Guide to Matcha Desserts in Tokyo

Kinozen (紀の善)

Located in the French-Japanese quarter of Kagurazaka, this shop is famous for being featured on Netflix’s Sweet Tooth Salaryman Kentaro. They offer a range of desserts, along with their top seller Matcha Bavarois in both take-out and eat-in versions. At 800–900yen each, it’s not exactly a cheap dessert but nothing that would break the bank.

First, I try the take-out version:

The packaging is very nice, with clear containers for the anko (red bean paste) and heavy whipped cream. The red bean paste is ogura-an (小倉餡). Honestly there’s nothing much to say about presentation, it’s just plastic cups.

Although I like their paper bag, the red dots and blue bowl really makes you think of dessert though (red bean soup).

Ogura-an is made by mixing smooth sieve pressed paste (koshi-an) and whole cooked bean (tsubu-an). Most shops use only koshi-an, especially in things like mochi, you have the smooth-on-smooth texture to create that silky chewiness. Tsubu-an is common in shaved ice, so if you go Hawaii and get a topping of whole red beans and condensed milk, that’s tsubu-an.

Ogura is basically a semi-mash of both, which requires double the work since you’re essentially preparing two different types of sugar syrup:bean paste ratios. I can only think of one other shop that sold ogura-an, since it’s so laborious.

FLAVOR (TAKE-OUT):
The cream is smooth and not sweet, almost buttery-like. It’s a textural component meant to ‘lift’ the ogura and matcha bavarois and does so spectactularly. On its own, it tastes like churned milk ice cream, the kind you get from Scotland which has no sugar added. The sweetness comes from the milkfat and lactose.

The matcha bavarois has a wobbly, panna cotta consistency. There’s milk in there, but maybe not heavy cream. The matcha quality is excellent, with a smooth bitterness that spreads evenly to the back of the mouth — perfect ‘melt’ aroma! There’s no astringency, like when you rub your tongue on the back of your teeth, no chalk or sharpness from mixing old tea with new. Just a strong grassy matcha taste which recalls high grade gyokuro tea.

The star in the takeout version is really the ogura-an. Perfect al dente, with a deep luscious jammy undertone. The chunky bean held firmly with the smooth bean is velvety with a slight bite, with all the sugar cooked out properly, so all you taste is the rich bean flavour.

And so you have a delicious cycle of strong grassy bitterness cut by the sweet velvety rich red bean and lifted by the buttery cream. It makes you want to eat more and more!!!

Now fully enamored, I decided to make a trip 2 days later to try the eat-in version. I cannot stop thinking about it, so I must eat it!!!

I was SO ready for this, or thought I was. Anyway I walked in at 3pm on a Wednesday, and it was semi-crowded already. Luckily there was no wait, but I think if you’re coming on a weekend you should be prepared to queue.

PRESENTATION (EAT-IN): 
First, the portions in the eat in version is BIGGER! That really made me happy. Most immediate was how soft the heavy cream looked. In the takeout version, it had a buttery, churned consistency. But from the presentation alone I could see it was more aerated and less “yellow” which meant that the cream was churned less/not overmixed. That was already a good sign. The bowl had a beautiful weight and shape, as though someone had cupped their hands to offer you a sweet , and it looked interesting, exciting.

FLAVOR (EAT-IN):
Matcha — WOW! In the take-out version, I thought the matcha bavarois took a backseat to the spectacular ogura-an. (I keep wanting to say ogura-san, because this is a red bean that deserves respect) It was a strong substantial aroma of green tea that immediately hit you on the nose. Definitely an adult dessert, the mature bitterness from shade grown tea. The texture was also more delicate if possible, it barely held together in shape — when I passed the kitchen I sneaked a glance, and they were cutting these bavarois with plastic wires(?) by order. The smoothness melted in your mouth and spread that beautiful matcha across your entire tongue, intensely flavorful and yet incredibly light. It was unbelievable. I swooned.

