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Hōjicha Sorbet

Waymond Wesley II
Miyazaki-grown Hōjicha gives roasted grain, smoke, and light caramel notes that match charred pecan and ripe Bartlett pear. The base extracts at 90 °C / 194 °F, stabilizes with high-acyl gellan, and pasteurizes at 82 °C / 180 °F for a clean, balanced texture. I pull the churn at 23 °F / –5 °C for a fine, glassy finish and freeze immediately.
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Ingredients
  

Brewed Hōjicha

  • 12 g loose-leaf Hōjicha Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan – first harvest
  • 500 g distilled water

Hōjicha Sorbet Base (100 g total for scaling)

  • 74.85 g brewed Hōjicha
  • 24.00 g sugar
  • 0.45 g malic acid
  • 0.50 g salt
  • 0.20 g high-acyl gellan gum LT100

Hōjicha Sorbet Base – Scaled (for 500 g brewed tea)

  • 500.00 g brewed Hōjicha
  • 160.25 g sugar
  • 3.00 g malic acid
  • 3.35 g salt
  • 1.35 g high-acyl gellan gum LT100

Instructions
 

  • Prepare Equipment. Heat the sous-vide bath to 180 °F / 82 °C and set up an ice bath for rapid cooling later. Bag the loose-leaf Hōjicha into a tea bag and set aside.
  • Build the Base. In the ThermoMix, combine sugar, malic acid, salt, water, and high-acyl gellan gum (LT100). Blend on high until fully combined; the gellan must disperse completely for proper gel network formation.
  • Heat and Extract. Heat the mixture to 90 °C / 194 °F while stirring at speed 0.5 to 2. Once the temperature reaches 90 °C / 194 °F, set the timer for 10 minutes, reduce the speed to 0.5, and add the lightly hydrated tea bag. Allow the tea to steep for the full 10 minutes at 90 °C / 194 °F while stirring to extract flavor and integrate the roasted aromatics.
  • Strain and Cool. When the extraction completes, strain the sorbet base into a container or bag and immediately plunge it into the prepared ice bath to halt cooking. Once the base cools, vacuum-chamber seal the bag.
  • Pasteurize and Mature. Pasteurize the sealed base in the sous-vide bath at 180 °F / 82 °C for 30 minutes. After pasteurization, chill the base again in an ice bath, then rest it 8–12 hours in the refrigerator to mature and stabilize.
  • Pre-Freeze and Churn. If using a condenser-type ice-cream maker, pre-freeze the empty bowl 15–20 minutes to reduce churn time and improve crystal formation. Add the sorbet base when it measures 42 °F / 6 °C and begin churning. Stop when the base reaches 23 °F / –5 °C or below, remove it immediately from the bowl, and place it in the freezer to harden. There is no fixed churn time; mine took 24 minutes with a pre-frozen bowl.
  • Equipment Note. My ice-cream condenser model: Cuisinart ICE-100 1.5-Quart Ice Cream and Gelato Maker.