One surprise is the topping, which isn’t cream but an enormous green tea daifuku sweet.

If you love green tea, you really ought to add a visit to Shizuoka Prefecture to your itinerary. Located just an hour away from Tokyo by the Hikari Shinkansen, this region has an ideal climate for growing green tea, making it one of the top producing areas, and you’ll be able to try it in a variety of ways wherever you go throughout the prefecture.

▼ Shizuoka is famous for two things — green tea and being home to one half of Mt Fuji, with Yamanashi claiming the other side of the mountain.

While green tea fields abound in Shizuoka, the Tanna region is said to be particularly ideal for tea cultivation, due to its high altitude, the difference in temperature between morning and evening, and the rocky mountains that make the soil rich in stones and drainage. Also, because the terrain is in the shape of a basin, it’s easy for fog to form, providing just the right amount of shade for tea leaves to grow.

▼ The green tea grown in this region is known as “Tanna Tea”.

One of the best places to get a taste of Tanna Tea right now is at Tamagoya (literally “Egg Shop”), a cafe that makes tasty meals with Hinode eggs sourced from the nearby Hakone Seiroku farm.

Tamagoya is always keen to champion local produce and now, for a limited time, they’ll be shining a spotlight on Tanna tea in a huge way — quite literally.

As the above image shows, Tamagoya is going all out with its celebration of locally sourced green tea, adding six new items to its menu for a limited time.

The adventure starts with the Tanna Matcha Pancakes (2,500 yen [US$16.15]), which are only being made available in limited quantities. The dish contains a wide variety of ingredients to excite green tea lovers, with thick pancakes slathered in matcha custard brûlée, sweet red bean paste, whipped butter, and matcha cream. Additional toppings like roasted green tea jelly, matcha kuzu (arrowroot paste), and shiratama dumplings offer even more taste and texture to the delicious dish.

Those with smaller appetites can enjoy the Matcha Cream Pancake (1,680 yen), which pairs two fluffy pancakes with a rich-flavoured Tanna tea espuma and tops it all with a matcha daifuku sweet containing Tanna tea.

The Matcha Mini Parfait (600 yen) contains so many ingredients it can hardly be called mini. There are nine ingredients in total — pancakes, matcha cream, milk blancmange, roasted green tea jelly, matcha ice cream, Hinode egg custard, white chocolate crunch, fresh cream, and matcha powder.

Those after a simple snack can opt for the Matcha Pudding (450 yen) or the Matcha Daifuku (550 yen), which are available for takeout.

From the very small to the very big, we have the true star of the collection — the Matcha Deluxe Parfait. This jumbo dessert  weighs over six kilos (13.2 pounds) and is said to be 33 times the size of the Mini Parfait. While its appearance definitely makes an impact, it’s also particular about taste, with 14 different ingredients hidden inside the enormous parfait, all chosen to complement and enhance the flavour of green tea.

The ingredients are: Matcha cream, hojicha (roasted green tea) jelly, pancakes, Hinode egg custard, seasonal fruits, red bean paste, milk blanc mange, white chocolate crunch, matcha paste, brown sugar syrup, citrus jam, matcha ice cream, milk ice cream, and sponge cake. In addition, the entire dessert sits on a mound of cookie crumbs, and on top is a giant matcha daifuku, which looks to be as big as a human face.

The Deluxe Parfait costs 11,000 yen (US$71.06) and must be pre-ordered at least three days before visiting. You’ll want to bring some friends along to eat it, as it’s said to contain about 8-10 servings, and if you’re worried about the aftereffects of such a huge dessert, Tamagoya says that despite its enormous size, the parfait has a light finish and won’t sit heavily in your stomach…provided you don’t eat the entire thing on your own.

This sweet celebration of matcha will only be available for a limited time, so you’ll want to book your trip to Shizuoka as soon as possible to avoid missing out, otherwise you’ll have to settle for the Ikea Matcha Fair, which will be around until 26 May.

Cafe Information
Egg Specialty Store Tamagoya / たまご専門店 TAMAGOYA
Address: Shizuoka-ken, Mishima-shi, Yasuhisa 322-1
静岡県三島市安久322-1
Cafe hours: 9:30 a.m.– 5 p.m. (last orders 3:30 p.m.)
Store hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Website

Source, images: @Press
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