The cream, even though it was more liquid in appearance, was actually heavier and helped transition into the dense red bean paste. It gave the matcha a bit more substance, so it didn’t immediately disappear. Truly it recalls the saying: “All that is solid melts into air” because melt it did, in some kind of magical sublimation of dessert substances, I was transported between the heavenly matcha and earthly red bean by a staircase made of whipped cream.

I think the red bean stayed quite consistent in both the take-out and eat-in version. Probably because bean paste is quite steady and less temperamental, whereas the cream was dying the moment it was cut into.

I would consider them as different desserts due to the time difference. The take-out really focuses on red bean, and the whipped buttery cream. The eat-in version though, with its effortless lightless, the transparency and silky texture, even if you have to skip work — I think it would be worth it! Euphoria awaits!!

Value: Heaven is possible for below ~999yen. Excellent value!

**Take-out version sells out quickly. It was sold out by 7pm when I swung by on a weekend. I would buy it in advance if doing takeout since Kinozen is right by the Iidabashi station exit.

Kinozen (紀の善)
〒162–0825 Tokyo, Shinjuku, Kagurazaka, １−１２ 紀の善ビル
https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1309/A130905/13000478/
Daily: 11am — 8pm except on Sunday

Saryo Cafe (神楽坂 茶寮 )

This is a well-known brand from Kyoto. They have their own tea production and supplier. With several branches, Saryo Kagurazaka has a main cafe as well as more casual places in Shibuya, Ikebukuro, etc.

They’re a good choice if you’re coming as a group, since they have savory and sweet menus, as well as a variety of matcha desserts (not just cream). So if you’re traveling with family or friends who aren’t matcha addicts, this is a good choice. Almost everything in their menu is tea-centric, along with various types of tea like hojicha (roasted tea) and oolong (fermented tea).

I decided to go Shibuya Mark Center Saryo Cafe. First it’s a super convenient location, since it’s right at the train station. So even if you’re coming straight from the airport you can still get your matcha fix. Second, its a small branch, and I wanted to know if the consistency carried even in a small shop.

After much deliberation, I decided to go for their Saryo Parfait (お茶香る茶寮の和パフェ) set which comes with their house special matcha latte. The idea behind the parfait is that it’s basically an all-in-one tea ceremony — you got the green tea, the shiratama (white mochi), the kinako (soybean flour) and even ‘monaka’ as waffles (monaka is the crispy red bean wafer thing). Plus point: no kneeling, no sitting in seiza, no need to worry about how to pee in a kimono. All in all, my kind of tea ceremony.

PRESENTATION: 
Absolutely gorgeous, A++. It’s definitely a showstopper, and it looked so picture perfect ideal of what a matcha parfait should look like. Too often you buy “matcha parfait” and 3/4 of it is just whipped cream. Very sad. This one is GREEN with varying shades of green on green. It also has the right kind of matcha additions, like red bean and kinako and shiratama, all of which typically go with matcha. Plus it’s really impressive. This is the kind of dessert you’ll order to impress a girl you like. Since it’s big, you can share. (or you can order your own and DEVOUR it like the dessert fiend you are) After snapping lots of pictures for food p0r — ahem, future reference… let’s get ready to taste!

FLAVOR:
This parfait is like, A LOT. It’s the matcha equivalent of being fabulously extra. It consists of:

1. Monaka wafers
2. Red bean paste (tsubu-an)
3. 3 kinds of ice cream: Matcha, Hojicha, Vanilla
4. 3 pieces of pound cake cube: Matcha, Hojicha, Oolong
5. 2 kinds of mochi: shiratama (white motchi) and warabi mochi (bracken mochi) hidden under that soybean flour
6. Matcha cream (3 tier, under the ice cream & toppings)
7. Matcha custard (dark green at the very bottom)

It all went rather harmoniously, which was good. Texturally everything worked well, especially the mochi. The shiratama was awesomely delicious, chewy with the slightest give and my friend and I were trying very hard to be fair and not fight over them. The pound cake was good too, moist without being soggy.

