WHAT’S UP?

Hello world, it’s been a long time since I last blogged. Living in Silicon Valley is not easy. You need two incomes to survive. I have been picking up OT at work and volunteering at my daughter’s school. Blogging has been on the back burner lately but since Summer has arrived, I want to share a special ingredient: Kokuto Black Sugar.

Make Cheaper and Healthier Boba Drinks

With everything being so damn expensive with inflation these days, I’m trying to eat more meals at home. I stopped going to boba cafes and make my own iced matcha latte at home. It feels great saving $9/drink and being healthier!

I used to sweeten my matcha latte with honey but I recently found Kokuto black sugar. My lattes have been leveled up to boba shop status! I love having my matcha latte before working the swing shift.

Kokuto Black Sugar: Okinawa’s Gift to the World

Kokuto sugar is also known as Okinawa Black Sugar. It has a mellow, molasses kind of flavor and can be used as a white sugar substitute. Its complex flavor has been enjoyed by the Ryukyuans in their traditional sweets and to make a sweet sauce for their famous kakuni pork dish.

Kokuto Black Sugar: A “healthier” Sugar

Kokuto is made by boiling the liquid from the sugar cane until it becomes a thick dark liquid. Because of this process, Kokuto maintains most of its original nutrients such as, potassium, calcium, iron, and antioxidants. It has a lower glycemic index so it won’t spike sugar levels. No wonder Okinawans live such healthy and long lives! However, Kokuto is still a sugar and should be used in limited quantities to prevent diabetes.

How Kokuto Black Sugar is Used

Kokuto sugar is used in all kinds of Japanese confectionaries, such as, topping for dango, ice cream, warabi mochi, anmitsu, matcha kintoki ect. I just learned that in Okinawa, Kokuto is used to make plum wine or umeshu. I love all things ume so I made myself a jar. I’ll post an update in August on how it tastes.

Maiko Matcha Cafe: Matcha Float

Matcha Float with Kokuto Black Sugar Jelly at the bottom from Maiko Matcha Cafe. Highly recommend if you are near a shop.

Please ignore my fugly thumb nail. Too much hand washing from my hospital job.

Kokuto Syrup topping for Ice Cream and Tiger Sugar Boba

Kokuto is the topping on the Hojicha ice cream with sweet mochi that I got from Mochiya-Ren inside the San Jose Mitsuwa Market. The main feature of Tiger Sugar boba is the Kokuto drizzled all over. In Taiwan, boba balls are simmered in their version of Kokuto sugar to make the boba have that rich and velvety taste.

My Cheap Boba-style Drink: Kokuto Matcha Latte

Premium Ingredients for Matcha Latte

First and foremost, get some premium good quality matcha powder. I purchased mine from a matcha cafe in Valley Fair Mall called Matcha Maiko Cafe for $15. This is an excellent bargain for the quality! Maiko Matcha has a better taste profile than the fancy Ippoda Ikuyo matcha powder that I purchased online for $50/100g.

Can Melt Kokuto or Use Lazy Granules

For the Kokuto, you can buy the sugar in cubes but you need to melt it with water on the stove until it becomes a molasses or honey like consistency. If you’re lazy or short on time like me, you can buy the granule version (pictured above) and dissolve it in hot water before adding to your latte.

I like to use about a teaspoon of matcha and 1-2 tsp of Kokuto, combine with hot water, mix with a milk frother, add ice to the top of my mason jar/cup, and top off with enough oatmilk to fill the cup. It’s that easy!

The second picture is when I drizzled the melted version of the Kokuto. I’ve calculated that I have saved $300/year making my own matcha lattes at home. This sounds like a ridiculous amount to be spending on drinks and don’t forget that because of the pandemic and high inflation, it feels mandatory to add tip to everything these days. That’s a huge savings that can go into investing!

Where to buy Kokuto

Any Japanese supermarkets have Kokuto sugar, such as Marukai and Mitsuwa market in the dried goods section. If not, Amazon has it available and I have seen the Taiwanese version called Black Sugar at Ranch 99 and Marina market. Just make sure you don’t get the one with ginger flavoring added unless you like that flavor. Another thing to note is to make sure the ingredients are just Kokuto because I have seen some brands with weird preservatives added.

Conclusion

Save money and lose weight by making your own boba-cafe style drinks.