ochanoma

Tag: Hojicha Latte

  • Hojicha Co. Review: Is the Hojicha Latte Brand Worth It?

    Hojicha Co. Review: Is the Hojicha Latte Brand Worth It?

    Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through one of them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Product details below are from public information about Hojicha Co. at the time of writing (October 2026); the range and prices may change.

    Quick Verdict

    • Is Hojicha Co. worth it? Yes, if you want to make hojicha lattes at home. It’s a brand built around one thing – Kyoto hojicha, especially hojicha powder – and its powder is designed to stand up to milk.
    • Best for lattes and baking: Hojicha Co. hojicha powder – their best seller. Hojicha Co. powder on Amazon
    • Best for drinking straight: their loose-leaf hojicha, including the Gold Roast. Hojicha Co. loose leaf on Amazon
    • Not ideal if: you mostly drink hojicha plain and want a gentle, delicate cup – a refined stem hojicha from a Kyoto tea house may suit you better.
    • Want a gentle real tea for evenings too? Nio Teas’ kukicha collection has low-caffeine stem teas from small farms. At the time of writing, ordering through the links on this page automatically applies a 10% discount at checkout – no code needed. Offers can change, so check the final price in your cart.

    Below: who’s behind Hojicha Co., what it sells, how the powder works in a latte, the honest downsides, and how it compares with other hojicha brands.

    A few years ago, hojicha was almost unknown outside Japan. Today, hojicha lattes are on café menus across North America – and Hojicha Co. is one of the brands that helped make that happen. Rather than selling every kind of Japanese tea, it focused on one: roasted green tea from Kyoto, with a powder made for lattes.

    That focus is its biggest strength. It’s also why it isn’t the right choice for everyone.

    The Problem You’re Actually Trying to Solve

    You’ve had a hojicha latte at a café and want to make it at home, or you’ve seen Hojicha Co. recommended and want to know if it’s worth buying. You’re wondering whether its powder actually tastes good, whether it works for drinking straight, and how it compares with the hojicha sold by traditional Japanese tea houses.

    Who This Article Is NOT For

    • If you want to compare several hojicha brands side by side, my hojicha brand comparison covers Ippodo, Marukyu Koyamaen, Kaga Boucha, Hojicha Co. and Ito En.
    • If you’re mainly wondering how much caffeine hojicha has, my matcha vs. hojicha caffeine comparison covers that.
    • If you need a completely caffeine-free drink, hojicha isn’t it – it’s lower than many teas in a typical cup, but not zero.

    Who’s Behind Hojicha Co.

    Hojicha Co. was founded in 2018 in Toronto, Canada, by Danielle Geva and Francois Mathieu. The idea came from a trip to Japan: they brought hojicha home, shared it with friends, ran out quickly, and found nothing fresh and authentic in local shops.

    A few points about the company:

    • Kyoto sourcing. Its hojicha is sourced from Kyoto Prefecture, where hojicha has a long tradition. The founders chose producers by tasting and comparing samples.
    • A focus on powder. Hojicha powder – finely ground roasted green tea – quickly became its best seller, and the company has worked to bring it into North American cafés.
    • Recognition. It won “Best Tea” at the Toronto Coffee & Tea Expo in 2019, and its Gold Roast hojicha placed in a blind tasting at the Toronto Tea Festival in 2020.
    • A link to Marukyu Koyamaen. In 2023, Hojicha Co. announced a partnership with the Uji matcha maker Marukyu Koyamaen, becoming an official distributor of its matcha outside Japan – useful if you’ve struggled to find Marukyu Koyamaen from trustworthy sellers.

    What It Sells

    • Hojicha powder – the flagship product, for lattes and baking
    • Loose-leaf hojicha – several varieties, including the Gold Roast
    • Uji matcha from Marukyu Koyamaen
    • Japanese-made tea accessories and teaware

    How the Powder Works

    Hojicha powder is to hojicha what matcha is to green tea: the whole roasted leaf, ground fine. You don’t steep it – you whisk or stir it into liquid. That makes it fast and convenient, and it gives a fuller, toastier flavor than a latte made from brewed hojicha.

    Basic hojicha latte:

    1. Add about 1-2 teaspoons (2-4g) of hojicha powder to a mug.
    2. Pour in a splash of hot water (around 80°C / 175°F or hotter – roasted tea tolerates heat) and whisk into a smooth paste.
    3. Add about 200ml of steamed or cold milk.
    4. Sweeten with a little maple syrup or honey if you like – maple and hojicha are a particularly good match.

    The same powder works in baking, smoothies, ice cream and overnight oats – anywhere you’d use matcha but want a toasty, caramel-like flavor instead of a grassy one.

    Three Ways to Use Hojicha Powder Beyond the Basic Latte

    Iced maple hojicha latte. Whisk 3g of powder with 30ml of hot water and 1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup until smooth. Pour over a glass of ice, then top with about 200ml of cold milk. The maple brings out hojicha’s caramel notes, and it’s a good choice for warm days.

    Hojicha affogato. Whisk 2g of powder with 30ml of hot water into a thick shot, then pour it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s a fast, impressive dessert – and a good way to taste the powder’s roasted flavor clearly.