The red bean was OK. It was inoffensive. It was good, but not memorable. This is the red bean that takes the 7.15 train every day to work. This red bean reblogs #lifegoals, thinks about joining the gym but realizes that it would never go and therefore refuses to join membership scams. It is a pragmatic realistic red bean paste. Because it didn’t really add anything, it was just a bean-sweetness, which honestly this parfait could do without.

The matcha was a bit difficult. It had nothing to do with quality. Quality wise, this matcha was light, aromatic with a mild floral fragrance. Instead of highlighting the dense bitterness, Saryo focused on the refreshing aspect of matcha. I don’t know what blend they are using, but it had a lovely greenness that reminded you of meadows.

The problem was, this matcha was way way WAAAY too light to hold up against these aggressive toppings. So what you had was a delicious mix of toppings with a background of matcha. Also because this was a dessert-on-dessert, without the bitterness of matcha, there was a tendency to go towards the border of too much sweetness.

As you got deeper towards the custard, and then dark green pudding — then it was like, WOW! matcha! I would give up all the rest of the dessert (maybe keep the shiratama) if they could just do one with matcha cream and the intense custard.

VALUE:
Overall I think it is good value. It’s a bit pricey at 1,100yen but considering the set and the size, it makes it quite worth it. I think this is a good dessert for introducing someone to matcha, maybe someone who likes desserts but is turned off by the bitterness. If you’re looking for a more intense experience, then you will be disappointed.

Shibuya Mark Saryo Cafe
東京都渋谷区道玄坂1–12–5
https://goo.gl/maps/VN5ZMa1ErCC2
10:00am ～9:00pm

DENNY’S

I know it sounds crazy, but Denny’s in Japan has a grand menu that consists of both Japanese and Western style dishes. I’m prefacing this review that I grew up on Denny’s Japan, so my experience is colored by nostalgia. The plus point of Denny’s is that it is 24 hrs, 7 days a week matcha parfait time. 4am craving for matcha parfait? Can’t sleep? Jetlagged? Go to Denny’s!

This is their 400yen matcha parfait. That’s right, FOUR HUNDRED YEN (~$4usd). It’s a very simple parfait, 3 scoops of green tea ice cream topped with whipped cream, a spoonful of red bean jam and 2 shiratama mochi drizzled in brown sugar syrup (kuromitsu).

PRESENTATION:
I think the dark green matcha ice cream is very appealing. Honestly it could be food colouring, but I just love the colour contrast. It looks rich. It looks decadent. In my tastebuds I’m already preparing for luxury just based on the colour. This parfait though, while the largest size, is only 18cm tall (~7") So it’s good, if you want like an after dinner dessert or an afternoon snack. The dainty portion is also very adorable since the scoops are so tiny yet perfectly spherical

TASTE:
This is like middle-of-road matcha. Denny’s is obviously catering to a family/middle audience, so it’s like a well-rounded matcha. This is the kind of matcha that is obviously blended for maximum people.

I think what was surprising is the acidity. Most matcha parfaits don’t really have much or any acidity. Generally when people make matcha desserts, the focus is bitterness or greenness. So having that mild acid bite, I think from tannins, is interesting. It also goes well with the whipped cream since whipped cream is lighter than heavy cream, and that creamy lightness makes the mild acid very refreshing.

The downside is that the ice cream does have a tendency to be icy. I think maybe they’re using less cream and more milk to bulk it up, or they use milk on purpose to highlight the matcha flavour more (by doing so, they can use a less aromatic matcha which would help their bottomline I’m sure).

Also, it isn’t very sweet. I consider that an advantage, but if you’re bringing kids or used to Starbucks type matcha (which is another middle-road optimization), you might find Denny’s matcha parfait a bit astringent. If you do find it too astringent, just ask for extra cream! The staff will be happy to provide I think. This is the beauty of diners!!

VALUE:
You can’t really beat 400yen parfaits served 24/7. This is amazing value!

