Hojicha Roasted Evening Latte
Roasted hojicha simmered into a milky, low-caffeine latte sweetened with maple and a pinch of cinnamon—a cozy nighttime wellness ritual for restless minds.
Hojicha is Japanese green tea that has been roasted over charcoal, which transforms its character completely. The high-heat roasting burns off most of the caffeine and bitter catechins, leaving toasty, nutty, almost caramel-like notes that make it the gentlest tea in the Japanese canon.
Because hojicha contains only about a third of the caffeine of sencha, it is the traditional Japanese choice for after dinner and for children — a tea you can drink in the evening without worrying about sleep.
Roasted teas adore dairy and dairy alternatives. Whole milk, oat milk, and barista almond milk all turn hojicha into a hot-chocolate-adjacent latte that satisfies sweet cravings without the sugar crash. Maple syrup pushes it even further toward dessert-in-a-cup territory.
Drink this an hour before bed as a wind-down ritual. The low caffeine, warm milk, and toasted aromatics all signal the body to settle — it is the Japanese answer to the western 'golden milk' or chamomile-and-honey wind-down sip.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp hojicha leaves (or 1.5 tsp hojicha powder)
- 200 ml whole milk or oat milk
- 100 ml water
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- Pinch of fine sea salt
How to make it
- 1If using leaves: bring the water and milk to a bare simmer in a small saucepan, then drop in the hojicha leaves and turn off the heat. Steep 4 minutes.
- 2If using powder: heat the milk and water to 90°C, then whisk the hojicha powder in with a chasen or small frother until fully dissolved.
- 3Strain (for leaf method) into a warmed mug.
- 4Stir in maple syrup, cinnamon, and the pinch of salt — the salt rounds out the roasted notes without making the drink taste savory.
- 5Serve immediately while still gently steaming. For extra foam, blend in a milk frother for 5 seconds before pouring.
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