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    Home » Recipes » Sweets

    "Hojicha" Roasted Tea Ice Cream (no ice cream maker)

    Published: Jul 23, 2021 · Modified: Sep 9, 2021 by Yuto Omura

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    Calling all tea lovers, I have the perfect treat for you! Creamy and rich homemade ice cream flavoured with Japanese roasted green tea called "hojicha". This ice cream is perfectly sweet and smooth with notes of caramel, you won't believe how good it is! And no ice cream machine required.

    Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Sudachi Recipes earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. See disclaimer for more info.

    Tea & Japan

    As you probably already know, Japan is a nation of tea lovers! Not only do we drink it every day (hot or cold!) but we also use it to flavour various sweets. You name the sweet, I bet I can tell you a tea flavoured version.

    three scoops of hojicha ice cream in a brown bowl with loose tea and a cup of tea

    5 MOST COMMON TYPES OF GREEN TEA IN JAPAN

    In Japanese, the umbrella term for green tea is "ryokucha" (緑茶). Ryokucha is probably the most popular kind of tea in Japan, and comes in 5 main types. (There's definitely more though.)

    • Matcha (抹茶): Green tea leaves grinded slowly with stone mill.
    • Gyokuro (玉露): Once the shoots open, the leaves are covered and grown in the shade for 3-4 weeks. One of the most expensive teas in Japan.
    • Sencha(煎茶): The most popular type of green tea in Japan.
    • Bancha (番茶): A lower grade of green tea made with the last harvest of the season.
    • Hojicha (ほうじ茶): Generally, a roasted version of sencha or bancha.
    a cup of hojicha tea with teabags

    Hojicha (ほうじ茶)

    Hojicha tea is considered a type of green tea. It might not be green anymore, but it started its life as bancha or sencha which are both types of green tea.

    The taste and colour of hojicha is achieved by roasting it at a high temperature in a porcelain pot. This process results in a reddish brown tea with a delicious, soft, toasty flavour and subtle notes of caramel. In my opinion, hojicha is seriously underrated!

    I personally used Itoen Hojicha Tea (teabags) which you can buy on Amazon. If you use loose tea, you will need to strain the mixture.

    a close up of loose hojicha roasted green tea in a small speckled dish

    Because of the high heat in which it's roasted, hojicha has a lower caffeine content and is commonly enjoyed in the evening or after a meal.

    Although the most common way to drink tea in Japan is straight with nothing added, hojicha and milk is seriously delicious. Check out my iced hojicha latte recipe here.

    three scoops of hojicha ice cream in a brown bowl

    Making Hojicha Ice Cream

    INGREDIENTS

    Other than hojicha tea, my ice cream recipe only requires a few ingredients, all of them are easily accessible!

    • Egg yolks
    • Sugar
    • Milk
    • Heavy cream
    • Corn starch

    My favourite way to make ice cream is by making a custard with egg yolks first. To be honest, it tastes so good, it's hard to resist just eating it as a custard haha.

    three scoops of hojicha ice cream in a brown bowl top down view

    HAND CHURN METHOD (NO ICE CREAM MACHINE)

    As much as I love to make ice cream, my tiny Japanese kitchen won't fit an ice cream maker. That's why I opt for hand churned ice cream recipes. Here are the steps I follow to make ice cream by hand! This recipe works for most kinds of tea, be creative with your favourite teas! (I love earl grey and jasmine tea flavour ice cream too!)

    1. First, add the cold milk and 2-3 teabags to a saucepan. Leave them in there while you prepare your other ingredients.
    2. Mix the egg yolks, sugar and corn starch in a heatproof bowl.
    3. Heat up the pan of milk and stir the tea bags around to help release the flavour. Don't allow it to boil.
    4. When you start to see tiny bubbles around the side, add the cream.
    5. Continue to heat until the little bubbles start appearing around the edge again. Once they do, turn off the heat and remove the teabags. (I use tongs and squeeze the teabags out.)
    6. Temper the eggs and sugar mixture by adding a ladle of the hot milk/cream to the bowl and whisk it well. This prevents the egg chunks in the mixture.
    7. Gradually pour the rest of the milk and cream into the bowl while whisking and then pour it back into the saucepan.
    8. Stir continuously on a low heat until it thickens into a thin custard consistency.
    9. Transfer it to a loaf tin and cover the top with plastic wrap touching the surface. (This is to prevent a skin from forming.)
    10. Allow the mixture to cool down, I like to speed up the process by placing the loaf tin in a bowl of ice.
    11. Once it's cool, put it in the freezer and whisk every 30 minutes for 3 hours. (6 times in total)
    12. After the final churn, freeze for 3-4 hours and enjoy! (After 4 hours or so, it will need 5-10 minutes on the counter top to soften before serving.)
    three scoops of hojicha ice cream in a brown bowl

    Tips to guarantee successful ice cream

    • Don't allow the milk or cream to boil, this will effect the taste and texture. Keep it on a low heat, take your time.
    • If you make this recipe in the morning, it should be ready by the afternoon!
    • If the teabag breaks, do not fear! Just pass the mixture through a strainer to remove it.
    • When churning, set a timer so you don't forget.
    • I churn 6 times, but of course you can churn more than that. The more you churn, the softer the ice cream will be.
    • I recommend wide containers rather than tall ones, it will freeze faster!
    • If you double or triple the recipe, use 2-3 containers otherwise it will take longer to freeze.
    • Eat within 1-2 weeks for best taste and texture.

