Hojicha Is the Roasted Tea Behind 2026's Caffeine-Anxious Summer
Hojicha, surging on Google in 2026, is a roasted Japanese green tea with low caffeine — the drink cafe-goers reach for when matcha is too much.
Hojicha, surging on Google in summer 2026, is a roasted Japanese green tea with low caffeine — the drink cafe-goers reach for when the matcha boom feels like too much. It was created in 1920s Kyoto as a way to make bancha tea drinkable by roasting it over charcoal.
What's happening
Hojicha is surging in 2026, per Google Summergeist, as the low-caffeine answer to the matcha boom [1]. As matcha lattes saturate cafe menus and some drinkers report caffeine jitters, hojicha offers the roasted, nutty, low-stimulant alternative — often served as a latte.
The history behind it
Hojicha is a roasted green tea created in 1920s Kyoto, when tea merchants roasted bancha (coarse late-season tea) over charcoal to make a cheaper, lower-caffeine, easy-drinking tea for everyday consumption [2]. The roasting turns the leaves brown and gives a toasty, caramel flavor with very little caffeine — historically a working-class cup, now a cafe trend [3].
Why it matters
The food-history value is that the 2026 low-caffeine cafe drink is a 1920s Kyoto thrift tea. A wellness-era trend is a century-old economy drink. For the full history of matcha and tea, see the articles below.
📖 Read the full history
Trend Desk notes are timely. The durable history behind each trend lives in these articles and collections.
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