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Japan’s new 2,500-yen Ultimate Matcha Latte Float takes green tea to a whole new level

Oona McGee Apr 22, 2023
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Would you pay 20 bucks for this green tea beverage?

If you’re looking for a high-quality matcha experience, there are plenty of options available in Japan, but for six days only, nowhere quite compares to Shinjuku Isetan in Tokyo, where you’ll be able to try the “ultimate” matcha float that costs a whopping 2,548 yen (US$19.03).

The drink is one of two being sold by Kyoto tea stand Hatoya Ryoyousha, who’s in town for the 56th “Kyoto Successive Generations Noren Market” being held at the Shinjuku Isetan department store.

▼ The green duo: Ultimate Matcha Latte Float (left), Roasted Matcha Latte Soft Serve (right).

Priced at 1,427 yen, the Roasted Matcha Latte Soft Serve is cheaper than the ultimate latte, but it’s still a high price to pay for a green tea beverage. According to Hatoya Ryoyousha, however, the high price tag for both drinks is worth it, as the store only uses high-quality Kyoto-produced teas carefully selected by the owner.

The matcha latte contains a roasted matcha characterized by its fragrant flavor, with a special matcha soft serve ice cream on top that’s smooth, fresh and luxurious.

Unlike a lot of green tea drinks on the market, the matcha latte float (below) is more particular about the variety of matcha used rather than its strength of flavour. For this “ultimate” beverage, the owner visited a tea farmer personally, trialing a variety of carefully selected Uji hikari matcha varieties in order to create the most supreme latte float.

Uji Hikari is grown from indigenous tea tree seeds and is a relatively rare cultivar in the Japanese tea world. Grown in the shade and hand-picked at the prime moment, this tea is said to produce a wonderful fragrance and a savoury umami for a very refined flavour.

The drink is topped with the store’s Supreme Matcha Ice Cream, made with the same variety of matcha, which usually costs 5,480 yen (US$40.88) for a 140-millilitre (4.7-ounce) tub.

▼ The rare, hand-picked matcha imparts hardly any bitterness so you can enjoy the true umami of the tea.

If that’s still not enough matcha for you, you can always dip one of the store’s matcha cookies into the mix. Each cookie contains two grams (0.07 ounces) of high-grade powdered green tea, which is equivalent to one cup of matcha. The crisp, deep green biscuit delivers a pleasant blend of bitterness and umami, and is said to pair well with both the drinks…

▼ …and the purin (Japanese custard pudding), which also contains high-quality matcha, priced at 664 yen per tub.

▼ The cookies can be purchased on their own for 256 yen apiece or in a set of eight for 2,201 yen.

While the pudding can be purchased at Hatoya Ryoyousha’s tea shop in Kyoto, the cookies and special lattes have been created specifically for the pop-up at Shinjuku Isetan.

The event ends on 24 April, though, so if you’d like to splurge on the ultimate matcha latte, be sure to stop by before then. After that, we’ll have to satisfy our cravings for strong matcha with the new range of Kyoto matcha doughnuts from Mister Donut!

Related: Hatoya Ryoyousha
Source, images: PR Times
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