Senchasou

I picked up this package of powdered Hojicha mix in a Mitsuwa in San Jose on a vacation once. Mixed up as a latte, I found it way too sweet (and I have quite the sweet tooth!) I notice that “beet sugar” is the first listed ingredient, so there just seems to be way too much sugar in this particular mix for even my tastes (and I don’t mind when my matcha mixes are pre-sweetened, in general). I tend to use sweeter types of non-dairy milk as well, which probably just exacerbated the problem.

So today I decided to make a milkshake out of it, since that is something my brain already expects to be extremely dessert-sweet, using Lactose-free vanilla ice cream (and just a bit of vanilla oat milk to help with the mixing). I do think I preferred it that way than as a straight latte — I think, if I ever made it as a latte again, I might have to “cut” it with a straight cup of hojicha to see if that balances it out a bit better… something to try in the future!

Will try to find other creative ways to get through this (rather large) bag and use it up, and then I will definitely look for a different brand of hojicha powder in the future.