I was inspired by Minimalist Baker‘s many variations of healthy bliss balls recipes and obviously decided to create one using tea. I’ve seen plenty of Matcha energy balls recipes but none with Hojicha powder, my current baking obsession. I’ve made several bliss balls recipes but I promise you, these are the best! You’ll impress everyone with their unexpected and delicious flavor. They are gluten-free and naturally sweetened with dates so they make a healthy dessert or snack.

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What’s all the Bliss Balls hype about?

Everybody’s going nuts about them! And it’s for a reason… several, really.

The hype is because they are healthy, no-bake, no-hassle, easy enough for anyone to make and easily customizable. There are tons of recipes all over the internet and cookbooks with different variations including different seeds, superfoods, you name it!

Some of the main reasons why everybody loves bliss balls (or energy balls, however you want to call them):

• They are perfect as on-the-go snacks, easy to pack and easy to portion. 
• So easy to make, just throw everything in the food processor, roll into balls and you’re done!
• They are easily customizable. You can swap ingredients and create endless combinations.
• Only wholesome and real ingredients. Nothing processed like store-bought snacks.
• Good source of healthy fats from nuts and seeds used as a base for most recipes.
• Protein-packed dessert, especially if you use peanuts. You can also add protein powder to customize your recipe!
• High in fiber content thanks to nuts, seeds and dried fruits.

What is Hojicha Powder?

Hojicha is a roasted Japanese green tea that has a toasty, smoky but sweet, nutty flavor. The roasting replaces the grassy notes of standard green teas with a toasty, slightly caramel-like flavor. It is a low-caffeine tea and it’s very smooth (one of my favorite teas!).

Just like Matcha, it can be ground into a talc-like powder and used to make lattes, smoothies and baking. 

This recipe has almonds, shredded coconut, tahini and almond butter, so Hojicha complements all of these nutty flavors. 

RELATED: Hojicha Shortbread Cookies

Where can I get Hojicha Powder?

It’s not so easy to find, so these are some options I like and recommend:
– Hojicha Co. (my favorite!) – Get a discount code by subscribing to my blog and accessing the subscriber’s vault.
– Amazon
– Nodoka – Ships from Japan at a reasonable price.
– Harney & Sons

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On to the recipe…

This Hojicha bliss balls recipe has simple and wholesome ingredients:

Almonds
Shredded Coconut
Almond Butter
Tahini
Coconut oil
Medjool dates
Hojicha powder

I recommend using Medjool dates because they are soft and sticky and don’t need presoaking. They can usually be found at the fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket. You can also use pitted dates but you’ll need to presoak them. 

When using dates to make bliss balls or other recipes, I like to pre-chop them in the food processor to make sure they’ll break evenly and you won’t end up with larger date chunks in the middle.

Once you’ve chopped the dates into small pieces, add the rest of the ingredients into the food processor.

Pulse until you get a homogeneous, ‘sandy’ dough. You might need to scrape the sides of the bowl and pulse again a couple of times to make sure it’s all blended together.

The dough will look crumbly, but once you scoop and press it together, you’ll be able to form the balls easily.

If you’re like me and have a crazy sweet tooth, bliss balls are an amazing option to snack on. These Hojicha bites are unique and they won’t disappoint! If you’re a fan of Hojicha tea you’ll be obsessed with them, and if it’s your first time trying them and have never heard of Hojicha, you’ll want to try this tea!

If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments or tag @teacachai on Instagram!

 

 

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