NO. 325 織部 (ORIBE) Ceremonial Hojicha Powder

Made for milk. A hojicha latte for the city.

Tasting notes

Cinnamon and chocolate, with a woody spice like kuromoji (Japanese spicebush) and a light black tea note. A warm, deep sweetness like wasanbon (fine Japanese sugar), with no sugar added. The sweetness lingers; the finish is clean. Less roasty than typical hojicha.

Mind

Relaxed and easy. Like JUU, made for the city: the mood of the first snow and Japanese city pop.

Body

A soft lift of energy, together with a slow, settled calm.

How to serve

Best hot, as a latte. Quiet with water alone, but it changes completely with milk, and holds its own against both dairy and oat milk. 3 parts milk to 1 part hojicha.

Pairing and setting

Winter days and the first snow. Cafés in the city, for a younger crowd.

How it is made

NAKAI Sweet Stem Roast. Roasted tea stems from a blend of more than fifteen cultivars, including Yabukita, Sayamakaori, Okumidori, Saemidori, Tsuyuhikari, Kirari, and more. The stems give ORIBE its natural sweetness.

Recipe

ORIBE is best hot, as a latte. Hojicha espresso follows the same 1:8 ratio as NAKAI matcha espresso.

1. Oat Milk Latte

• Hojicha espresso: 45 g (5 g hojicha powder + 40 ml water)
• Oat milk: 100 g

1. Add 40 ml water to 5 g hojicha powder and whisk with a chasen (bamboo whisk) to make hojicha espresso.
2. Warm the oat milk.
3. Pour the oat milk into the hojicha espresso.

2. Milk Latte (Dairy Milk)

• Hojicha espresso: 45 g (5 g hojicha powder + 40 ml water)
• Milk: 120–150 g (adjust to taste)

1. Add 40 ml water to 5 g hojicha powder and whisk with a chasen (bamboo whisk) to make hojicha espresso.
2. Warm the milk.
3. Pour the milk into the hojicha espresso.

Details