When life gets busy, a lot of people reach for coffee. I reach for tea.

Okay, I enjoy coffee, too, but lately, I’ve been switching between two Japanese teas depending on what kind of day I’m having. Matcha when I need a little help getting going, and hojicha when I finally get a chance to sit down and relax.

I’ve started calling it my Green and Gold routine. Matcha is the green one, of course, and hojicha has this lovely golden-brown colour from roasting. Very fitting, if you ask me.

As a mom, I appreciate anything that gives me an excuse to pause for a few minutes. Sometimes I’m making tea while thinking about the ten other things I need to do that day. Other times, I actually get to sit down and enjoy it while it’s still hot. Those are two very different experiences! But what I find interesting about these teas is that they both come from the same plant, yet they taste completely different, and depending on which one you choose, you’re also getting a different amount of caffeine.

Same Plant, Different Personalities

If you’ve been anywhere near a café lately, you’ve probably seen matcha on the menu. Matcha lattes, iced matcha, strawberry matcha… it’s everywhere.

Hojicha doesn’t seem to get quite as much attention, which is a shame because I think it deserves a little more love. Both teas come from Camellia sinensis, the same plant used to make green tea, black tea and several other types of tea. The difference comes down to how the leaves are grown and processed.

Matcha: My Morning Pick

Matcha is made from specially grown green tea leaves that are shaded before harvest. The leaves are steamed, dried and ground into a fine powder. Unlike regular green tea, where you steep the leaves and remove them, with matcha, you’re drinking the powdered leaf itself. That means you’re consuming more of the leaf’s compounds, including its antioxidants.

The flavour is quite distinctive. It’s grassy, earthy and a little savoury, with a natural richness that I really enjoy. I know matcha isn’t for everyone, though. I’ve heard people describe it as tasting like grass, and honestly, I can understand where they’re coming from if they’ve tried a poorly made one!

Matcha also contains caffeine, along with an amino acid called L-theanine. Researchers have studied how these compounds may influence attention and alertness when consumed together. Some people find matcha gives them a more comfortable experience than coffee, although the effect varies from person to person.

For me, matcha is the tea I reach for when I want something with a bit more kick. I like it in the morning, especially when I know I have a busy day ahead.

Hojicha: My Toasty Afternoon or Evening Tea

Now, if matcha is the fresh, grassy one, hojicha is its warm, roasted cousin.

Hojicha is made by roasting green tea leaves, stems or a combination of the two. The heat changes the flavour, giving it a lovely toasty aroma with nutty, woody and sometimes caramel-like notes. I love hot cocoa, so I think that’s part of the appeal for me. Hojicha has that same warm, comforting quality, even though it isn’t chocolatey in the way cocoa is.

It’s also generally lower in caffeine than matcha, although the amount depends on the tea and how it’s prepared. That’s one reason I tend to reach for hojicha later in the day, and as a mom, I’m not particularly interested in experimenting with anything that might keep me awake at bedtime. If I have a chance to sleep, I’m taking it!

The flavour is smooth and mellow, and I find it easy to drink without needing much added to it. A little milk works beautifully, though, especially if I’m making a latte.

So, Which One Should You Choose?

If you enjoy the taste of matcha and want a caffeinated drink in the morning, give it a try. Just remember that it does contain caffeine, so if you’re sensitive to it, you may want to start with a smaller serving. If you prefer something roasted, warm and mellow, hojicha might be more your thing. Its lower caffeine content can make it a useful option later in the day, particularly if you’re trying to reduce your caffeine intake. Neither tea is automatically better than the other. It really comes down to your taste, how much caffeine you want, and when you plan to drink it, and if you try matcha and decide it tastes like a lawn clipping, that’s okay, too. You don’t have to like everything just because it’s popular!

A Little Tea Science

You know me. I can’t talk about food without eventually getting curious about the science behind it.

Simply Salt & Soul

The Salt (The Science): Let’s start with matcha. Because you’re consuming the whole powdered leaf, matcha provides catechins, a group of plant compounds studied for their antioxidant activity. One of the best-known is EGCG. Green tea research has explored possible links with cardiovascular and metabolic health, although the benefits depend on many factors, and drinking matcha isn’t a shortcut to better health.

Matcha also contains caffeine and L-theanine. These compounds have been studied for their potential effects on attention and alertness, but it’s best not to assume everyone will experience the same kind of energy boost. Hojicha has a different nutritional profile because of the roasting process. Roasting changes some of the compounds in tea and creates the aromas we associate with toasted nuts, wood and caramel. Hojicha still contains tea polyphenols, but the amounts and types can differ from those in matcha.

There’s also some interesting early research into the aroma compounds produced when tea is roasted, including compounds called pyrazines. Scientists have investigated whether these aromas may influence relaxation-related responses, but the evidence is still developing. We can’t say that smelling hojicha will lower your blood pressure or reliably relax your nervous system. Still, I find it fascinating that the way a food or drink is prepared can change not only its flavour but also its chemical makeup.

The Soul (The Wellness): In Traditional Chinese Medicine, green tea is generally considered cooling. Hojicha is roasted, and some TCM practitioners may view roasted teas differently from unroasted green tea. However, classifications can vary, so I wouldn’t treat either tea as a one-size-fits-all choice.

I also like the process of making matcha. There’s the measuring, the whisking and watching the powder turn into a frothy drink. It takes a few minutes, and I enjoy that part just as much as drinking it. Of course, I’m not always standing peacefully in my kitchen, enjoying a mindful moment. Sometimes I’m making tea while someone is asking me a question and I’m trying to remember what I came into the kitchen for in the first place!

But when I do get those few quiet minutes, I appreciate them, and that’s probably why I keep coming back to both teas. I enjoy the flavour, I like knowing a little about what I’m drinking, and I like having different options depending on the time of day.

How I Like to Drink Them

On slower mornings, I sometimes make a hojicha latte with roasted hojicha powder whisked into warm oat milk and a small drizzle of maple syrup. It’s simple, and the roasted flavour works really well with the creaminess of the milk. When I want something more refreshing, I’ll make an iced matcha instead. And lately, I’ve been adding homemade boba to both teas for the kids. They think they’re getting a fancy café drink, which makes it a fun little treat to make at home.

I’m happy to let them enjoy it, too, although I keep the caffeine in mind when deciding what to make and when. I don’t think every cup of tea needs to become a wellness ritual. Sometimes I just want something that tastes good. But I do enjoy learning about what I’m drinking, and I like having a few options in my kitchen.

So, tell me: are you a matcha person, a hojicha person, or have you not tried either one yet? I’d love to know which you’d choose!