How to Make an Amazing Hojicha Milk Tea at Home?

People are crazy about Hojicha tea in Japan. This roasted green tea has a fan base in the country (and I believe soon around the world), due to its irresistible aroma. Thanks to modernization, someone had the ingenious idea of mixing hojicha with boba pearls, and now, we have Hojicha Milk Tea; one of the yummiest drinks ever! 

Many people do not know how to make hojicha boba at home as its recipe is not quite commonly prepared (and many people may not have even heard of it!). 

So, to rectify this, we are sharing an easy recipe to make hojicha bubble tea at home using hojicha tea powder. 

Also...Did you know Hojicha Green Tea is low in caffeine?

That means you will be able to enjoy it late at night without worrying about your sleep!

This makes it hands down one of my favorite boba tea flavors!

What is Hojicha Green Tea?

Out of all the Japanese green teas, hojicha is the most unique one. Instead of the usual machine trimming, Hojicha green tea is a Japanese roasted green tea! 

It is prepared by roasting the sencha or bancha leaves with kukicha twigs in a porcelain pot over charcoal at a temperature of 302° F or 150° C. This not only prevents oxidation but also leaves a beautiful light golden color or sometimes a reddish-brown color.

Other green teas are steamed. This is the main difference between the regular green tea leaves and Hojicha.

Lacking the bitterness of some green teas, Hojicha tea has a toasty, sweet, and nutty flavor.

Totally delicious! 

What is Hojicha Bubble Tea?

Now, let’s talk about the star of this article, hojicha bubble tea.

It is a beautiful blend of Japanese hojicha green tea and the yummy boba pearls we all love. The taste of lightly sweetened tapioca is intensified when mixed with hojicha tea. 

People love to have hojicha bubble tea in the form of iced milk tea. The caramelized flavors of the boba pearls blend amazingly well when the Hojicha bubble tea is shaken, making you crave it even more. 

How to Make Hojicha Milk Tea at Home?

So you’ve made it this far and we haven’t lost you! It is pretty evident you want to taste this hojicha boba as soon as possible! 

However, not many bubble tea shops carry this milk tea flavor...

Want to know a little secret? 

You can easily make Hojicha boba tea at home! Let us show you how...

By the way, the recipe below assumes you already have tapioca pearls (see our recommendation below). However, if you are courageous enough you can try making some boba pearls from scratch! 

Equipment

• Saucepan
  
  
• Heat-proof Spatula
  
  
• Slotted Spoon
  
  
• Airtight Container (a mason jar)
  
  
• A measuring cup or bowl
  
  
• Pitcher
  
  
• A reusable boba cup

Ingredient List

For the Brown Sugar Syrup

• 1 cup of dark brown sugar
  
  
• 1/2 cup of brown tapioca pearls 
  
  
• 1 cup  of water

You can get tapioca pearls easily from Amazon. This 250-gram pack of 2 should suffice. We recommend these chewy tapioca pearls because they are consistently good, and have a slight sweetness to them. This means that when you mix them with the sugar syrup they will not be overly sweet.

If you haven’t tried organic dark brown sugar yet, you can buy this one from Amazon. Not only is it organic, but your taste buds will love its rich natural molasses flavors.

For the Hojicha Milk Tea

• 2½ tbsp of Hojicha Powder
  
  
• 1½ (or 375 mL) cup of cold milk or any non-dairy alternative 
  
  
• ¼ cup of cold water

You can buy Hojicha Powder from Amazon. The one that we have recommended below has neither any extra additives nor any artificial colors. 

Preparation Method

Brown Sugar Syrup

1. In a saucepan, mix 1 cup of water with the dark brown sugar. Keep the flame over medium-high heat and keep stirring the water.
   
   
2. Once the syrup is boiling add the cold tapioca pearls to the sugar syrup. You can use a slotted spoon to do so.
   Note: make sure the pearls that you get are cooked tapioca pearls! Uncooked pearls will need to be boiled first, please follow the packaging instructions!
   
   
3. Reduce the flame to medium and wait until the syrup boils again with the tapioca pearls.
   
   
4. Lower the heat to low and cook for 3-5 minutes while stirring, until the pearls turn translucent. 
   
   
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it sit for around 5 minutes or so.
   
   
6. Once the dark brown sugar syrup with tapioca pearls have cooled down, transfer them  to an airtight container. 

The Hojicha Milk Tea

1. Add the 2½ tbsp of  Hojicha green tea powder in a measuring cup or a small bowl.
   
   
2. Slowly pour the cold water into the powder. We use cold water for making ice teas.
   
    
3. Whisk vigorously and ensure that the powder is well dissolved into the water. Since we aren’t using warm water, whisking will be required to make the hojicha tea concentrate.
   
   
4. Now, add 1½ cup of milk to the pitcher.
   
   
5. Add the whisked Hojicha tea concentrate into the milk pitcher, then stir the mixture. If you do not want to prepare drinks right now, you can keep the mix in the refrigerator for later use. 

The Hojicha Bubble Tea  

Now that the brown sugar syrup and hojicha milk tea are ready, we will assemble them to make the hojicha boba tea. 

1. Take two glasses and add 3-4 tbsp of boba pearls and brown sugar syrup into both glasses.
   
   
2. Make sure you tilt and rotate the glasses while adding the boba pearls and dark sugar syrup. This will create beautiful stripes of dark brown color around the length of your glasses.
   
   
3. Gently add ice in both glasses so that the glasses get halfway full (or less ice, up to you!).
   
   
4. Now, pour the hojicha milk tea in both glasses and serve cold. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom Line

I really hope you will try making this fantastic hojicha boba tea at home. 

If you do, then leave us a comment, and share this article if you liked it. 

Also make sure you check our classic milk tea, taro milk tea, honeydew milk tea and jasmine milk tea recipes!