Nanaya Aoyama Matcha (7) and Roasted Rice Tea Ice Cream: Nanaya Aoyama is a small ice cream shop near Omote-Sando in Tokyo and had been on my checklist of places to try for Tasty Snacking since before I arrived in Japan. Its menu features matcha ice cream at different levels of concentration, from 1-7, with 7 being the most potent (they claim it's the strongest in the world). On display, you see how matcha ice cream 1-7 goes from a light shamrock color to a dark forest green (though there isn't too much difference visually between #5-7). The ice cream is made from matcha from the mountainous region Fujieda, in Shizuoka Prefecture, especially known for its high quality green tea. Nanaya also offers some other flavors, like black sesame and strawberry, as well as other teas like roasted tea, black tea, and brown rice tea. I got the combination of #7 matcha and roasted brown rice tea, which was kind of pricy at 700¥, but in my opinion, well worth it. The texture of the ice cream was very smooth and creamy, and the matcha was expertly balanced, capturing its bitter quality in pure form. I was surprised to actually prefer the brown rice tea, mostly because I had never had that flavor before and its unique nutty, roasted flavor was something I wish I could have all the time, tasting exactly like the comforting warm tea I've had in restaurants but perfectly reimagined in a chilled format. The shop also features a lot of quality gifts, ranging from chocolates to tea bags to individually wrapped mochi ice cream, something I'll have to try next time! Highly recommend checking out this ice cream shop in your travels! 4.5/5.0

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