Freezing Point Creamery Matcha Rolled Ice Cream: Originating from Thailand, rolled ice cream is a technique for making fresh ice cream from scratch to order. Liquid ice cream base is poured onto a cold metal pan (think crepe-grill-sized) and is then mixed, scraped, and chopped by hand before its spread into a single, solidified layer. At this point, the scraper is used to roll the ice cream into individual pieces resembling fruit roll up / mini crepes, looking nothing like your typical scoop of ice cream. I ended up at Freezing Point Cr... (read more) 2.0/5.0
icecream oakland freezingpointcreamery matcha rolled ice cream 2.0
Furuta Green Tea Cookies: I was lucky to find these crumbly green tea sandwich cookies at Niniya Market for a very reasonable price just over $3. The biscuits are lightly sweetened and more substantial than normal Oreo-like sandwich cookies, and the cream filling has a much more natural matcha flavor than most packaged snacks I’ve had. Great value and taste! 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese matcha nijiya furuta green tea cookies 3.5
Hapi green tea pudding: Japanese pudding with a very traditional asian pudding texture (more gelatinous and set than American pudding). The green tea flavor is on the sweet side and conventionally artificial yet nostalgically satisfying. Pricy for the size (each cup costs slightly over a dollar from hmart). 3.0/5.0
hapi japanese greentea matcha pudding hmart green tea 3.0
Happy Lemon Mango matcha slush: Matcha and mango seemed like an unlikely pairing, but I decided to give it a try as it was marked as a Happy Lemon top pick on the menu. Because of the way the drink is made, it’s not possible to adjust the sweetness, which I was a bit worried about since I usually get my beverages at 25% sweetness when possible. While the drink was on the sweet side, it also had a delicious creaminess that mellowed out the flavor overall. A thick base of mango at the bottom ensures that there is a bit of f... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks berkeley happylemon mango matcha slush 3.5
Happy Lemon Kiwi Matcha Slushie: I didn't expect to enjoy the mango matcha slush I had a few months ago at the Happy Lemon in Berkeley, so I decided to try the kiwi version in New York (I'm pretty sure this wasn't an option in California). Alas, despite the similar green color, this is not a match that's meant to be. If it were just a kiwi slushie, it would be pretty good because it had kiwi seeds for texture and was remarkably tart. But the addition of matcha threw it off balance. At Happy Lemon, I would stick to just ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks slushie happylemon kiwi matcha 3.0
Hio Ice Cream Green Tea Milk Ice Cream: Even before I arrived in Japan, I had bookmarked this modern ice cream shop in Jiyugaoka to try for Tasty Snacking. Unfortunately, it's a bit far away from central Tokyo and I never got a chance to make it out there before COVID hit. I didn't realize, though, that you can actually find their ice cream at certain grocery stores. I went for the classic green tea flavor, which has specks of dark green mixed in. While I was hoping for a strong bitter matcha flavor, it actually disappointingl... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese queensisetan hioicecream green tea milk ice cream 3.0 matcha