• Prefecture: Nara

• Ingredients: Hojicha (roasted green tea), brewing alcohol, sugar

• Style: Tea liqueur

• Food pairings: Cream cheese, unsalted nuts, chocolate, vanilla ice cream

• Taste: Roasty, nutty, fragrant, smooth

• Alc.: 20%

Kitaoka Honten describes this as the world's first hojicha liqueur. It uses plenty of house-roasted hojicha and no colourings, flavourings or preservatives, so the toasty aroma of roasted tea lingers long on the palate. Mix it with milk for a hojicha latte-style drink, lengthen it with soda, or enjoy it straight or on the rocks. Try it alongside cream cheese or unsalted nuts.

About the brewery

Kitaoka Honten is based in Yoshino, Nara, and dates its move into full-time sake brewing to 1868. Its Yatagarasu brand is named after the three-legged crow of Japanese myth that guided the first emperor through the Yoshino mountains, and its liqueurs are built around Yoshino and Nara produce such as shiso, peach, chestnut and jabara citrus.

今、カフェやスイーツ界で注目の「ほうじ茶」を使用した、世界初のほうじ茶リキュール。着色料・香料・保存料は一切不使用。体にやさしく、味わいも本格的。自家焙煎の香ばしいほうじ茶を贅沢に使い、奥行きのある香りが長く続きます。ミルクで割れば「ほうじ茶ミルク」、炭酸飲料と合わせれば爽やかな一杯に。