Denny’s Japan
https://www.dennys.jp/
Branches nationwide

ChaCha no Ma (茶茶の間)

This place was very hyped to me, especially the rave reviews on Timeout, Tabelog and Trip Advisor. Also since it’s in Harajuku, and I’m there a lot — finding a good dessert place would be a win. As much as I like exploring, a place closer would be nice.

We decided to get a range of desserts. The matcha tiramisu is their top seller and most recommended item, while the matcha cheesecake had the most “pure” flavor (according to staff). Each set also comes with a bowl of matcha tea (no milk).

PRESENTATION:

Both are beautiful, and immaculately presented. Unlike Saryo Cafe, ChaCha no Ma has a kind of modern stylishness that really makes to think of Harajuku. The matcha tiramisu with its vivid strawberry contrast and dense green top, was super exciting to look at. You’re like, “Wow, these desserts are really sexy and cool.” All the thoughts about modern design geometry and shape contrast, condense on a delicious plate in front of you.

TASTE:

Honestly, both desserts were terribly disappointing. I cannot avoid saying it. I won’t even try and sugarcoat it because even if it wasn’t hyped, I would not recommend it.

While each dessert had individual problems — the tiramisu matcha powder, while beautiful, made your mouth feel like you were eating sand dunes in the driest Sahara desert. Green sand dunes. The cheesecake, while beautifully layered, had no textural contrast. It was soft cheese with soft joconde sponge base on more softness. So much softness made your mouth feel sticky with richness, as though the cheese was choking with its thick gluey texture.

The real problem though, was the matcha. I have no idea what’s going on with that matcha, but that matcha was bad. Was it the blend? The quality of tea? I couldn’t tell, so I took a drink of the matcha tea itself. It was frothy and lovely on the top, but underneath it tasted muddy. The notes of green grass or aromatic bitterness, was not there. Actually that was perhaps the most surprising part, it was not bitter at all. It didn’t feel like tea, and maybe that was the problem. Bitterness is one of the qualities of matcha, and even when you’re making dessert, you need to respect one of the essential qualities, even if it is bitter.

VALUE:
At 3,000++ including tax, I was disappointed. At that price, I could’ve bought 3 rounds of kinozen or 15 cups of Nanaya green tea pudding. If it was more reasonably priced, I would consider coming back to try again, but it’s just really expensive. It was upsetting. This is a bad value and experience.

Chacha no Ma
5 Chome-13–14 Jingumae, 
渋谷区 Tokyo 150–0001
http://chachanoma.com/
Closed Tuesdays.

Nanaya Matcha Pudding (Mini-Stop)

We go from the most expensive test, to one of the cheapest and most affordable!

This matcha pudding is available nationwide in all Mini-Stop convenience chains (conbinis). Nanaya is a well-known matcha producer, most famous of their intense matcha gelatos which you can purchase including the premium matcha number 7. When I read the news about this collaboration, I was excited because their gelatos normally cost 600yen per scoop, and Mini-Stop would be selling their items for a cheap 200yen including tax!!!!

PRESENTATION:
The packaging is nice, if minimal. I like the black cup though, it reminds me of a tea mug and it makes it look more premium. The silver foil on black with green sticker is also very classy for a combini standard item.

TASTE (NO TOPPING):
When you open the lid, you realize it’s just green tea pudding. No cream, no toppings, nothing. On its own, its passably good — like a 5/10 level of good. It has a strong matcha forward taste, a One Punch Matcha! knockout that starts from the tip and spreads across the mouth. The smooth pudding has a delicate texture that melts well so the flavor is carried though. Definitely though, this is a forward attack matcha pudding!!

The downside is the aftertaste. It has a distinct foil/plastic aftertaste which is probably from storage and production. Because it has no cream or anything, the aftertaste is really apparent since there’s nothing that can hide it.

It’s a genuine pity because the matcha used is good. It does have the flavor profile of premium green tea, and the floral/green notes meld well with a medium tea body.

Then I decided…. I would add my own topping! So I opened my fridge and dumped some milk on top. I put about 3–4 tablespoons of milk until the pudding was nicely covered.

