The New Year has started! 2023 is a Usagi-doshi, or Year of the Rabbit, according to the 12-year cycle of zodiacal animals.

The idea of zodiacal animals originally came from China. The Japanese are not always consciously aware of the zodiac animals. However, it is something that remains rooted in everyday life, such as sending New Year's cards decorated with the animal, having a talisman with the animal or recognizing which animal year you're born in.

We wish you all the best for the year of the rabbit!

Here is the first recipe in 2023, you might jump with surprise, or even hop with surprise.

I made this hot drink the other day after I was thinking about what I'd have at tea time.I felt like coffee or Hojicha (roasted green tea), but coffee was too strong at the time, and I wanted to have a little bit more of a buzz with just Hojicha. Then, I got an idea. How about blending them both together?

Coffee beans(left) ,Hojicha tea leaves(right)

Hojicha(焙じ茶) - literally means "roasted tea", generally some form of green tea that has been roasted.

The tea and coffee blend was quite good! It reminded me of Mugicha barley tea in a way. I really like the drink and have it almost every day. It went well with milk too.

Please try it once if you feel like having something new in 2023!

Hojicha Coffee Latte RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

[ one serving ]

5g (1heaped tbsp) of Hojicha

250ml of water (100℃ /212°F)

2 tsp of instant coffee

3 tsp of sugar , to taste

100ml of milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Make tea with a tea pot (steep for 1 minute). Pour into a cup.

2 Add instant coffee and sugar.

3 Pour warm milk onto it.

Options

Having a blend of Hojicha and coffee without milk is also nice. Blending Hojicha with filtered coffee, instead of instant coffee, and filtered coffee is more authentic and nice.

Make your own blend with Hojicha and coffee.