MP 3

Stronger beverage has almost double the alcohol content of last year’s version.

Believe it or not, green tea wasn’t a particularly common flavor for sweets in Japan until just a couple of years ago. Recently, though, there’s been a huge boom in matcha-flavored desserts and snacks, so much so that sometimes it almost feels like the country is running out of food to mix a little green tea powder into.

Perhaps that’s why some inventive beverage makers in Japan are now turning their attention towards making matcha-based booze. Recently we’ve seen the unveiling of matcha wine and Kahlua, and next week Suntory is launching an alcoholic green tea drink of its own, called Matchapresso.

Despite the name, Matchapresso isn’t an espresso-like super-caffeinated concoction, but a liqueur. It does deliver on the first half of its moniker, though, as it’s made with matcha green tea, specifically tea grown in Uji, one of Japan’s most respected tea regions. And if all that wasn’t high-brow enough, the kicker is the inclusion of gyokuro, an especially premium tea variety that requires its delicate leaves to spend an extra-long more time in the shade.

Regular RocketNews24 readers/alcoholic adventurers may be recalling Matcha Kaoru Osake, yet another matcha liqueur that Suntory rolled out last spring (and which we promptly downed a bottle of). Compared to the old beverage’s eight percent alcohol content, Matchapresso’s 14 percent should deliver a stronger kick. Suntory recommends drinking it on the rocks.

Matchapresso is priced at 500 yen (US$4.50) for a 300-mililiter (10.1-ounce) bottle and goes on sale March 29, after which we’ll be able to judge how it compares to its predecessor.

Source: Entabe
Image: Suntory