Japanese Food Tips

I think the most common flavors of ice cream or soft serve ice cream are vanilla or chocolaty flavors worldwide. In Japan, in addition to those flavors, matcha is one of the standard flavors. Not only Japanese ice cream companies, but also famous American ice cream companies sell matcha-flavored ice cream in Japan. Matcha is powdered green tea, and its quality is determined by the balance of sweetness and bitterness. It is said that the sweeter the matcha, the more expensive it is. Matcha-flavored ice cream/soft serve ice cream is green and has the delicious bitterness of matcha and a refreshing unique aftertaste different from mint. The darker the green color, the richer the matcha taste. It is said that matcha-flavored ice cream was first served at a court banquet in the early Meiji period (1868-1912). The modern matcha-flavored ice cream and matcha soft serve ice cream production method was invented by a tea shop in Wakayama Prefecture, located in the south of the Kinki region, facing the Pacific Ocean, in 1958. The tea shop decided to come up with something to sell in the summer, so they started that ice cream. Some manufacturers of matcha-flavored ice cream sold in cup containers have light-shielding lids to prevent the catechins in matcha from being discolored by light. Some products are artificially colored instead of the color of the matcha itself. In Japan, matcha-flavored ice cream/soft serve ice cream is available at quite a few shops, so if you have the chance, please try it.