Good Taste: Pouring out love for Hojicha

Good Taste shows you where to stick your fork in the Bay. This week, we’re highlighting hojicha, which could be thought of as matcha’s lil sis.

I love a good matcha, but don’t actually drink it very often. Instead, I will often reach for hojicha, its charcoal-roasted sibling. Hojicha isn’t as photogenic, but it is much lower in caffeine, which makes for a gentler ride—I can drink a cup as late as 3pm and still get to sleep at night. Matcha is a car crash waiting to happen inside my brain.

The nutty, roasted flavor of hojicha works really well in desserts. Better than matcha, IMHO. My best-ever batch of homemade blueberry muffins, made in the early throes of staying home in 2020, had a teaspoon of milled hojicha in the batter.

I steep hojicha in milk and blend with frozen bananas and cocoa powder for the best morning beverage, an idea I jacked from Kiss of Matcha; theirs is better! If you’ve got a sweet tooth, try my recipe for Hojicha Almond Florentines that I developed for Food52. I’d imagine it would make a lovely broth for savory dishes as well, but I have yet to experiment.

My favorite new places in San Francisco are getting more attention for matcha or coffee drinks than hojicha. Shake it up a little and try the cream-topped Hojicha Einspänners at Jandii in Parkside, which is also the home of the amazing new best scone in town; the Richmond District’s vinyl-forward Kissaten HiFi, which serves “morning amplification” with Japanese and Filipino flavors; and Constance Tea & Matcha, the recently-opened shop (also in the Richmond) that touts a freshly-milled, triple-strength Reserve Matcha Latte for those who hate to sleep.

There are a handful of hojicha drinks around town worth highlighting from places that have been around a little or a lot longer, such as the cold brew Mizudashi at Stonemill Matcha in the Mission, the Black Sesame Hojicha Latte at Maruwu Seicha in Japan Center, and the party keg of Hojicha Oat Milk on tap sold at each U Dessert Story. Hojicha ice cream has also become popular in the area in recent years, thanks to places like Uji Time Dessert and Matcha Café Maiko in Japan Center and other locations.

And—brief rant on it has gotten really old to see dishes like matcha fettuccine on local menus, when it’s obvious that hojicha would be a much better choice. Let’s see some new ideas!

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