A non-matcha green tea dessert to get out of the rain with.

There’s a lot to love about Japan…but there’s also a lot to hate, or at least intensely dislike, about Japan’s rainy season. For almost all of June and the early part of July, just about any day has a chance of being uncomfortably gray, damp, and sticky, as rainclouds gather and the temperature rises.

The saving grace of the rainy season, though, are the beautiful hydrangeas that blossom at this time of year. Similarly to cherry blossom season, heading out to see hydrangeas at temples, gardens, and mountainside footpaths is a popular pastime. Unfortunately, while there are all sorts of confectionaries that make use of cherry blossom petals and leaves, hydrangeas aren’t digestible, so Japan doesn’t experience the same sort of seasonal sweets rush in June as it does in the spring. That’s not to say there aren’t any hydrangea-themed desserts to capture the eye and entice the stomach, though.

Located not far from Harajuku Station in Tokyo, Hachiya is a cafe that specializes in Japanese tea, and also serves up tasty treats with a Japanese flair to them. For June, they’re offering a special Ajisai Gelatin Shaved Ice dessert (ajisai being the Japanese name for hydrangeas), which definitely looks the part.

No artificial pigments are used to achieve those convincing colors, either. The gelatin gets its hues from differing concentrations of butterfly pea. As for whipped cream those gelatin hydrangeas are blossoming in, you might be tempted to guess it gets its green from a dash of matcha, but the key ingredient here is actually sencha, a different type of Japanese green tea with a lighter color. Sencha also has a mellower and smoother flavor than the unflinchingly bitter matcha, and Hachiya sources the sencha powder it uses from Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, one of Japan’s top tea-producing regions.

You could even go so far as to call the Ajisai Gelatin Shaved Ice a shaved ice parfait, since there are more sweet surprises hiding inside, where as you dig in you’ll encounter yuzu citrus sherbet, sliced pineapple, and granola and almonds seasoned with maple syrup and a sprinkle of salt.

▼ Hachiya interior

The Ajisai Gelatin Shaved Ice is on sale now and scheduled to be available until June 30, while supplies last. Priced at 1,800 yen (US$12.40), it’s the sort of dessert you’ll want to take your time with, possibly after visiting the Tokyo mountain trail lined with azaleas planted by one man in remembrance of his parents.

Cafe information
Hachiya / 八屋
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Sendagaya 3-2-10
東京都渋谷区千駄ヶ谷３－２－10
Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Closed Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
Website

Source, images: PR Times
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