A Tale of Two Lattes
“It was the best of drinks, it was the worst of drinks, it was the age of oat milk, it was the age of bulletproof lattes, it was the epoch of taste, it was the epoch of creaminess, it was the season of sugar, it was the season of spice, it was the spring of deliciousness, it was the winter of everything nice. - Not Charles Dickens
I have been an avid tea drinking since I was 13 years old. I remember my parents coming home from a trip to China with all these little containers filled with exotic teas I never knew existed. Been hooked ever since.
Since green tea has always been my jam, I was excited to recently find out that there is a type that has managed to elude me all these years. So today, I am going to investigate hojicha, and see how it compares to my tried and true, matcha.
For these lattes, I utilized mad barista skills by using an electric milk frother. I added water + Silk extra creamy oat milk + honey + tea powder and then topped it off with frothy, honey sweet half & half on top.
A few years back, some of my lovely friends in Pittsburgh decided to show the world how matcha they love tea, by founding Ultra Matcha. The even sponsored my obstacle race a few years back to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation! Super flippin’ awesome people. I’ve been subscribing to them for years, and I start most days slurping up a delicious matcha-oatmilk-honey concoction. They recently opened a tea bar in Pittsburgh, Pa. If you love tea, plants and friendly folks, then Mosaic Leaf Tea House is your place.
Camellia sinensis
Camellia sinensis is the tropical/sub-tropical plant believed to have originated in China’s Yunnan province. It is where black, white, green, oolong and, Pu-Ehr tea come from. It is grown in many parts of the world, including China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and America. As legend has it, Shennong, Emperor of China discovered tea as a beverage around 2737 BC when tea leaves from a nearby tea tree fell into his cup of hot water. Why people were just drinking plain hot water at that time, no one knows. Another theory of origin credits early Buddhists, who travelled between India and China to share their culture and religion. Buddhist monks grew, harvested and produced tea similarly to the Catholic Church in European grew grapes to make Jesus juice. Green tea became popular in Japan around 1190, when Zen priests learned of this tasty drink from China’s Buddhist monasteries. China and Japan are the most prolific tea producers to this very day.
Green tea can either grow in full sun or partial shade. Shade-grown teas are generally associated with having more umami and higher amounts of L-Theanine, an amino acid correlated with feeling calm and relaxed. Japanese tea plants tend to be shade-grown. In most of the world, however, tea is grown in mostly sunny or naturally semi-shaded places.
Just like wine, it’s amazing how growing the same plant in different environments, aka “terroir”, can have an impact on the final flavor. Cool, shady mountainous regions or bright, hot and tropical? Do the plants grown near evergreen trees or sand?
Heat Treatment
This step of the process is what essentially divides the world of green tea into to categories. Once tea leaves are harvested, they are treated with heated. Depending the region, this means either by pan-firing (roasting) or steaming.
Green tea that is pan-roasted tends to have a toasty and nutty flavor. Tea leaves that are steamed tend to have a bright, fresh and sweet characteristic. Sometimes this heating process is called fermentation, which is actually a misnomer, since fermentation isn’t actually happening here. Tea, not pickles folks. The roasting method was developed by the Chinese and is the more common method, used in most parts of the world. The Japanese have mastered the method of steaming tea leaves.
Shaping and Drying
Once the desired level of oxidation is reached the tea leaves are shaped and dried. Drying halts the oxidation process. If the oxidation were to continue, you would then get black tea.
You can see all kinds of shapes in tea leaves ranging from a pellet shape (Gunpowder) to long thin strands (Sencha). Other times, shape may not matter at all, and the whole tea leaf is ground into a fine powder. This power is called matcha. Matcha is made from sencha, which refers to steamed tea leaves that are rolled into long, thin strands. The Japanese have refined the art of making this unique tea type. When you drink matcha you aren’t just drinking leaf water, you’re consuming the entire leaf. Since green leafy greens are super good for you, this is great news! Consuming the whole tea leaf also ups the caffeine, which makes this the perfect pick me up.
Hojicha tea refers to green tea whose final step includes roasting over a high heat. This final step turns the green leaves into a rich chocolatey brown color, and imparts a nutty and smooth flavor. The leaves can further be ground into a power, just like matcha.
The Final Verdict
Even though we are talking about green tea, matcha and hojicha produce two very different green tea lattes. Matcha will always be a part of my morning ritual. I’ll also continue to use it as a pick me up when I need a jolt of caffeine.
Hojicha is like a warm, relaxing hug in a mug. This is the perfect beverage for those who aren’t crazy about the vegetal flavor of green tea, or when you want something warm and comforting sans caffeine.
When it comes to other culinary uses, both are fantastic options. Hojicha whipped cream? Matcha cheesecake? Yum all around.
