June 15, 2026 | Source: FOOD & WINE | by Micheline Maynard
While matcha has been enjoyed in Japan for around 800 years, the vividly hued green tea didn’t become widely popular in the United States until the 21st century. Matcha is traditionally consumed without milk and sugar — in contrast to what you often see on American café menus. Western consumers have infused matcha into an unimaginable array of beverages, from cold foam concoctions to strawberry lattes.
Now, another type of green tea is beginning to gain ground stateside, and like matcha, it’s evolving in culinary creations that depart from its roots. If you haven’t already spotted it at your nearest café, it’s time to meet hojicha.
This roasted green tea has a nutty taste and a lower caffeine content than matcha. It comes in two forms: conventional dried leaves that can be used to make brewed tea or a powdered version that’s prepared with a whisk like matcha.
Hojicha has a relatively shorter history than matcha in Japan — it was invented in the 1920s, likely as a way to use up leftover tea leaves and stems. Ippodo Tea Company, a family-run business founded in Kyoto in 1717, has been selling versions of hojicha since the 1930s.
