-roasted, which makes a lightweight drink with no sweet warmth.
So this powder has been our chosen Hojicha for our bar creations, and now we are making it available to you!
MAKE THE PERFECT HOJI LATTE OR FLAT WHITE
Whisk 5g of Hojicha Powder with 60ml of hot water (around 95c or 205F). Mix with 120-180ml of hot or cold milk or plant milk. Sweeten as desired (we make a salted muscovado syrup to add to ours at the teahouse).
DRINK PURE
This tea is high-quality, and you can certainly enjoy a bowl of Hojicha just like Matcha. Whisk 3-5g of Hojicha powder with 100-140ml of hot water according to your preferences.
OTHER RECIPES
Hojicha is so versatile and pairs so well with chocolate and sweets. Hojicha affogato? Hojicha chocolate milkshake? Hojicha truffles? Let your imagination run wild with recipes.
