In the kitchen toward evening, a carton of milk comes out of the fridge. When making a hojicha latte, the first thing to settle is not how much tea to use but what the ingredient will be.

This piece follows two methods, dissolving instant tea and simmering tea in milk, through their ingredients and then their equipment.

Dissolved first, in the cup

Powder and a little hot water go into a cup, and the tip of a spoon swirls them smooth. With instant tea, the powder is dissolved first and warmed milk is added after.

A tea company’s recipe calls for its own soluble hojicha. The powder is dissolved in hot water in the cup, and warmed milk is poured in. Here the hot water is there to dissolve the powder, not to draw flavour from leaves that will be strained out.

Read dissolving and warming the milk as separate tasks, and the order of preparation becomes clear. The sources say only that the quantities assume the specified product. Next is the method that uses a pan.

Bōcha into the milk in a pan

As the milk in a small pan begins to bubble, the toasty smell of bōcha fills the kitchen. Kaga bōcha milk tea is made by simmering the tea in milk.

A national guide to regional dishes puts Kaga bōcha and milk in a pan over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, the heat goes off and the tea is strained into a cup. The tea is in the milk from the start, which differs from adding milk to tea brewed in water.

Besides the ingredients, the method needs a pan and a strainer to take out the tea. The sources go as far as this: the equipment is part of the method. Last comes what happens when an ingredient is swapped.

Leaves, powder and instant tea

On the shelf, next to the bag of leaves, stand a baking powder and a sweetened mix. Tea leaves, tea powder and instant tea cannot be swapped at the same amount.

Each recipe’s quantities assume a particular ingredient. A baking powder or a mix with added sugar is not necessarily a substitute in the same measure. The ingredient name needs reading all the way through, product name and intended use included.

Until it is clear what a swap would change, finishing one cup by one method gives something to compare the next cup with. The sources take us no further. Quantities and sources are gathered below.

The numbers in detail

Instant latte
Ito En’s recipe uses its Sarasara Tokeru Oi Ocha Hojicha.
Latte quantities
One serving uses 1 tablespoon of the product, 30 cc of hot water and 140 cc of milk.
Latte method
The product and hot water are dissolved in a cup, then warmed milk is added.
Bōcha source
The Kaga bōcha milk tea comes from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ guide to regional dishes.
Bōcha quantities
3 tablespoons of Kaga bōcha and 200 mL of milk go into a pan over medium heat.
Bōcha method
When it begins to bubble, the heat goes off and the tea is strained into a cup.