We love chai in the fall – that cozy, spiced aroma hits different when the air turns crisp. This season, we’ve been pairing our Houjicha with warming chai spices, and it’s become our new favorite ritual.
Houjicha is a roasted Japanese green tea with a soothing, earthy flavor and toasty aroma. Ours is grown organically in Japan’s Tenryu District, where the first-flush tea leaves are roasted to a warm reddish-brown hue. The result? A medium-roast tea that’s rich in antioxidants and L-theanine, with flavor notes of coffee, puffed rice, and cacao – and less caffeine than matcha.
When paired with ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and a drizzle of maple syrup, it transforms into our dream fall drink: the HoujiChai. It’s creamy, spiced, and deeply comforting – a hug in a mug you’ll want on repeat all season long.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1.5 tsp Matchaful Houjicha
- 5 fl oz oat milk (or your preferred milk)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp vanilla powder or extract
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg powder
RECIPE:
- Make houjicha shot. Add houjicha into a whisking bowl. Add 2 fl oz of 180º water. With a bamboo whisk, briskly create “W” or “M” shape motions until frothy.
- For a hot latte, add the remaining ingredients to a saucepan or pot until warm. Mix or froth until homogeneous. Add houjicha shot to the bottom of a hot cup, and pour steamed milk mixture over houjicha shot.
- For a cold latte, add the remaining ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake until well mixed. Pour milk mixture into an iced cup, and add houjicha shot on top.