Hojicha Cold Brew: The 12-Hour Tea That's Better Than Iced Coffee (and Easier to Make)
Hojicha is roasted green tea. Cold-brewing it produces a drink that doesn't taste anything like the hot version — it's smoother, sweeter, less smoky, and significantly more refreshing in warm weather. It also has about half the caffeine of a regular iced coffee, which means you can drink it in the afternoon without ruining your sleep.
We don't carry hojicha yet, but our Peach Paradise is the closest caffeine-free herbal we have — it cold-brews into the same calm, sweet cup.
This post covers how to make hojicha cold brew at home, why it works as a summer drink, and how to adjust the strength to your taste.
Why hojicha is the best tea for cold brewing
Most green teas don't cold brew well. They get grassy, bitter, or thin. Black teas cold brew better but tend to be astringent. Hojicha is the exception.
Hojicha is made from tea leaves that have been roasted at high temperatures (around 200°C) for 10 to 15 minutes after the typical steaming and rolling of green tea production. The roasting does two things. First, it caramelizes the natural sugars in the leaf, which produces a sweet, almost biscuit-like flavor. Second, it removes most of the catechins (the astringent compounds in green tea), which means the brewed tea is naturally smoother than other green teas.
When you cold-brew hojicha, the lower water temperature extracts the sweet and roasted compounds without extracting the bitter compounds. The result is a tea that tastes like a roasted caramel with hints of cocoa and a clean finish — nothing like the smoky, sometimes bitter hot-brewed version.
The other reason hojicha works for cold brew: it has very low caffeine. Hot-brewed hojicha has about 8mg per 8-ounce cup, compared to 25 to 50mg for sencha and 40 to 70mg for black tea. Cold-brewing extracts even less caffeine, so a glass of hojicha cold brew has about 4 to 6mg of caffeine. That's less than a decaf coffee. You can drink it at 9pm and still sleep fine.
What you need
The tool list is short.
Hojicha tea leaves. Loose-leaf hojicha is best because the larger leaves give you more control over the strength. Tea bags work in a pinch but produce a thinner cup because the smaller leaf pieces release faster. A standard 200-gram bag of loose-leaf hojicha will make about 25 to 30 cold brews at the ratio below.
A pitcher or large jar. Anything that holds 1 to 2 liters and has a lid. A Mason jar, a French press, a stainless steel pitcher, or a dedicated cold-brew coffee maker all work. The lid matters because you don't want the tea absorbing fridge odors for 12 hours.
A fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. To separate the leaves from the finished tea. If you're using a French press, the built-in strainer does the job. If you're using a jar, you'll need a separate strainer for pouring.
Filtered water. Cold brew tastes more like the water than hot brew does, because the longer steeping extracts more of the water's mineral character. Use filtered water, not tap. If your tap water is hard, the cold brew will taste chalky.
The recipe
Ingredients:
- 30 grams (about 6 tablespoons) of loose-leaf hojicha
- 1 liter of cold filtered water
Instructions:
- Put the hojicha in the pitcher or jar.
- Pour the cold water over the leaves.
- Stir briefly to make sure all the leaves are wet.
- Cover and refrigerate for 10 to 14 hours. 12 hours is the sweet spot for most hojicha.
- Strain into a clean pitcher or directly into glasses.
- Serve over ice.
That's it. No heating. No special equipment. No second step. The total active time is about 90 seconds. The passive time is 12 hours.
Adjusting the strength
The base recipe above produces a medium-strength cold brew. If you want to adjust:
Stronger: Use 40 to 45 grams of tea per liter. The flavor gets more intense and the sweetness gets more pronounced. The drink starts to taste like a dessert.
Weaker: Use 20 grams per liter. The flavor is lighter and more delicate. Closer to a regular iced tea in strength.
Longer steep: Up to 18 hours produces a more extracted, almost syrupy drink. Beyond 18 hours, the tea starts to taste flat and the bitterness can creep in. Don't go past 20 hours.
Shorter steep: 8 hours produces a lighter, more delicate drink. Some people prefer this in summer when the cold brew gets used up quickly.
Hot brew + chill: If you forget to start the cold brew the night before, you can brew it hot and chill it. Use 30 grams of tea per liter of 175°F water, steep for 5 minutes, strain, then chill in the fridge for 2 hours. The flavor is slightly different from the cold-brewed version — a bit more roasted, a bit less smooth — but still very good.
How to serve it
Over ice, plain. The simplest way. The cold brew is sweet enough on its own for most palates, especially if you used the standard 30 grams per liter ratio.
