Swedish homeware chain turns its talents to Japan’s representative dessert flavor.

In Japan, if people are going shopping at Ikea, oftentimes they’ll make a day out of it. The large size of most of the chain’s stores means they’re usually located outside city centers, and often far enough away from train stations that many shoppers need to take a shuttle bus to/from the closest rail hub.

But Ikea Japan makes up for that inconvenience by putting a lot of effort into their in-store cafes, which, in Japanese foodie tradition, offer revolving menus of seasonal sweets and treats. For Ikea shoppers in Japan, the food is half the fun, and maybe even more than half now that the chain has kicked off its Matcha Fair.

Nine new green tea items joined the menu on Monday, though you could say the total number is actually a little higher since one of them, the above-pictured Matcha Afternoon Tea Set (590 yen [US$4.50]) is actually a plate of three different desserts: slice of matcha gateau chocolat cake, a matcha ichigo daifuku strawberry mochi dumpling, and matcha Mont Blanc chestnut puree.

If that matcha Mont Blanc has your undivided adoration, though, it can be ordered by itself for 350 yen.

There’s also a Matcha Souffle Roll (350 yen), an airy green tea cake with a circular cream core…

…and a Matcha Tart (390 yen) with a crisp crust.

Those looking for a creative fusion dessert will want to try the Matcha Sour Cream Sauce Pancake (700 yen), which has azuki sweet red beans sandwiched between pancakes accompanied by a unique sauce of mixed matcha and sour cream, with a strawberry on top for good measure.

For less powerfully sweet indulgences, Ikea has Matcha Muffins (250 yen) with a hint of orange-zest citrus, plus Matcha Bagels (290 yen) with embedded bits of white chocolate.

And finally, for those of the “Dude, it’s a dessert, of course I want it to be sweet!” philosophy, let us direct you to the Matcha Soft Serve Ice Cream (120 yen) and the Matcha and Warabi Mochi Sundae (250 yen), the latter of which features azuki, fruit, kuromitsu brown sugar syrup, and jiggly sweet mochi.

Ikea Japan cautions that five of the items (the pancake, afternoon tea set, souffle roll, ice cream, and sundae) are not available at its “city shops,” as it calls its branches in downtown Tokyo’s Harajuku, Shibuya, and Shinjuku neighborhoods. Of course, with nine different things to try, true matcha fans are probably going to need to make multiple trips anyway, and thankfully there’s time to do so since the Matcha Fair runs until June 25.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Ikea
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Follow Casey on Twitter as he continues his quest to eat as much matcha as possible.