Hojicha Tea: The Perfect Evening tea with Little Caffeine

I had been into matcha tea for several years. I would consume it first thing in the morning as a bowl, and sometimes even have my matcha latte in the middle of the day. However, in the evening hours things would become difficult. There was seemingly no better solution to end the day but to have a drink. By 7 pm I surely did not want to drink any hot water with a teabag; I preferred a nice relaxing drink such as matcha tea but until then my sleepless nights continued because of matcha.

About What Hojicha Tastes Like

First, many people do not even know about such a product. When you mention Japanese tea, they instantly imagine something like matcha green tea. Indeed, they think that all such products should be grassy, a bit nutty, and quite bitter. But hojicha is not your ordinary kind of tea.

As mentioned above, hojicha undergoes some sort of roasting process. The leaves are roasted using charcoal at high temperatures but for a rather short period of time. The Hojicha has a roasted, nutty, cacao taste but is less bitter and smooth.

Indeed the Caffeine Factor

A cup of Hojicha green tea contains between 5 and 15 milligrams of caffeine content. On the contrary, drinking of matcha early in the day may yield 40 to 70 mg of caffeine, while an espresso coffee yields 60 to 80mg Hojicha is closer to a ripe banana in terms of stimulant effect — technically present, practically irrelevant for most people.

The roasting is why. Caffeine gets destroyed by heat. The higher and longer the roasting process goes on, the lower will be the amount of caffeine that survives it. In fact, a good roast will leave almost none behind—which is why it was done in the first place.

And yet, this aspect cannot be underestimated. Sleep researchers consistently point to caffeine consumed after 2pm as one of the main culprits for disrupted sleep quality — even in people who "don't feel the effects." Hojicha tea sidesteps that problem entirely. You get the ritual, the warmth, and the intention — none of the 1am staring at the ceiling.

Making It at Home Takes About Three Minutes

People assume hojicha tea powder requires some elaborate setup. It doesn't.

Measure out one and a half teaspoons into your chawan. Add around 80ml of water that's hot but not furiously boiling — somewhere around 85°C, though hojicha is genuinely forgiving if you're not precise. Whisk it with your bamboo chasen in a W or M motion until it dissolves and gets a bit of froth on top. That's it.

If you want a latte — and the hojicha latte is worth making at least once — just add steamed oat milk after whisking. The roasted sweetness of the hojicha plays incredibly well with oat milk specifically. It becomes this warm, nutty, slightly caramel drink that honestly beats most café versions I've tried in Dubai.

In summer, make it iced. Small amount of hot water to dissolve the hojicha powder, poured straight over ice with cold milk. Completely different experience and works surprisingly well for a city where it's 38 degrees in May.

Where Hojicha Fits Next to Matcha

This isn't an either/or situation. People who love organic Japanese matcha in the morning often become the biggest hojicha fans by evening — because they're not the same drink doing the same job.

Matcha is functional and focused. This is what you consume when you seek mental clarity and energy. When you desire an intentional start to your day, then you will find the blend of L-theanine and caffeine from the Japanese matcha green tea very beneficial.

This is hojicha, which is the inhalation form of the beverage. You consume this drink when your day is about to end. The act of stirring the beverage for three minutes can be therapeutic in itself.

They belong in the same collection. Not competing — just covering different hours of the day.

Why It Works Particularly Well Here in Dubai

Dubai is a city that runs fast. Long working days, late dinners, and a social culture that keeps people going well past 10pm. Most people here have already figured out that coffee after 5pm is a bad idea. Matcha gets cut off around mid-afternoon for the same reason.

But evenings still want something. Something warm that feels considered, not just functional. Something you prepare with a little bit of care rather than drop a bag into a mug and forget about.

Hojicha tea fills that gap in a way nothing else quite does. It's warm, low caffeine, deeply satisfying, and the ritual of preparing it has its own calming quality even before you take the first sip. For people building any kind of mindful evening routine in a city that doesn't always slow down naturally — this is a simple, practical, genuinely enjoyable way to do it.

What to Look for When Buying Hojicha in the UAE

Not all hojicha tea you'll find is worth buying. A few things separate a genuinely good hojicha powder from average:

• Japanese origin—Okayama, Kagoshima, and Uji produce the most consistently excellent hojicha

• Ceremonial grade — means the leaves were quality enough to eat whole, not just steep and discard

• Color—good hojicha powder is a warm reddish-brown, not muddy grey or pale

• Smell — should smell roasted and slightly sweet when you open the packet, not stale or flat

• Fine grind — dissolves cleanly when whisked, no grit left at the bottom of the bowl

Our Okayama ceremonial roasted hojicha powder ticks all of these. Sourced from southern Japan, roasted to bring out that caramel depth, and ground fine enough that it behaves exactly the way you want it to — whether you're making a straight ceremonial bowl or an evening latte.

Conclusion

That's genuinely all it takes. Replace whatever you're drinking in the evenings with hojicha tea for one week and see what happens to how you feel going to bed. Most people who try it don't go back to evening caffeine. The ritual becomes part of how the day ends, and the sleep usually improves alongside it.

Hojicha isn't a trend. It's been part of Japanese tea culture for centuries. It just took the rest of the world a while to catch up.