With milk. Hojicha cold brew with milk is one of the best summer drinks. The milk softens the roasted notes and adds body. Oat milk is the best dairy-free option because its natural sweetness complements the hojicha. Use about 1 part milk to 3 parts cold brew.
With a sweetener. If you want it sweeter, honey is the best match. The honey's floral notes pair with the hojicha's roasted character. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons per glass. Simple syrup also works. Avoid artificial sweeteners — they introduce a chemical aftertaste that doesn't pair well with the natural sweetness of the tea.
As a cocktail base. Hojicha cold brew works as a low-caff cocktail base. Combine with bourbon, vanilla, and a small amount of simple syrup for a hojicha old fashioned. Or with gin, lemon, and honey for a hojicha Collins. The roasted notes pair especially well with bourbon and rye.
How long it keeps
Cold-brewed hojicha keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. After day 4, the flavor starts to fade and the brightness drops. If you're making a single liter on Sunday, drink it by Wednesday or Thursday.
You can also freeze it in ice cube trays. Hojicha cold brew ice cubes are a great way to keep iced drinks cold without diluting them — the cubes melt into more hojicha rather than water. Use them in cocktails, in plain glasses, or in matcha lattes for a hojicha-matcha fusion.
What it tastes like
The first time most people try hojicha cold brew, the reaction is surprise. It doesn't taste like iced tea. It doesn't taste like iced coffee. It tastes like its own thing — a smooth, slightly sweet, low-caffeine drink with notes of caramel, cocoa, and a clean finish. The closest reference point is a roasted barley tea or an iced café au lait, but the flavor is distinct.
The temperature matters. Hojicha cold brew served at fridge temperature (around 40°F) tastes crisper and brighter than the same brew at room temperature. The cold suppresses the smoky notes and brings out the sweetness. Serve it cold.
When to drink it
Hojicha cold brew is a year-round drink but shines in three windows:
Summer afternoons: The 2 to 4pm window when you want something cold and refreshing but don't want the caffeine of iced coffee. A glass of hojicha cold brew cools you down without keeping you up at night.
Post-workout: The combination of hydration, low caffeine, and natural sweetness makes it a better post-workout drink than most sports drinks, which are loaded with sugar and artificial flavors.
Late evening: When you want something warm-evening-cozy in flavor but don't want caffeine at 8pm. The cold brew can be gently reheated without becoming bitter, so you can have it hot or cold depending on the weather.
Common mistakes
Mistake 1: Using hot-brewed hojicha and just adding ice. It works, but the flavor is thinner and more bitter. Cold brewing extracts different compounds. If you have time, do the cold brew.
Mistake 2: Steeping in the sun. Some old-school recipes suggest steeping hojicha in a sunny window. This produces off-flavors and bacterial growth. Always cold brew in the fridge.
Mistake 3: Using too little tea. The standard ratio (30g/L) might look like a lot of leaves, but cold brew needs more leaf than hot brew because the extraction is less efficient. Don't reduce the leaf amount without also reducing the steep time.
Mistake 4: Reusing the leaves. Hojicha leaves used for cold brew don't have enough remaining compounds for a second steep. Compost them.
Mistake 5: Using flavored hojicha. Some flavored versions (vanilla hojicha, caramel hojicha) work fine, but artificially flavored versions taste chemical when cold brewed. Stick to plain hojicha and add your own flavoring if needed.
The takeaway
Hojicha cold brew is one of the easiest, most refreshing tea drinks you can make at home. The recipe is 30 grams of loose-leaf hojicha in 1 liter of cold filtered water, refrigerated for 12 hours. No heating, no special equipment, no decisions to make after the first time.
The drink is naturally sweet, naturally low in caffeine, and pairs equally well with milk, with honey, with bourbon, or with nothing. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, which means you can make a batch on Sunday and drink it through the week.
The mistakes to avoid: hot brewing when you have time to cold brew, using too little leaf, steeping in the sun, and reusing the leaves for a second steep. The reward: a drink that doesn't taste like anything else, with about 5mg of caffeine per glass and a smooth, sweet, roasted-caramel flavor.
If you've never made hojicha cold brew, this weekend's project is a single liter in the fridge before bed. By Sunday afternoon you'll have a pitcher of something you'll want to make every week.
How to brew hojicha properly (the hot-brewed version): /blogs/news/how-to-brew-hojicha-properly
Brew slow. Sip slow. Twelve hours of patience for a five-minute glass.