Hojicha is having a moment, and we are pleased about it. For years it sat quietly behind matcha on Japanese tea menus. Now it is appearing everywhere, and people who have never tried it are asking us what it is. Here is the honest comparison.
They start in the same place
Both come from Camellia sinensis, the same plant behind every true tea. What separates them is everything that happens after the leaf is picked.
Matcha is made from tencha, leaf that is shaded for several weeks before harvest, then dried, destemmed, and stone ground into a fine powder. You consume the entire leaf, suspended in water.
Hojicha is made from green tea leaf, and often stem, that is roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal. The roasting turns the leaves from green to a warm reddish brown, and you steep it like any loose leaf tea rather than drinking the leaf itself.
How they taste
Matcha is vegetal and savory, with a sweetness that comes from shading and a full, almost creamy body from the suspended powder. Good matcha tastes green in a way nothing else does.
Hojicha is the opposite in almost every respect. Roasting removes the grassy character entirely and replaces it with something toasty, nutty, and faintly caramel. It is smooth, low in astringency, and comforting in a way that requires no acquired taste at all. People who say they do not like green tea very often like hojicha immediately.
Caffeine
This is the practical difference that matters most.
Roasting reduces caffeine considerably. Hojicha is low enough that it is a normal evening drink in Japan, often served to children and after dinner. Matcha, because you consume the whole leaf, sits at the higher end for tea.
If you love the ritual of tea but not being awake at midnight, hojicha is the answer.
How to make each
Matcha. Sift, whisk with water at 175 degrees Fahrenheit using a bamboo chasen, paste first and then the rest of the water.
Hojicha. Far simpler. Roughly one teaspoon per eight ounces, water at about 195 degrees Fahrenheit, steep for thirty to sixty seconds. Because roasting has already removed most of the bitterness, hojicha is very difficult to over steep, which makes it forgiving in a way matcha never is.
Hojicha also makes an excellent latte. The roasted character stands up to milk beautifully and needs almost no sweetener.
Why now
Part of the current attention is simple discovery. Part of it is supply. As matcha demand has outrun what Japan can grow, some farms have converted fields toward tencha production, and a few houses have reduced their hojicha lines as a result. A roasted tea that was always there for comfort is suddenly newsworthy.
We still carry ours. Our Hojicha is made from first flush leaves grown organically in Uji, Japan, and roasted to a smooth, earthy finish. It is available from 20 grams up to 1 kilogram.
Which should you drink
Drink matcha in the morning when you want focus. Drink hojicha in the afternoon and evening when you want warmth. They are not competitors. Most people who love one end up keeping both.
Come taste them together at Tea Bar, 1055 Northwest Northrup.