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Matcha has a challenger, and it's browner, nuttier, and easier on your stomach.
Hojicha is roasted green tea, and in 2026 it's the drink everyone in tea is suddenly talking about. Cafes are putting hojicha lattes right next to the matcha, and a lot of people are quietly deciding they like the roasted one better. I tried my first hojicha latte at Casa Hindie in Mazatlan Mexico, and it was instant love.
Hojicha powder gives you that same creamy latte experience as matcha, without the grassy bite and without the caffeine jolt. It's toasty, almost like caramel and roasted nuts, and it's low enough in caffeine that you can drink it at night. Here's what hojicha actually is, why it's having a moment, and the exact powder I'd put in your cart.
Hojicha (ほうじ茶) is green tea that's been roasted over high heat. That roasting is the whole story. It turns the leaf from green to reddish brown, burns off most of the caffeine, and swaps the vegetal matcha flavor for something warm and toasty.
Powdered hojicha is just that roasted leaf ground fine, the same way matcha is. You whisk it into hot water or milk and drink the whole leaf, so you get a fuller, creamier cup than you'd get from steeping and straining.
Three reasons, and they all matter.
It's low caffeine. The roasting strips most of it out, so hojicha is the rare powder you can drink in the afternoon or evening without wrecking your sleep. If you love the matcha-latte ritual but hate the 3pm crash, this is the fix.
It's gentle on your stomach. Matcha on an empty stomach can be rough. Hojicha is naturally lower in the compounds that cause that, so it sits easier.
It tastes like fall. Toasty, nutty, a little sweet on its own. It needs almost no sugar to taste like a treat, which is more than I can say for a lot of matcha lattes.
Why the powder, not the loose leaf? You can brew loose-leaf hojicha and it's lovely. But if you're here because of the latte trend, you want the powder. It's what gets you the creamy, cafe-style cup, because you're drinking the whole roasted leaf instead of straining it out. It's also faster. Whisk, pour milk, done.
My pick is the Kimikura Organic Hojicha Powder, a culinary-grade roasted green tea powder from Shizuoka, Japan.
Shizuoka is one of Japan's benchmark tea regions, and that origin is the main reason I'd point a beginner here. You're not gambling on a generic blend. Culinary grade is also exactly right for lattes, where the milk does some of the work and you don't need to pay up for a delicate ceremonial powder.
Why it works: it's organic and single-origin, which is rarer than it should be at this price. The roast is even, so you get the toasty, nutty flavor hojicha is known for without a scorched, ashy edge that cheaper powders sometimes have. And a little goes a long way, so one bag lasts.
Who it's for: anyone curious about the hojicha trend who wants to start at home instead of paying cafe prices every day. It's especially good if you're caffeine sensitive, drink your tea late, or you've bounced off matcha for being too grassy or too harsh. If you want something ceremonial to whisk and sip on its own, you'll eventually want to spend more. For lattes, this is the sweet spot.
Use about 1 teaspoon of powder per cup. Add a splash of hot water (not boiling, aim for around 175°F so you don't scorch it) and whisk until smooth. Heat and froth your milk, pour it in, and sweeten only if you want to. Honey or a little maple syrup is all it needs.
Temperature matters more than people think, which is the same reason I'm picky about kettles. If you want to get it right, start with my guide to the Ideal Electric Kettles for Tea: 2026 Edition.
And because hojicha is low caffeine, it's earned a spot in my evening rotation right next to the other wind-down teas I wrote about in What's in Sleepytime Tea That Makes You Sleepy?
One last thing. Roasted powders lose their aroma fast once they're open, so store it airtight and away from light. I covered exactly how to do that in Best Tea Storage.
Hojicha isn't a matcha replacement so much as the other half of the ritual. Matcha for the morning, hojicha for the night. Try it once and you'll see why it's everywhere this year.