Everyone already knows about matcha. This one is for people who want to go one level deeper.
I have a soft spot for the thing that arrives just after the trend.
Matcha had its moment, or really its years, and it earned every bit of the attention it got. The flavour is genuinely complex, the colour is genuinely beautiful, and the combination of caffeine and L-theanine genuinely does something different to your nervous system than espresso does. I’m not here to argue against matcha.
But here’s the thing about trends: when everyone is making the same green drink, the person who wants to go a little further starts looking around for what comes next.
What comes next is hojicha. And it’s been sitting quietly in Japanese tea tradition for decades, waiting for the world to catch up.
What it is, properly
Hojicha is made from green tea leaves (the same plant as matcha) that have been roasted at high heat, traditionally in a porcelain pot over charcoal. That roasting process is what makes it entirely different from anything else in the tea world.
The heat turns the leaves from green to a warm reddish-brown. It also helps keep the cup mild: hojicha is usually made from later-harvest leaves and stems, so it generally carries much less caffeine than matcha. And it creates a flavour profile that has no real parallel: toasty, warm, slightly caramel, with a smokiness that sits at the back of the palate rather than upfront.
It doesn’t taste like green tea. It barely tastes like tea at all, to someone trying it for the first time. It tastes more like a warm drink invented for cold mornings and slow afternoons: earthy in the best way, comforting without being heavy, complex without requiring any effort to enjoy.
Why cafés are starting to pay attention
Matcha became hard to source in 2025. Demand ran ahead of supply, prices went up, and many cafés that had built menus around it found good matcha harder to get. The specialty world started looking for alternatives that could carry the same weight: visually interesting, a little different, capable of being steamed and layered and photographed beautifully.
Hojicha does all of this and more. The colour, a warm amber-brown, is distinctive enough to stand out on a menu and on a grid. It steams well, creating a creamy latte that’s gentler than matcha and more approachable for people who find green tea slightly bitter. And it comes with a story of its own: a traditional Japanese tea with a long history, not something invented for a seasonal menu.
How it tastes as a latte
I’ve had hojicha three ways: as a straight tea, as a hot latte, and as an iced one over milk with a thin layer of roasted hojicha powder dusted on top.
The hot latte is the one I keep coming back to. Steamed milk softens the roasted edges and brings out the caramel notes that sit underneath. It tastes sweet even without added sugar, because the roasting gives it that natural, toasty sweetness. And it’s warming in a way that goes beyond temperature: the flavour itself feels like a cold-weather drink, even when I’ve had it in the middle of summer.
The iced version is different: lighter, slightly more bitter, cleaner. Good in its own way. But the heat is where hojicha really lives.
What it pairs with
This is where it gets interesting. Hojicha’s roasted, slightly smoky character makes it a better food pairing than almost anything else in the café world. It goes beautifully with anything that has brown butter or caramel in it. Excellent with dark chocolate. Surprisingly good with soft cheese. Remarkable with a plain croissant whose butter has been properly browned.
In Japan, hojicha is often poured with or after a meal, partly because its gentle, roasted taste feels easy on the palate.
In a café context, it’s the drink that makes the pastry better. That’s a specific and valuable thing.
Where to find it in India
It’s starting to appear. Some specialty cafés in cities like Bangalore and Mumbai have begun putting hojicha lattes on their menus, though it’s still far from common. If yours hasn’t yet, ask them. Cafés that stock Japanese teas may have it somewhere, and baristas who care about their craft are usually happy to make something with it if you show genuine curiosity.
Or, and this is the option I find most satisfying: buy loose hojicha leaves or powder and make it at home. One cup, one morning, your own corner. No queue required.
Your turn
Have you had hojicha yet, or are you still firmly in the matcha camp?
roasted or green, pick a side
Tell me in the comments →