    How to Make Hojicha Ice Cream Step by Step

    FAQ

    What is hojicha?

    Hojicha is a type of Japanese tea made by roasting green tea (usually bancha or sencha) in a porcelain pot over charcoal.

    What does hojicha taste like?

    Hojicha has a toasty, smooth taste with hints of caramel flavour. It's not as bitter as regular green tea.

    Does hojicha contain caffeine?

    A lot of the caffeine is cooked away during the roasting process, but hojicha is made from green tea so it still contains a small amount of caffeine.

    three scoops of hojicha ice cream close up
    Print
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    three scoops of hojicha ice cream close up

    "Hojicha" Roasted Tea Ice Cream (ほうじ茶アイス)


    • Author: Yuto Omura
    • Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
    • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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    Description

    How to make sweet, smooth and toasty "hojicha" Japanese roasted tea ice cream by hand! (No ice cream machine.)


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 200ml whole milk
    • 2-3 Hojicha tea bags (or 6-9g of loose tea)
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 75g sugar
    • 1 tsp corn starch
    • 200ml double cream

    Instructions

    1. Add the 200ml cold whole milk and 2-3 teabags to a saucepan. (Use two for a mild taste and three for a stronger taste.) Leave them in there while you prepare your other ingredients.
      Adding tea bags and milk to a pan
    2. Whisk 2 egg yolks, 75g sugar and 1 tsp corn starch together in a heatproof bowl.
      Mixed egg yolks, sugar and corn starch
    3. Heat up the pan of milk and stir the tea bags around to help release the flavour. Don't allow it to boil.
      Heating milk in a pan with hojicha tea bags
    4. When you start to see tiny bubbles around the side, add 200ml heavy cream.
      adding cream to the pan
    5. Continue to heat on medium-low until the little bubbles start appearing around the edge again. Once they do, turn off the heat and remove the teabags. (I use tongs to squeeze the teabags.)
      removing tea bags from pan
    6. Temper the eggs and sugar mixture by adding a ladle of the hot milk/cream to the bowl and whisk it well. This prevents the egg chunks in the mixture.
      tempering the egg mixture
    7. Gradually pour the rest of the milk and cream into the bowl while whisking.
      gradually adding milk/cream to egg mixture
    8. Once well incorporated, pour the mixture back into the sauce pan. Pour it through a sieve to catch any lumps.
      pouring ice cream custard mixture through sieve
    9. Stir continuously on a low heat until it thickens into a custard consistency.
      Heated until custard consistency
    10. Transfer it to a loaf tin/container and cover the top with plastic wrap touching the surface. (This is to prevent a skin from forming.)
      placing plastic wrap on the surface of the cooling ice cream
    11. Allow the mixture to cool down, I like to speed up the process by placing the container in a casserole dish with ice.
      cooling ice cream with ice cubes around the edge
    12. Once it's cool, put it in the freezer and whisk every 30 minutes for 3 hours. (6 times in total)
      churning ice cream by hand
    13. After the final churn, freeze for 3-4 hours.
      freezing for 3-4 hours
    14. Enjoy! (After 4 hours or so, it will need 5-10 minutes on the counter top to soften before serving.)
      scooping hojicha ice cream with ice cream scoop

    Notes

    Don't allow the milk or cream to boil, this will effect the taste and texture. Keep it on a low heat, take your time.

    If you make this recipe in the morning, it will be ready by the afternoon!

    If the teabag breaks, do not fear! Just pass the mixture through a strainer to remove it.

    Use wide containers rather than tall ones, it will freeze faster!

    If you double or triple the recipe, use 2-3 containers.

    Eat within 1-2 weeks for best taste and texture.

    Try this recipe with other types of tea such as breakfast tea, earl grey or jasmine!

    • Prep Time: 3 hours 20 mins
    • Cook Time: 15 mins
    • Category: Sweets
    • Method: Simmering / Freezing
    • Cuisine: Japanese

    Keywords: Japanese roasted green tea ice cream, hojicha ice cream, roasted green tea ice cream, how to make hojicha ice cream, how to make hojicha roasted green tea ice cream, hojicha ice cream recipe, hojicha sweets, hojicha desserts, houjicha ice cream, roasted green tea ice cream recipe,what is hojicha, what does hojicha taste like,hojicha tea, hojicha tea ice cream,

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    Konnichiwa!

    Thanks for visiting Sudachi Recipes. My name is Yuto and I'm a Japanese guy with a passion for food. Here I share tasty and accessible recipes so that you can bring a taste of Japan to your own kitchen.

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