Hojicha and Genmaicha: Matcha's Roasted Cousins You Should Know

Everyone knows matcha. But in Japan the powdered tea family is bigger - and its two roasted cousins deserve a place on your shelf.

Hojicha: the Japanese caramel 🍂

Hojicha is green tea roasted at high temperature. The roasting transforms everything: the green turns chestnut brown, the astringency disappears and notes of caramel, hazelnut and sweet wood emerge. The process also greatly reduces the caffeine - which is why in Japan it is drunk in the afternoon too, and even served to children.

Genmaicha: the popcorn one 🍿

Genmaicha blends green tea with toasted brown rice. The result literally smells like popcorn, with a comforting flavour somewhere between cereal and toasted nuts. It began as the 'people's tea' (the rice stretched out the tea, which was expensive) and ended up a classic in its own right.

How to prepare them

Exactly like matcha: 2 g, water at 80 °C, whisk and - especially with hojicha - froth with milk. The hojicha latte is probably the most comforting drink in our whole catalogue, and a perfect alternative to the afternoon coffee.

Both are 100% natural, with no added sugar, and belong to our classics collection alongside the Japanese Matcha Premium.