This recipe for Hojicha Roasted Green Tea Milk Jam Spread yields a creamy and delicious condiment full of smoky tea flavour. Use it on toast or pancakes!

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On our trip to Hawaii, I came across the Japanese grocery store Mitsuwa Marketplace and discovered a green tea, hojicha.

I bought a box of it to try in our hotel and needless to say, I was hooked.

What is hojicha?

Hojicha is a roasted green tea. It gets its distinctive reddish brown colour which differs from other green teas such matcha, since the tea leaves are roasted over charcoal.

Because of the high temperatures during roasting, hojicha loses much of its caffeine content, which makes it a suitable tea for the elderly and children to consume.

That being said, it also loses much of its antioxidants and doesn't contain as much polyphenols as matcha green tea.

I loved the deep, slightly smoky, caramel-like flavour that was from the hojicha that I purchased, so I returned the next day to grab a few more boxes to bring back home.

I knew I wanted to make a concentrated, roasted hojicha milk jam that's smoky and strong, similar to my Matcha Milk Jam and Earl Grey Milk Jam.

Ingredients you'll need

There are only a few ingredients in my hojicha milk jam, which is mirrored on my original Matcha Milk Jam recipe.

You'll need:

hojicha tea powder: see below on my recommendation
granulated sugar: adds a little sweetness
whole milk: can't have milk jam without milk!
heavy cream: use a higher % milk fat (I like 36%) to add creaminess to the milk jam
milk powder: adds flavour and thickening powder

Hojicha powder

UPDATED: I've recently gotten my hands on hojicha tea powder, and wanted to give an alternative version of this recipe. I originally created the recipe with hojicha tea bags.

Hojicha powder is concentrated and delivers that deep, roasted flavour much more easily without having to extract the tea via tea leaves. It's convenient to use and a little bit goes a long way.

As you can see in the photos, it does produce a very rich dark brown and intensely flavoured milk jam. So if you can get hojicha powder, I would strongly recommend it. 🙂

As always, different tea brands will carry different strengths and flavours of the tea.

Note: If using tea bags, I found that 4 tea bags brought out the most intensity of the hojicha flavour, but you can play around with how many bags to use.

How to make it

Combine the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low/medium heat.

Continually whisk until the mixture thickens. Patience is the key to success since you'll need to keep whisking the mixture.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Transfer the mixture to a clean, sterile jar and refrigerate.

Ways to use it

Use Hojicha Milk Jam as a filling, a base, or even on top of toast.

Spread it between cake layers, or as a filling in buns.

Creamy, smooth, and flavourful, it's the perfect spread that's neither peanut butter nor fruit jam.

How to store

Store the Hojicha Milk Jam in a clean, sterilized jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

FAQs & troubleshooting

Can I store the hojicha milk jam at room temperature?

No, since this jam is homemade, store the jam in the refrigerator.

How long will the jam last?

Depending on how sterile your jar is, 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Can I use non-dairy milk instead?

Yes, you can substitute whole milk with non-dairy milk, but be aware that your mixture may need more thickening as plant-based milks tend to be thinner.

Why won't it thicken?

If it doesn't thicken, you may need to continue to heat the milk jam until more liquid evaporates.

Adding a little more milk powder or cornstarch may help.

Other recipes you may like

Hojicha Milk Jam

Hojicha Matcha Swirl Bread

Mini Matcha Hojicha Pancakes Cereal

No-Churn Hojicha Ice Cream

Hojicha Roll Cake

Let me know if you try out my recipe! I'd love to see your creations -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below! Have you tried hojicha tea before?

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