    Hojicha overnight oats. Stir 1 teaspoon of powder into 50g of oats, 150ml of milk and a little honey, then refrigerate overnight. The toasty flavor works especially well with banana, walnuts or a spoonful of nut butter.

    As a rule, use a little more hojicha powder than you would matcha: its flavor is gentler, so it needs a bit more to come through milk and sugar.

    What’s Genuinely Good

    • Built for lattes. The powder is designed to taste good under milk, which is how most people outside Japan drink hojicha.
    • Kyoto-sourced. Kyoto is hojicha’s traditional home, and the brand sources only from there.
    • Focused expertise. A brand that does one tea is more likely to do it carefully.
    • Easy to buy in North America. Shipping from within North America is faster and simpler than ordering from Japan.
    • Approachable. For coffee drinkers, a hojicha latte is one of the easiest “first Japanese teas” to enjoy.

    The Honest Downsides

    • Bold for drinking plain. The powder is designed for milk, so it can feel strong and a little heavy whisked with water alone.
    • More expensive than supermarket hojicha. You’re paying for a specialist brand and quality powder.
    • Narrower range. If you want to explore many styles of Japanese tea, a broader shop offers more.
    • Not caffeine-free. Hojicha is often marketed as very low in caffeine, but Japan’s official food composition tables list brewed hojicha at about 20mg per 100ml – similar to sencha under their standard brewing method. And with powder, you consume the whole leaf, so a strong powder latte isn’t as gentle as a lightly brewed cup.
    • Powder fades. Like matcha, hojicha powder loses aroma once opened. Keep it sealed and finish it within a few weeks to a couple of months.

    Hojicha Co. vs. Other Hojicha Brands

    Hojicha Co.Ippodo Kuki-HojichaKaga BouchaIto En
    Best forLattes, bakingRefined straight cupsBold, smoky characterBudget everyday
    FormPowder and loose leafLoose leaf (stems)Loose leaf (stems)Tea bags, leaf
    StyleToasty, built for milkGentle, biscuit-likeDeeply roastedConsistent, mild
    OriginKyotoKyotoKanazawaJapan (large producer)

    A Few Things People Ask Me

    Is Hojicha Co. powder good for drinking with just water? It can be, but it’s built for lattes. For plain hojicha, a loose-leaf hojicha usually tastes more balanced.

    How is hojicha powder different from matcha? Matcha is ground shade-grown green tea; hojicha powder is ground roasted green tea. Hojicha powder tastes toasty and caramel-like rather than grassy and is usually less bitter.

    Is hojicha good for the evening? Many people drink it in the evening because it’s gentle, but it does contain caffeine. If you’re sensitive, keep servings small or choose a caffeine-free grain tea instead.

    Does Hojicha Co. sell matcha? Yes – it distributes Uji matcha from Marukyu Koyamaen outside Japan.

    Where I Landed

    Hojicha Co. is the brand I’d point anyone to who wants to make a café-style hojicha latte at home. Its powder is made for exactly that, it’s sourced from Kyoto, and it’s easy to buy in North America. If you mostly drink hojicha plain, a gentle loose-leaf hojicha will serve you better. But for lattes, baking and a toasty alternative to matcha, it’s an easy recommendation.

  • Matcha and Hojicha Together: The Layered Latte and Beyond

    Matcha and Hojicha Together: The Layered Latte and Beyond

    Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through one of them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    Matcha and hojicha come from the exact same plant, processed in completely opposite directions, unroasted and vividly green versus roasted into something toasty and reddish-brown, and putting them in the same glass turns out to be far more interesting than picking one or the other. Instead of competing, they layer: matcha’s grassy sharpness on one end, hojicha’s caramel-like roundness on the other, with milk holding the middle together, and the visual contrast alone makes it one of the more genuinely striking drinks you can put together at home.

    The Problem You’re Actually Trying to Solve

    You’ve searched for matcha and hojicha blend ideas because you’ve seen the layered version, the one with three distinct colored stripes in a glass, or you already love both teas separately and want to know how to actually combine them without one flavor completely overwhelming the other.

    Who This Article Is NOT For

    Let’s save you some scrolling if this isn’t quite your situation.

    • If you want matcha recipes specifically without hojicha involved, my how to make a matcha latte guide covers that on its own.
    • If you want to understand hojicha as its own category before combining it with anything, my best hojicha brands guide is the better starting point.

    If you’re past that, here’s where the actual guide starts.

    The Classic Layered Matcha-Hojicha Latte

    This is the version most people picture, three visually distinct layers, hojicha at the bottom, milk in the middle, matcha floating on top, that you stir together right before drinking.

    The method:

    1. Sift 1 teaspoon of matcha into a bowl, whisk with about 40ml of cold water until smooth.
    2. Separately, sift 2 teaspoons of hojicha powder into another bowl, whisk with about 80ml of cold water until smooth.
    3. Fill a tall glass with ice.
    4. Pour the hojicha mixture in first, forming the bottom layer.
    5. Slowly pour milk over the back of a spoon to create a middle layer without disturbing the hojicha below.
    6. Gently pour the matcha mixture on top last, letting it float rather than sink.

