What Is Hojicha? Roasted Green Tea, Caffeine & Hojicha vs Matcha

Hojicha is a Japanese green tea that has been roasted, which turns it reddish-brown and gives it a warm, toasty, almost caramel flavor with very little bitterness or caffeine. It is made mostly from later-harvest leaves and stems, then roasted over high heat, a technique a Kyoto tea merchant is said to have started in the 1920s to use up leftover leaf. The result is one of the most comforting, low-caffeine teas in the Japanese repertoire.

Here is what hojicha is, how it compares to matcha, and how to brew it.

What is hojicha?

Hojicha (焙じ茶, sometimes written houjicha) is a roasted Japanese green tea. Most green teas are steamed and dried but never roasted, keeping them green and grassy. Hojicha takes that same tea, usually bancha (leaves from later harvests) or kukicha (stems), and roasts it over high heat until it turns a warm reddish-brown. That roast is the whole story: it transforms a sharp green tea into something smooth, toasty, and mellow.

The style is often traced to 1920s Kyoto, where a merchant is said to have roasted surplus leaf rather than waste it, and discovered something people loved. Today it is an everyday tea across Japan, served after meals and to children and the elderly precisely because it is so gentle.

What does hojicha taste like?

Warm and toasty, with notes people describe as caramel, roasted nuts, and a hint of cocoa or wood. Because roasting burns off much of the astringency, hojicha has almost none of the grassy bitterness of sencha or matcha. It is naturally a little sweet, smooth, and easy to drink black, no milk or sugar needed, though it also makes a beautiful latte.

Hojicha vs matcha

They come from the same plant but sit at opposite ends of the spectrum. Matcha is shade-grown, stone-milled, and whisked; hojicha is roasted and steeped. If matcha is bright and intense, hojicha is warm and calming.

Neither is better, they are for different moments. Many people drink matcha in the morning for its steady, focused energy and switch to hojicha in the evening. If caffeine is your main concern, see our guide to low-caffeine Japanese teas.

How much caffeine is in hojicha?

Not much. A cup of hojicha holds roughly 7 to 20 mg of caffeine, compared with about 30 to 50 mg for sencha and around 95 mg for a cup of coffee. Two things keep it low: roasting, and the fact that hojicha is made from later-harvest leaves and stems that start out lower in caffeine than young shaded buds.

Hojicha benefits

Hojicha carries the same broad appeal as other green teas, with a couple of its own quirks. It contains antioxidants and the amino acid L-theanine, which research associates with a calm, relaxed focus. Its low caffeine makes it easy to enjoy late in the day, and its low astringency makes it gentle on the stomach, part of why it is traditionally served to children and after meals in Japan. As with any tea, effects vary from person to person, and hojicha is a drink to enjoy, not a remedy.

How to make hojicha

Loose leaf, hot: use about 1 tablespoon of leaf per cup, water just off the boil (around 195°F / 90°C, hojicha likes it hotter than green tea), and steep 30 to 60 seconds. It is forgiving, so it rarely turns bitter.

Hojicha latte: whisk 1 teaspoon of hojicha powder with a little hot water, then top with steamed milk. Toasty and comforting, like a caffeine-light chai.

Iced: brew it double-strength and pour over ice, or shake the powder with cold milk.

Hojicha powder vs loose leaf

Loose-leaf hojicha is steeped and strained, giving a clean, tea-like cup. Hojicha powder is the whole roasted leaf ground fine, so you drink all of it, which makes it ideal for lattes, baking, and vivid color in recipes. For everyday drinking, either works; for lattes and cooking, reach for the powder. Explore our organic hojicha powder and the rest of our low-caffeine teas.

Frequently asked questions

Is hojicha the same as matcha?

No. Both come from the tea plant, but matcha is shade-grown and stone-milled into a vivid green powder, while hojicha is roasted, giving it a brown color, a toasty flavor, and much less caffeine.

Does hojicha have caffeine?

Yes, but very little, roughly 7 to 20 mg per cup versus about 95 mg for coffee. Roasting and the use of older leaves and stems keep it low, which is why hojicha is a popular evening tea.

What does hojicha taste like?

Warm, toasty, and slightly sweet, with notes of caramel and roasted nuts and almost none of the grassy bitterness of other green teas.

Is hojicha good for you?

It offers the antioxidants and L-theanine common to green tea, with low caffeine and low astringency that make it gentle and easy to drink. Enjoy it as part of a balanced routine rather than as a health treatment.

Can I drink hojicha at night?

For most people, yes. Its low caffeine makes it one of the better teas for the evening. If you are very sensitive, brew it a little weaker or shorter.

Hojicha powder or loose leaf, which should I buy?

Loose leaf for clean, steeped cups; powder for lattes, iced drinks, and baking, where you want the whole roasted leaf and its color.

Roasted, gentle, ours

We source our organic hojicha direct from Japan, roasted for that warm, toasty character, from the same farms behind our matcha. It is the cup we reach for when the day is winding down. Explore our hojicha and low-caffeine teas and find your evening ritual.

May you become one with tea, one with yourself.