Japanese convenience store chain’s new matcha sweets are heaven for green tea lovers

Family Mart surprises everyone with the quality of its new sweets range. 

Matcha lovers in Japan are going mad for convenience store chain Family Mart right now, because that’s where you can buy a range of specially made matcha sweets produced under the supervision of Kanbayashi Shunsho Honten.

This tea wholesaler from Kyoto’s Uji City, the country’s most esteemed matcha-producing region, has a long history that dates back to the Eiroku era (1558-1569). Now, it’s bringing its expertise to matcha lovers around the country through Family Mart’s “Kinsei Uji Matcha Zukushi” range, which roughly translates to “All Sorts of Carefully Produced Uji Matcha“.

▼ There are a total of 16 items in the collection.

Image: PR Times

We’re mad for matcha, so when six items from the collection appeared in the office, we immediately grabbed them for a taste test. There’s a lot to love about each one of them, so let’s take a look at how they tasted, starting with the…

▼ …Uji Matcha Financier (178 yen [US$1.32]).

This financier contains a blend of two types of matcha to reduce astringency and enhance the aroma. It was moist and sweet, but the sweetness was held back beautifully with the matcha, which added an earthy note to create a more well-rounded flavour.

Next up, we have the Uji Matcha Baumkuchen (180 yen), which also blends two types of matcha for a refined finish.

This one was incredibly strong on the matcha notes — the more we chewed, the more the matcha flavour spread throughout the palate, leaving us with the refreshing scent of matcha in our nostrils.

▼ This is definitely one for diehard matcha lovers!

▼ The Uji Matcha Cream Daifuku (165 yen) is another must-try for matcha fans.

The cream-and-matcha-bean-paste filling isn’t overly sweet, allowing the strong flavour of matcha to take centre stage. The texture of the sticky rice cake adds a fun texture to every delicious mouthful.

▼ The Uji Matcha Dorayaki (180 yen) is the least strong in terms of matcha flavour.

Despite containing powdered green tea in both the filling and the dough, the matcha is surprisingly subdued in this pancake-like sweet. That doesn’t make it any less delicious, though, as it contains just the right amount of green tea to complement the sweetness of the dough.

▼ The Uji Matcha Pound Cake (170 yen), dials up the green tea with two types of matcha in the mix.

As well as two types of matcha, this cake contains a small amount of brown molasses to the mix to create a moreish flavour. This one struck us as one of the most refined sweets, and we reckon it’d be hard to pick this one out as a convenience store sweet against a pricier version from a Japanese confectionery store.

▼ Finally, we have the “Moist Gateau Chocolate Styled Matcha Chocolate” (158 yen).

With white cookies and matcha in the centre, these delightful chocolate-coated pieces were absolute heaven to bite into, and the taste was simply amazing. Before we knew it, we’d demolished the entire bag and wanted to tear open another one. Definitely a must-try!

Every item we tried totally exceeded our expectations as these didn’t taste like convenience store sweets at all. They were more like high-class sweets from a traditional store, which just goes to show the greatness of Kanbayashi Shunsho Honten.

Photos © SoraNews24
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