Hojicha Ice Cubes

Skip your regular ice cubes and swap in these Hojicha Ice Cubes for your next iced hojicha latte!

As I mentioned in my Matcha Ice Cubes post, growing up, my dad used to turn his Vietnamese iced coffee into ice cubes and add it to his iced coffee. He said it made his Vietnamese iced coffee more flavourful as when the ice cubes melted, it added more coffee flavour instead of diluting it with just plain water. So as a slow sipper of my iced matcha lattes, I decided to apply his methods to my matcha lattes! And since doing so, I’ve really enjoyed how it made my matcha lattes taste so I decided to make hojicha versions! I also love this with my Hojicha Bubble Tea!

What You’ll Need

ingredients for hojicha iced latte ice cubes.

hojicha powder
water
sweetened condensed milk — my dad would add the sweetened condensed milk to his iced coffee ice cubes so I’m taking his lead with this.

How to Make Hojicha Latte Ice Cubes

In a small bowl, whisk together the hojicha and just enough water to cover the hojicha powder. Add in the rest of the water.
Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk.
Pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and let set in the freezer for 4 to 5 hours before using it.

Storage Tips

If your ice cube tray as an airtight lid, you can store it in the tray in the freezer.
If your ice cube tray does not have a lid like mine, once the hojicha ice cubes have frozen, pop them out of the tray and store it in an airtight freezer container. I usually use these containers or reuse an old yogurt container.

Common Questions

What is hojicha?

Hojicha is a Japanese roasted green tea that is made by slowly roasting twigs and leaves of the tea plant. Hojicha has a toasted nutty taste to it as well as a smoky sweet flavour thanks to the roasting process. This recipe uses hojicha powder.

Is there caffeine in hojicha?

Hojicha has a very low amount of caffeine!

What do I do with leftover sweetened condensed milk?

Transfer your leftover sweetened condensed milk to an airtight jar and store it in your fridge. It should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

What if I don’t have hojicha powder?

When I’ve only had loose leaf hojicha, I turned it into a powder by using H’s coffee grinder. It gets the job done when in a pinch. It’s definitely not as fine of a powder though.

Since we are turning it into a fine powder, I don’t think a large food processor would work as you’ll need to put in a ton of hojicha.