Iced Hojicha with Cinnamon (Printable version)

A creamy blend of roasted hojicha tea with milk and cinnamon for a refreshing Japanese-inspired chilled drink.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Tea

01 - 2 tablespoons hojicha loose leaf tea or 2 hojicha tea bags
02 - 2 cups water

→ Dairy & Sweetener

03 - 1 cup milk, dairy or plant-based such as oat or almond milk
04 - 1 to 2 teaspoons honey or simple syrup, optional

→ Garnish

05 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
06 - Ice cubes as needed

# Directions:

01 - Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or saucepan. Add hojicha tea leaves or tea bags, reduce heat to low, and steep for 5 minutes until the tea develops a rich, roasted aroma.
02 - Strain the tea into a heatproof pitcher through a fine mesh strainer if using loose leaf tea. Allow to cool to room temperature, or refrigerate for 10 minutes for faster chilling.
03 - Fill two tall glasses with ice cubes, filling each glass approximately three-quarters full.
04 - Pour the cooled hojicha tea over the ice, filling each glass halfway to allow room for milk and garnish.
05 - Pour 1/2 cup of milk into each glass and stir gently. Add honey or simple syrup to taste if desired, stirring until fully incorporated.
06 - Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon into each glass and stir gently to distribute the spice throughout the beverage.
07 - Top each glass with an additional pinch of ground cinnamon for visual appeal and serve immediately while the ice is still intact.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's ready in 15 minutes but tastes like you found it at a café in Kyoto.
  • The roasted tea flavor is comforting without being heavy, and cinnamon adds just enough spice to make it feel intentional.
  • Works with any milk you have on hand, so nobody gets left out of this one.
02 -
  • Don't steep the hojicha longer than 5 minutes or it gets a weird bitter taste that defeats the whole point of this being smooth and easy to drink.
  • The milk matters more than you'd think, so taste as you pour it in rather than following a strict ratio, because different milks mix differently and your preference is the only one that counts.
03 -
  • Make hojicha in the morning and keep it chilled all day so you can pour a glass whenever the mood strikes, and the flavor actually becomes more balanced as it sits.
  • If you can't find loose leaf hojicha, regular hojicha tea bags work fine, just make sure the bags aren't full of dust and broken pieces, that's a sign they're old.
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