Tin of Green Room Hojicha roasted green tea powder from Kyoto, 80 g

Hojicha: what it is, how it tastes and how to make it

Hojicha is roasted Japanese green tea: warm, naturally mellow, with notes of roasted nuts, caramel and cocoa and very little bitterness. It contains noticeably less caffeine than matcha, but it isn't caffeine-free. For a hojicha latte, whisk 3–4 g of hojicha with 60 ml of water at 90 °C for 15–20 seconds and add 150 ml of milk of your choice. That's what it says on our tin. Here's what hojicha is, how it differs from matcha and what you can do with it.

What is hojicha?

"Hojicha" (ほうじ茶) means "roasted tea" in Japanese. Like matcha, it comes from the tea plant Camellia sinensis and is a green tea. The difference is in the processing: after steaming and drying, the leaves are roasted at a high temperature. They turn brown, and the fresh, grassy notes give way to a warm, toasted aroma. Older, coarser leaves and stems are usually used.

Our hojicha comes from Kyoto and is 100% roasted green tea, finely ground into a powder. So you whisk it like matcha and drink the whole leaf, rather than steeping it like loose-leaf hojicha.

What does hojicha taste like?

Hojicha tastes completely different from matcha. Instead of green and umami-forward, it's warm, rounded and toasty. Our hojicha brings these notes:

roasted caramel
roasted nuts
gentle sweetness and soft umami
cocoa on the finish

And it has very little bitterness. If you like coffee with chocolate notes, or find matcha too "green", hojicha is often an easy way in.

Hojicha vs. matcha: the differences

	Hojicha	Matcha
What is it?	roasted green tea	shade-grown green tea, stone-milled
Colour	brown	vivid green
Taste	caramel, roasted nuts, cocoa, very little bitterness	umami, natural sweetness; fresh, creamy or floral depending on the cultivar
Serving (our tin)	3–4 g	3 g
Water	60 ml, 90 °C	60 ml, 75–80 °C
Caffeine	noticeably less than matcha	about 100 mg per 3 g
Typical use	latte, desserts, baking	straight or as a latte

For more on matcha and caffeine, see Matcha vs. coffee; for matcha cultivars, see Matcha cultivars compared.

How much caffeine does hojicha have?

Hojicha generally contains noticeably less caffeine than matcha. In a Japanese analysis of 85 teas, bancha and hojicha came in at around 2% caffeine, shaded teas such as matcha at 3.5–4%. Germany's Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE) also notes that hojicha contains noticeably less caffeine than matcha.

Important: hojicha isn't caffeine-free. How much ends up in your cup depends on how much you use. With hojicha powder you drink the whole leaf. There's no measured per-serving value for our hojicha, so we deliberately don't give a milligram figure here. If you're sensitive to caffeine, keep that in mind, in the evening too.

Hojicha latte recipe

This is what it says on our tin:

Put 3–4 g of hojicha in a bowl.
Pour in 60 ml of water at 90 °C.
Whisk for 15–20 seconds, with a bamboo whisk (chasen) or a milk frother.
Add 150 ml of milk of your choice, warm or frothed.

Hojicha takes hotter water than matcha, so 90 °C instead of 75–80 °C. Sweeten it as you like, but try it without first, because the caramel note brings its own sweetness.

Iced hojicha latte

Whisk the hojicha as above: 3–4 g, 60 ml of water at 90 °C, 15–20 seconds.
Fill a glass with ice cubes and pour in cold milk.
Slowly pour the hojicha on top and stir once before drinking.

As with the iced matcha latte, you get two layers: brown on top, milk below.

Hojicha in desserts and baking

Our hojicha isn't just made for lattes, but also for desserts and baking. Its roasted notes go well with milk, cream, chocolate and caramel. Ideas to try: hojicha in pudding or panna cotta, over vanilla ice cream, or in cookie and cake dough. Start with a small amount, because the roasted aroma is strong.

How to store hojicha

Cool, dry and dark, as it says on the tin. Close the tin well after each use to keep the roasted aroma.

Frequently asked questions

Is hojicha matcha?
No. Both are Japanese green tea, but hojicha is roasted and brown, while matcha is shade-grown and vivid green. Taste and preparation differ.

Does hojicha have caffeine?
Yes, but generally noticeably less than matcha. It isn't caffeine-free.

Can I drink hojicha in the evening?
That depends on how you react to caffeine. Hojicha has less caffeine than matcha, but not none.

How much hojicha per cup?
3–4 g to 60 ml of water (90 °C); for a latte, add 150 ml of milk.

How long does a tin last?
Our tin holds 80 g. At 3–4 g per serving, that's about 20 to 26 servings.

How do you pronounce hojicha?
Roughly "hoh-jee-chah", with a long o.