Hojicha does not always need milk either.
Give it tonic instead.
A Hojicha Tonic is crisp, sparkling and slightly unexpected. The roasted, nutty character of hojicha sits against the bitterness and citrus of tonic water, creating something that feels somewhere between iced tea and a proper grown up aperitif.
No alcohol required.
No complicated ingredients.
And definitely no syrup needed to make it interesting.
Hojicha Tonic Recipe
Makes one drink
Hojicha: 3g Jeeves & Jericho Hojicha
Water: 30ml
Ingredients
3g Jeeves & Jericho Hojicha
30ml hot water
150ml tonic water, chilled
Plenty of ice
A slice of orange or lemon to garnish
Make the hojicha
Add 3g of Jeeves & Jericho Hojicha to a bowl.
Pour over 30ml of hot water.
Whisk until completely smooth.
Just like matcha, you want to create the tea base separately before building the rest of the drink.
It takes seconds and means you end up with smooth hojicha rather than little pockets of powder floating around your tonic.
Not quite the garnish we are going for.
Build the drink
Fill a tall glass generously with ice.
Pour in the chilled tonic water.
Slowly pour the prepared hojicha over the top.
You will see the deep roasted tea moving through the tonic as you pour.
Add a slice of orange or lemon.
Give it a gentle stir.
And that is it.
Hojicha. Tonic. Ice.
Very little effort for a drink with quite a lot going on.
Why does hojicha work with tonic?
On paper, roasted Japanese tea and tonic water might sound like an unusual combination.
In the glass, it makes much more sense.
Hojicha brings warm, nutty and toasted flavours with an almost caramel like depth.
Tonic brings bitterness, citrus and fizz.
Those contrasting flavours pull the drink in two directions.
The hojicha makes the tonic feel deeper and rounder.
The tonic makes the hojicha feel brighter and more refreshing.
Neither disappears.
That is the important bit.
What tonic water should I use?
Start with a good classic tonic.
You want enough bitterness and citrus to give the drink structure without completely overpowering the hojicha.
From there, experiment.
A lighter tonic can make the tea more prominent.
Something with stronger citrus notes can make the whole drink feel brighter.
You could even try an aromatic tonic if you want to take things in a more botanical direction.
Just remember that hojicha is the interesting ingredient here.
Give it some room.
Orange or lemon?
We like both.
Lemon makes the drink feel sharper and fresher.
Orange works particularly well with the deeper roasted flavours of hojicha and brings out some of its natural sweetness.
If you have both sitting around, make one of each.
Research is important.
Do I need to add sweetener?
Probably not.
Tonic water already contains sweetness, and hojicha has a naturally smooth roasted character.
Make the drink first.
Taste it.
Then decide.
If you are using a particularly dry tonic and want to soften things slightly, a small amount of simple syrup can work.
But we would keep it subtle.
This drink is supposed to have a little bite.
A different kind of café drink
One of the things we like most about hojicha is how much room there still is to experiment with it.
Matcha has already found its way into an extraordinary number of café drinks.
Hojicha is only just getting started.
A Hojicha Tonic gives you something completely different from another latte.
It is cold.
Sparkling.
Not particularly sweet.
And it lets the flavour of the tea sit right at the centre of the drink.
For customers looking for something interesting without coffee, milk or alcohol, that opens up a lot of possibilities.
Make it café ready
This is about as simple as café drinks get.
Prepare the hojicha.
Fill a glass with ice.
Add tonic.
Pour over the tea.
Garnish.
Serve.
There is very little preparation required, and the finished drink has enough character to stand comfortably alongside more elaborate options on a summer menu.
It also gives your team an easy way to introduce hojicha to someone who has never heard of it.
“What is a Hojicha Tonic?”
“Roasted Japanese tea with tonic.”
That usually gets the conversation started.
Make it your own
Add a sprig of rosemary for something more aromatic.
Try grapefruit instead of lemon.
Use sparkling water and a little citrus if tonic is not your thing.
Add fresh ginger for a bit of heat.
Or keep it exactly as it is.
Roasted tea.
Cold tonic.
Lots of ice.
Hojicha has a softer side.
This is what happens when you give it some fizz.