Gentle, flavorful, light, and satisfying, this hojicha gelato is one of those flavors that can satisfy tea and coffee drinkers, alike. If I had to pick one ice cream flavor I'd have for the rest of my life, hojicha gelato would be it.
My favorite part about making ice cream is how it changes from when you finish churning it to after it freezes. After churning, it has a soft-serve ice cream thickness. Absolutely delicious. Then after you freeze it, it hardens and is also delicious, yet different. Are you a soft serve or regular kinda person?
What is Hojicha?
Hojicha is a Japanese roasted green tea. It has an earthy, almost coffee-like taste.
How to Make Hojicha Gelato
Place the bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer overnight. To crack your eggs and keep the yolk intact, hit two eggs against each other. Only one will crack, and it will crack exactly where you hit it (photos 1 & 2). Whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale yellow (photos 3 & 4).
Warm the milk and vanilla until it just lightly simmers (photo 1). Temper the egg/sugar mixture with the milk/vanilla mixture (photos 2 & 3). Return to the saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring slowly and constantly. It should get to 170F (photo 4).
Remove from heat. Add the hojicha leaves to the pan (photo 2). Stir (photo 3). Steep for 30 minutes with the lid on.
Strain (photo 1). Add the cream and stir (photo 2). Chill in the refrigerator ideally overnight, a minimum of 4 hours.
The next day, add your chilled ice cream to your ice cream maker. Churn (stir setting) until it is the thickness of soft-serve ice cream, 20-25 minutes. You can enjoy it now as soft serve, or continue to the final step for ice cream consistency.
Transfer to a container you can freeze and freeze at least 4 hours.
What temperature do you cook ice cream to?
Cook your ice cream base over medium heat until it hits 170F.
What do egg yolks do in ice cream and gelato?
The egg yolks provide fat to the base that creates a smooth, creamy ice cream without the chunky ice crystals. Also, the yolks prolong the shelf life of ice cream and gelato in the freezer.
Not your average green tea ice cream
Hojicha is a roasted green tea, and tastes nothing like the green tea we are used to drinking. It has a roasted, coffee-like taste that is unlike anything you're used to.
Hojicha Ice Cream in Tokyo
I’m not in the very least embarrassed to share that when we were in Japan, I had ice cream at least once a day. Yes, at least…there were days when I got a little crazy. We never had hojicha gelato, but hojicha soft serve was incredible. After some seriously delicious recipe testing, I am excited to offer you this recipe for hojicha gelato. This is the good stuff…full of that roasted green tea coffee-like flavor, without all the extra sugar to distract you. Read more about our Japan trip here.
Equipment & Tea used to make roasted green tea gelato
- Ice cream attachment for Kitchen Aid mixer
- Kitchen Aid mixer
- Ice Cream Scooper
- Hojicha Tea
- Freezer container for ice cream
More ice cream & gelato recipes
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Hojicha Gelato Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 30 g loose leaf hojicha tea
- 1.25 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Place the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer overnight.
- Whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale yellow.
- Warm the milk and vanilla until it just lightly simmers.
- Temper the egg/sugar mixture with the milk/vanilla mixture.
- Return to the sauce pan and cook until thickened, stirring slowly and constantly. It should get to 170F.
- Remove from heat. Add the hojicha leaves to the pan. Stir. Steep for 30 minutes with the lid on.
- Strain. Add the cream. Stir to combine.
- Chill in the refrigerator ideally overnight, minimum 4 hours.
- The next day, add your chilled ice cream to your ice cream maker. Churn (stir setting) until it is the thickness of soft serve ice cream, 20-25 minutes. You can enjoy it now as soft serve, or continue to final step for ice cream consistency.
- Transfer to a container you can freeze and freeze at least 4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in June of 2018, but was republished with step by step instructions and tips March of 2020.
Hello, this recipe looks really good. Would it be possible to use hojicha tea bags and then press out the cream?
Yes, you can. Use 10 tea bags. Enjoy!
Hello, some questions for you. Why is the metric measurement for the egg yolks 4 instead of 5? Is this recipe not too sweet or on the sweeter side? Can I reduce the amount of sugar if the latter? And if I want to use xanthum gum, how much should I add? Thank you!
Hi Donna,
Great questions.
The metric measurements are automatically calculated, so it's an error. Use the same amount of yolks. I'm not sure I can manually fix this, but I'll try.
I already use less sugar than most ice cream, so I would recommend making the recipe as-is first, then adjusting to your preference.
You can use xanthum gum to help thicken the mixture and prevent ice crystals. 1/4 teaspoon should do great.
Enjoy!
I tried this recipe last weekend and trust me it is the best ice cream I have ever eaten!
Love this recipe!!
That makes me so happy to hear, Cheryl... thank you for sharing!
Great recipe! Got to try it over the weekend! Would you happen to know how much ice cream there is in ml right before the churning process? I want to make this again but find better fitting containers. Thanks!
Hi Nicole. It should be 3.5-4 cups, 800-950mL. Can't wait to hear how it goes!
I have some hojicha powder that works well in lattes and baked goods. Do you have any recommendation for substituting an amount of this instead of using loose leaf tea?
Hi Eric. Great question! I have not tried this recipe with hojicha powder before, so all I can do is share my best guess. 2 tablespoons of hojicha powder should be suitable as a replacement for the loose-leaf in this hojicha ice cream recipe. I am basing it on the quantity of matcha powder I use in my matcha ice cream. I hope this helps!
Thank you, I’ll let you know how much I end up using and how it turns out.
We made this gelato today and it was amazing! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
I'm so glad to hear you loved it, Jessica!
Fantastic gelato to make - definitely for those who really like to experiment. I did. And its great. This recipe is a game changer!
So glad to hear you loved this recipe, Mirlene!
Such a delightful recipe, just in time for Spring and Summer. I'm sure we'll be making this on repeat!
Glad to hear it will be on repeat for you just like it is for us, Ashley!
I rarely bring out the ice cream machine, but for this one, I went all out. I love hojicha, so I already knew this will be an epic ice cream flavor for me and it was. 🙂
Definitely a flavor worth bringing out the ice cream machine for... glad to hear it was epic for you, Anita!
This was an amazing recipe!! Love all the flavors, perfect treat before bed. thank you for sharing 🙂
So glad to hear you enjoyed making this gelato...and definitely a great treat right before bed or even on waffles in the morning. Thank you, Noelle!