Move over matcha, hojicha might be our new favourite tea – and cocktail ingredient.
About the cocktail
It seems that matcha has finally met its match. If you haven’t heard of hojicha (hoh-jee-chah), it’s a charcoal-roasted Japanese green tea with a sweet, earthy, toasted flavour that is sweeping through cafes and bubble tea joints like crazy right now. And just like its vivid green rival, hojicha makes a seriously delicious cocktail. Like the best tea cocktails, our Hojicha Godmother puts hojicha front and centre. Here, it’s all about the DIY infusion of hojicha tea in vodka, blending with the sweet, almondy notes of amaretto (a traditional Godmother cocktail is simply vodka and amaretto). Our recipe makes a lot more than you need – just 40mL – so you can pop the remainder in the fridge for another time. The result lands somewhere between an Amaretto Sour and a Godfather, with the roasty, toasty notes coming from the hojicha-infused vodka rather than whisky. It’s a simple but impressive way to show off the complex, roasted flavours of hojicha tea – and a mochi ball to garnish (or maybe a few boba pearls) is a fun nod to the bubble tea spots that have been showing us the hojicha ropes. Considering the simplicity of the cocktail (the infusion is the ‘hard’ bit and that’s no more effort than making a cup of tea), we can see the Hojicha Godmother popping up just about everywhere – from cocktail parties (just make that infused vodka ahead of time) to long lunches in the sunshine. We also reckon it’d be fun as part of a tea-themed cocktail spread – maybe alongside a Matcha Sour?
Ingredients: hojicha vodka
150mL vodka for a batch 1 hojicha tea bag
Ingredients: cocktail
40mL hojicha vodka 20mL amaretto Glass: small cocktail or rock Garnish: skewered mochi ball
Method
Prepare the hojicha vodka by steeping the tea bag in the vodka for 5 minutes. Discard tea bag and store the infused vodka in a sealed jar Fill the glass with ice, add the hojicha vodka and the amaretto Stir and garnish with a skewered mochi ball
Dan’s top tips
Unlike its green-tea cousin matcha, hojicha doesn’t need you to learn some fancy new techniques and acquire specific gear. To make the tea-infused vodka, all you need is a hojicha teabag and vodka. Hojicha might not be available at your local supermarket, but tea stores, Japanese grocers and online retailers will have it. To infuse, as mentioned, all you need to do is steep the hojicha teabag in vodka briefly. This step can also be done well in advance, which is a great idea if you’re planning on making a few of these or having the Hojicha Godmother as part of a cocktail party spread. The only other thing to keep in mind here is the garnish. We’ve called for a mochi ball, which you’ll find at local Asian grocers, although they’re becoming a common sight at supermarkets, too. You could also go for boba pearls, which are often labelled ‘tapioca’ pearls.
What is hojicha?
Hojicha is a type of Japanese green tea that’s roasted over charcoal, imparting a distinctive toasted flavour and aroma.
How do you make the Hojicha Godmother?
To make a Hojicha Godmother, all you need to do is infuse hojicha tea in vodka, then stir the infusion over ice with amaretto.
- What does the Hojicha Godmother taste like?
The Hojicha Godmother has a sweet, almond-like flavour from amaretto, and a roasted, earthy flavour from the hojicha-infused vodka.
