Black Hōjicha Cornetto Taste Test: Nice Or Not?

The sleek Black Hōjicha Cornetto — Japanese-inspired hōjicha tea latte ice cream wrapped in a minimalistic chic packaging — has been making its rounds on social media. Hōjicha is essentially roasted green tea, typically using older, coarser leaves and stems that are roasted over charcoal till dark and toasty. It's all the rage now in desserts. While this ice cream looks great for the ’gram, is it worth the calories?

We got the multi-pack with three ice cream cones in a black box — each Cornetto was wrapped in full black packaging too. We eagerly rip off the paper and are met with not black, but light grey ice cream sitting atop a more dark brown than black cone. The ice cream is sprinkled with mini orbs of, yes, also dark chocolate-coated cereal balls. Quite stylo-Milo.

On first lick, we detect roasted earthy notes of hōjicha tea. This is quickly followed by the milkiness of the ice cream which, thankfully, isn’t overly sweet. The choc cereal balls add a welcome crunch. Better yet, there's gooey dark chocolate sauce snuggled in the middle of the ice cream, a rich, lovely surprise which pairs well with the slight smokiness of the ice cream. Meanwhile, the cone, coated with chocolate on the inside, is light and crunchy.

Nice! We appreciate the fact that the ice cream isn’t too sweet, perhaps tempered by the light infusion of roasty hōjicha tea. Moreover, the chocolate sauce blended pretty well with the tea's smoky notes. Think of this as Cornetto for adults.

Available exclusively on RedMart till 4 March. ​​​​​​​