This delicious banana hojicha latte is a hojicha twist on the viral banana matcha latte! Hojicha adds such a nice roasted and nutty flavor, which tastes incredible with banana. Think: caramelized banana bread, roasted bananas, and cocoa. It’s super easy to make banana milk at home and it’s the perfect base for hojicha!

Here’s how to make this creamy banana hojicha latte at home!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s creamy, fruity, and nutty!
• An easy recipe to use up old bananas
• A delicious and creative hojicha latte recipe
• Practice making cafe-style drinks at home!

What is a Banana Hojicha Latte?

This creamy banana hojicha latte is made with freshly blended, homemade banana milk with freshly whisked hojicha. It’s a delicious twist to banana milk and is the perfect pair to the popular banana matcha latte.

Since hojicha has little to no caffeine, this banana hojicha drink is the perfect nightcap or mid-afternoon smoothie flavor. It has a slightly thicker texture from the blended bananas, which gives a nice mouthfeel!

What Does a Banana Hojicha Latte Taste Like?

This drink really reminds me of a smooth, nutty banana bread, but in liquid form. There’s also a delicious smokiness that’s not overpowering, and adds just the right amount of aroma.

It also tastes kind of like a roasted banana with extra smokiness. The hojicha is super aromatic, and it brings out the fruitiness of the banana. It’s a great combination, you just have to try! 

Do Banana and Hojicha Go Together?

Yes, I think banana and hojicha are such an underrated flavor combination! Bananas are such a fruity and creamy flavor that works really nicely with bold or creamy flavors, like caramel or cream. Think: banana foster, caramelized banana, banana ice cream, etc.

Because it has a sort of milk flavor, it acts as the perfect base for a roasted tea like hojicha. The banana balances out the toasted flavor and brings out more of the nuttiness from hojicha. It’s truly an amazing pair that you can try in pancakes, cakes, cupcakes, or cookies. I feel like this could be the new trendy drink that cafes serve!

Seriously, so good.

How to Make Banana Milk

Banana milk is literally the easiest fruit-flavored milk to make, ever. It doesn’t need any extra sweetener, either, if you have a really ripe banana. I prefer homemade to any store-bought banana milk because it has a fresher flavor and isn’t too sweet!

All you need to do is blend half a banana and a cup of milk together until smooth, then you have banana milk!

For a thinner milk, add more milk; for a thicker milk, add more banana. You can even dress it up with different sweeteners, spices, or types of milk. Banana milk is super versatile and can be used for this drink, a banana matcha latte, a banana latte, or even just banana milk!

How to Make Hojicha

You use the same process of making matcha as you do for making hojicha! You’ll need a small sifter, hojicha powder, and water. Since hojicha is a ground-up tea powder (much like matcha), the preparation method is the same.

First, sift the hojicha powder into a bowl, then add room temperature or hot water. Using a prepared matcha whisk, whisk the hojicha powder in a zigzag motion for 20 – 30 seconds until a froth forms on top.

Once prepared, add it to your drink! Hojicha is a great roasted green tea that has a ton of health benefits, besides being low in caffeine.

How to Make a Banana Hojicha Latte

You’ll need:

• ½ banana
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp condensed milk
• 1½ tsp hojicha powder
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup ice

Banana Hojicha Latte Recipe

1. Peel a banana and add half of it to a blender with milk and condensed milk. Blend for 10 – 20 seconds or until smooth and no banana chunks are visible.
2. Sift hojicha powder into a bowl and add water. Whisk for 20 – 30 seconds in a zigzag motion using a matcha whisk until a foam forms.
3. Add ice and homemade banana milk to a separate glass, then top with whisked hojicha.
4. Mix and enjoy!

Other Hojicha Lattes to Try

This creamy and fruity banana hojicha latte is so good, and it might make you wonder what other combinations taste good with hojicha! Besides banana, hojicha goes great with a lot of other fruits and flavors. Here are some hojicha recipes to try next:

• Strawberry hojicha latte
• Double hojicha latte
• Hojicha latte
• Hojicha einspanner
• Caramel hojicha latte
• Corn hojicha einspanner

Tips:

• Add Vanilla: There’s nothing that isn’t improved when you add vanilla (most of the time). It brings out the creaminess of the banana and gives it an overall nice finish and fragrance.
• Use Storebought Banana Milk: Instead of homemade milk, you can use storebought banana milk! It’s sweeter and has a more artificial banana flavor, but great to use in a pinch or when you want an easy hack. Just snip the corner of a carton for easy pouring.
• Strain Milk: Bananas are a great thickener for smoothies, so fresh banana milk will be thicker. You can make it smoother by straining it after blending with a fine mesh sieve.
• Use Ripe Bananas: Riper bananas will be brown on the outside and less starchy compared to green bananas. They’re also sweeter, so you might not even need to add an extra sweetener to your drink! If you have green bananas, you can easily ripen them by roasting them in the oven for a couple of minutes until the peels turn black.
• Add Spices: Hojicha is nutty and caramelly, so it pairs well with warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Banana also pairs well with both flavors! You might end up with something that tastes like a warm banana bread.
• Make Layers: This is the perfect drink to make layers! After adding your ice and milk, gently pour the whisked hojicha directly onto the ice. The hojicha will spread out into a nice layer, and you’ll have a beautiful drink!