Is hojicha the next matcha? The Japanese tea creeping onto menus

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Is hojicha the next matcha? The Japanese tea creeping onto menus15 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleGrace DeanBBCAna likes matcha but she also drinks alternatives like hojichaBrowsing through the menu in a London cafe, Ana Costa wasn't sure what drink she was in the mood for. She didn't fancy a coffee and was considering a matcha latte, when hojicha caught her eye.

A Japanese drink made from green tea, hojicha is dry-roasted at high temperatures to produce a distinctive aroma and nutty flavour. It's less bitter than green tea, with a low caffeine content - and it's creeping onto café menus. Hojicha tea has always been on the menu, in its traditional form, at chef Shuko Oda's Koya restaurant in London.

The Details

"Traditionally, we don't put milk or any sugar or sweetenings in with hojicha," Oda says. "It's meant to be a brown, clear tea that is very much an every and any time of the day type of hot drink. "But Oda says she's seeing the drink pop up more and more across the UK, largely in milky hojicha lattes and desserts, and even added hojicha ice cream to her own restaurant's menu earlier this year.

Getty ImagesConsidered an everyday beverage in Japan, hojicha is often served with meals or as a comforting drink for children and the elderlyAt matcha chain Jenki, iced hojicha latte sales were 55% higher across its six London cafes between January and April than during the same time period the previous year. Meanwhile Rashique Siddique, director of How Matcha, says hojicha latte sales have "grown significantly" over the past year, with How Matcha now selling one or two cups for every five matcha lattes it sells. "Hojicha feels like where matcha was two or three years ago," Siddique says, "it's moving from niche to mainstream quite quickly.

" The tea even hit the menu for the first time at east London coffee roasters Grind this summer, in the form of a black sesame hojicha. Head of coffee Howey Gill says it added the drink after keeping an eye on Japanese food and drink trends spreading to the UK - though he acknowledges the brown colour is "not as sexy as matcha". Ana, 21, says her hojicha latte from How Matcha - served iced with oat milk and a pump of vanilla syrup - is definitely "less Instagrammable" than matcha, but she enjoys the flavour and says the appearance doesn't matter to her.

What Experts Say

Getty ImagesMatcha hype is showing no signs of slowing Shoppers carrying cups of bright green matcha have become ubiquitous in town centres across the UK. As of February, even Greggs is selling it. And increasing numbers of people are buying the powder to prepare at home, too.

The quantity of powdered matcha sold at UK supermarkets and convenience stores has grown more than fourfold over the past year, with shoppers spending nearly £9m on it over the last 12 months, according to data from research company Nielsen IQ. Sipping matchas in the sun, Anjani, 28, says she feels the drink is still "very trendy".

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.