These days, you can hardly go anywhere without seeing an iced matcha in somebody’s hand. While there are plenty of dedicated green tea cafes in London, even your local Pret now serves up a matcha latte for its customers.
The unmistakable electric green hue has filled cafe counters, supermarket shelves and social media feeds – appearing in everything from lattes and iced drinks to protein powders, pastries and more.
But whether you were part of the matcha 1.0 crew or are a new fan of the green tea powder, the drink’s extraordinary rise has finally come at a cost. Demand has surged, prices have climbed and concerns are growing around supply, sustainability and the strain placed on Japanese tea producers.
Enter hojicha: a roasted Japanese green tea with a nutty, almost smoky flavour. Now it’s not as aesthetically pleasing as our gorgeous green matcha – although its distinctly autumnal brown colour could not only be on trend but suitably transitional for soon-to-be-September – but it is lower in caffeine, less grassy-tasting and, arguably, easier to drink.
So, is hojicha the start of something more substantial? A shift in taste away from the oversaturated matcha market – or simply the next wellness drink waiting to be photographed?
In the green? Matcha’s story and why it might be in trouble
From traditional tea to global lifestyle sensation, matcha’s rise in popularity has been remarkable.
But matcha’s appeal goes beyond virality. It contains catechins, antioxidant compounds, as well as caffeine and L-theanine – an amino acid associated with relaxation and attention.
As the trend has skyrocketed, so has the number of products – and they’re not always of top-tier quality. For instance, the “ceremonial grade” term adopted by many cafes and brands may give the impression of quality, but means very little in practice as it’s not recognised as a grading or certification.
Supply is also under pressure. Matcha is made from shade-grown tencha, which is carefully processed and stone-ground into powder. Production is labour-intensive, while Japan’s ageing tea-growing population and unpredictable climate make it difficult to meet rising demand.
According to Maria Dawson, managing director of Clearspring, which sells organic Japanese food, global demand for premium Japanese matcha has grown at an “extraordinary pace” over the past few years. “Production simply can’t be increased overnight,” she explains.
Rising global demand combined with limited annual harvests, higher labour costs and increasing production costs in Japan have all contributed to higher prices.
And as prices rise, some people are looking elsewhere for the tea-based fix, and discovering other authentic Japanese teas like Hojicha Powder, which offers a different flavour profile and excellent value.
Hojicha: a softer, smokier alternative
Hojicha is a green tea, but its flavour is totally transformed through roasting. The leaves, often from later harvests and commonly including stems and twigs, are roasted at high temperatures, producing a drink that is brown rather than green.
The roasting creates a nutty, toasted sweetness with a soft smokiness, making hojicha feel closer to coffee than matcha. Its lower caffeine content is also a selling point for those seeking a gentler alternative.
Dawson believes hojicha certainly has the potential to become as popular as matcha.
“Its smooth, nutty and distinctive roasted flavour, powdered format, lower caffeine content compared with both coffee and matcha, and versatility are all contributing to growing consumer interest.”
Unlike matcha, however, it has not (yet) been marketed in the same way, most likely due to muted brown not being nearly as distinct as matcha’s vivid green. Whether that’s a social media flex or flaw, time will tell.
When it comes to health benefits, hojicha contains polyphenols and other compounds found in green tea, although roasting changes its chemical profile. Its lower caffeine content and reputation for being gentler on the stomach do not automatically make it healthier; that depends on how it is prepared and what is added.
“I wouldn’t dismiss hojicha as a fleeting wellness obsession,” says Claudia Boyer, co-founder of JENKI, which runs several matcha bars “While its current visibility may be fuelled by changing tastes, it has a long history in Japan. Its depth of flavour, versatility, lower caffeine content and cultural heritage give it the potential to become a lasting part of cafe culture.”
Is hojicha more sustainable than matcha?
Like all agriculture, Japanese tea production is becoming more vulnerable to changing weather patterns, with tea plants being highly sensitive to temperature, and factors such as rainfall and seasonal conditions affecting yield and quality.
Hojicha’s use of mature leaves and stems may appeal to sustainability-conscious consumers. But hojicha is not automatically more sustainable. Tea’s environmental impact depends on how and where it is grown, processed, packaged and transported, while roasting also requires energy.
“Traditionally, hojicha is made by roasting more mature green tea leaves, stems or twigs, rather than the youngest shade-grown leaves reserved for premium matcha,” says Dawson.
There is also a risk that hojicha’s growing popularity could reproduce the same pressures now affecting matcha. If western demand continues to accelerate, producers may face another cycle of rising prices, supply constraints and mass-market imitation.
Dawson makes the point that “climate change reinforces the importance of long-term relationships with experienced growers who understand their land and can adapt through careful cultivation rather than relying on intensive farming methods”.
She adds that organic farming also has an important role to play with “healthy soils rich in organic matter generally being better at retaining moisture and supporting biodiversity, which helps farms become more resilient over time”.
Will matcha madness ever die down?
Matcha is probably not going anywhere. But the version dominating cafes and Instagram can be far removed from the carefully produced tea that inspired the craze.
Boyer says: “Ultimately, hojicha’s rise is not about the end of matcha. It is an exciting broadening of the category, with consumers exploring Japanese tea beyond a single product and paying closer attention to flavour profiles and provenance.”
Whether hojicha becomes the next major cafe obsession or remains a beloved niche remains to be seen. But if the last decade saw the rise of green, the next may belong to brown.
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