    Using cold water for both bases, rather than hot, keeps the layers more visually distinct and prevents the ice from melting too quickly and blurring the separation.

    Matcha-Hojicha with Caramel

    A slightly more indulgent variation adds a caramel element, which bridges the two teas nicely since caramel’s sweetness echoes hojicha’s naturally roasted, almost caramel-like character while still letting matcha’s brighter top note come through.

    The method: Prepare the matcha and hojicha bases separately as above, drizzle caramel syrup along the inside of the glass before adding ice, then layer milk and both tea bases the same way. The caramel clinging to the glass walls adds visual interest along with the flavor.

    Brown Sugar as the Bridge Flavor

    Brown sugar is a particularly good sweetener choice specifically because it doesn’t compete with either tea’s flavor the way white sugar or a neutral syrup can. Its own caramel-forward character sits naturally between matcha’s vegetal brightness and hojicha’s roasted depth, reinforcing both rather than masking either.

    The method: Dissolve brown sugar into warm milk before combining with your whisked matcha and hojicha bases, rather than adding it dry, which can leave undissolved grit at the bottom of the glass.

    Beyond Lattes: Other Ways to Combine Them

    Hot chocolate hybrid. Hojicha blends particularly well into hot chocolate, since its roasted character complements cocoa the way a really good dark roast coffee complements chocolate desserts. Adding a smaller amount of matcha on top as a garnish layer, rather than mixing it fully in, keeps its brightness from getting lost against the cocoa.

    Baked goods with both. A marbled effect in cookies or a loaf cake, swirling a matcha-tinted batter and a hojicha-tinted batter together before baking, gives you both flavors in alternating bites rather than a single blended one, similar in spirit to a chocolate-vanilla marble cake.

    Fruit pairings. Hojicha pairs particularly well with strawberry specifically, its roasted, nutty character contrasting nicely against fresh fruit sweetness, and this combination works as a base for a matcha-hojicha version too, strawberry and hojicha on the bottom, matcha floated on top for color contrast as much as flavor.

    Getting the Ratio Right Between the Two

    Because hojicha’s flavor is naturally more assertive and roasted while matcha is more delicate and vegetal, most successful blends lean slightly hojicha-forward, roughly a 2-to-1 ratio of hojicha to matcha by volume, rather than an even split. An even 50-50 split tends to let hojicha dominate anyway, so intentionally leaning into that ratio rather than fighting it usually produces a more balanced-tasting result than a technically equal measurement would.

    What You’ll Need

    Shop hojicha powder for lattes on Amazon →

    Shop culinary-grade matcha for lattes on Amazon →

    A Few Things People Ask Me

    Does combining matcha and hojicha change the caffeine content compared to either alone? Yes, modestly — since matcha carries meaningfully more caffeine per gram than roasted hojicha, a blended drink lands somewhere between the two, generally closer to a standalone hojicha than a standalone matcha given the ratio most recipes use.

    Can I make a hot version of the layered latte, or does it only work iced? The visual layering effect specifically depends on ice and gentle pouring technique, so a hot version won’t maintain distinct layers the same way. A hot version still tastes great combined, just fully stirred together rather than presented as separate stripes.

    Is there a “wrong” order to layer the ingredients? For the classic version, hojicha on the bottom, milk in the middle, matcha on top, is the standard because it plays with density and color contrast effectively. Reversing it technically still tastes the same but loses some of the visual appeal that makes this version popular in the first place.

    Do I need two separate whisks, or can I use the same one for both teas? A single whisk works fine as long as you rinse it between the matcha and hojicha bases, since any leftover residue from one can slightly muddy the color and flavor of the other, especially matcha’s more delicate green if hojicha residue carries over first.

    Which milk works best for holding the layers apart visually? A slightly thicker milk, whole dairy or a barista-formulated oat milk, holds a cleaner layer than a thinner milk like skim or standard almond, since viscosity affects how well the layers resist mixing on contact. Pouring slowly over the back of a spoon matters more than the milk choice itself, but a thicker milk gives you a bit more forgiveness if your pour isn’t perfectly gentle.

    Can this be made without dairy or any milk at all, just the two teas together? Yes, though without milk in the middle the layering effect mostly disappears, since matcha and hojicha bases are similar enough in density to blend together on contact. If you want the flavor combination without the visual layering, simply whisking both bases together directly works fine.

    Where I Landed

    The appeal of combining matcha and hojicha isn’t really about one being better than the other, it’s that they highlight each other by contrast. Matcha’s brightness makes hojicha’s roastiness read as even warmer, and hojicha’s depth makes matcha’s vegetal edge taste sharper and more distinct than it does on its own. That’s a genuinely different experience than either tea delivers solo, and it’s worth trying at least once even if you already have a clear favorite between the two.

    Once you’ve made the classic layered version, the rest of this list, the caramel variation, the hot chocolate hybrid, the fruit pairings, are all easy to riff on from there using the same basic technique of whisking each base separately before combining them. If you want to go deeper on either tea individually before combining them, a good culinary-grade matcha and a well-roasted hojicha are worth having on hand as your baseline starting points.