TASTE [TOPPING ADDED]:
Taste immediately went up from 5/10 to 8/10. With the milk-cream to smooth the edge of the plastic aftertaste, it became incredibly enjoyable and easy to eat. If I was judging from a pure combini dessert standpoint, this would be easily one of the top combini desserts I’ve ever eaten.

As an overall contender, it’s not Kinozen by a long shot or even on the same league, but it’s definitely hitting well above its class. It can easily go head to head with Denny’s or Chacha no Ma, and at 200yen each it has an unbeatable price point.

I think the lack of cream or topping could be a considered an advantage to Nanaya Mini-Stop Matcha Pudding. You could add ice cream and cornflakes to make a parfait, or keep it classic with red bean paste and shiratama mochi. You could use it as a mousse layer for cakes, or freeze it into a semi-freddo. The possibilities are endless, and you are limited only by how far you can imagine this tiny cheap pudding to go.

VALUE:
Premium matcha pudding at 200yen. What’s not to love? Amazing value!

Found at any MiniStop combini 
Nationwide
24/7

Suzuki-en/Nanaya Matcha Premium Gelato

After eating the ‘cheapo’ version, I decided to splurge for the ultra-premium one. Nanaya also has a second collaboration, with teahouse Suzuki-en in Asakusa. It is famous for the selection of matcha gelato which has 7 different intensities!!

Suzuki-en is located in Asakusa, but its not in the main temple thoroughfare. Inside the shop they sell a range of tea/matcha products, along with a long black bar in the back for enjoying your icecream. There is no seating.

I ordered a scoop of the most intense matcha flavour, #7!!

PRESENTATION:

This is an un-photoshopped image of green. The green is intensely vivid and beautiful to look at. Doesn’t it look delicious? This luxurious hue of rich green, reminiscent of deep green meadows? The thick smooth texture, syrupy drip and crisp toasty waffle cone is extremely sexy. This is matcha gelato of Asakusa: traditional, minimal and sensual elegance, I cannot wait to taste it!!

TASTE:

It really is as rich as it looks. I’m a matcha lover, but this was impressive level of intensity — so bitter green that it bordered on savoury, astringency so hard and sharp it was almost acrid, with only the rich milkfat and velvety texture to take the edge off.

This kind of intensity reminds of of Il Laboratorio de Gelato in New York, where they have ice creams like basil and ginger. In these type of places, ice cream is merely a vehicle — don’t get me wrong, both places have great texture — but the focus is not on the cream, but as a vehicle for condensing an ultimate flavour. In Suzuki-en, that ultimate flavour is an exploration of matcha.

I enjoyed it, but I’m definitely a minority. Most Tokyo locals went for #4, only tourists (both domestic and international alike) went for #7. This is a serious, aggressive matcha flavour that is barely sweetened — your tongue will turn green, and probably your poop too. You will be green inside and outside and you’ll be spitting green until you brush your teeth again.

If Ministop Nanaya’s was a One-Punch-Matcha knockout, then Suzuki-en Nanaya is like a Super Saiyan Matcha where your tastebuds is completely annhiliated except for extreme taste of matcha.

But is it delicious? That’s really difficult to say. I think it’s something worth trying at least once if you’re a matcha lover, but I’ll probably not eat it again. I felt like someone has hit me over the head with matcha, but I could have the same effect eating ground powder straight out of the tin. For it to be truly a divine dessert, it needs to go beyond the core and highlight something that is different, a unique aspect of matcha flavour that surprises and delights.

If you want to try it, I recommend doing the cone version as it adds a texture and flavour contrast to the explosive matcha.

VALUE:
Premium matcha 7 goes for 580yen a scoop. Other levels and flavours (including seasonal ones) are 390yen. In terms of gelato, this is quite expensive, especially since the portion scoop is quite small. Since it’s so intense, the small-scoop size might not be an issue. I score this as average value, a pricey treat if you’re in the vicinity.

Suzuki-en
Asakusa 3–4–3, Taito-ku, Tokyo
10am — 5.30pm daily
Closed on the 3rd Wednesday of every month