Well, this is a convenience store find we never saw coming.

In Japan, convenience store chains are constantly thinking up new ways to stay ahead of the competition, and 7-Eleven is edging ahead right now with the release of its new matcha burrito. Officially called “Burrito Matcha Azuki Mochi” in Japanese, or “Matcha Red Beans Filling & Rice Cake” in English, this brand new product is the latest flavour to join the chain’s burrito range, which is already a top-selling line.

Previously, the burritos contained mostly savoury fillings but recently they’ve expanded to include some sweet varieties as well. The arrival of a matcha burrito was a development we never saw coming though, so we immediately raced out to try one when they were released on 10 December.

As the name suggests, this burrito combines azuki red beans and a mochi rice cake filling with azuki paste and a matcha paste using green tea sourced from Uji, Japan’s most esteemed matcha-producing region. While this trifecta of tasty ingredients is a popular combination in the world of traditional Japanese sweets, we couldn’t quite wrap our head around the fact that we were now seeing them inside a tortilla.

Just like 7-Eleven’s other burritos, this one is meant to be heated before eating, so that’s what we did, popping it into the microwave for 50 seconds at 500 watts before slicing it in two for a look at the cross section.

▼ Hot, gooey, and soft, this looked like it would be a taste sensation.

Taking a bite, we couldn’t believe how good it was. The azuki paste was hot and thick, the red beans were large, the matcha flavour was strong, and the mochi was delightfully chewy. Surprisingly, the burrito brought everything together beautifully, carrying the flavours through the palate as if it had known these ingredients for aeons. However, there was something else in the mix adding an extra note of umami to the palate, and it wasn’t just the burrito.

Taking a few more bites, we detected a hint of…could it be? No, surely not. Nibbling off some more of the burrito, we became convinced. This burrito contained a hint of cheese.

Sure enough, after checking the ingredients list on the pack, we saw it said “natural cheese“. Shaking our head in disbelief, we were amazed at the creative thought process behind choosing to add such a left-field ingredient to the sweet filling. Although you’d be forgiven for thinking that cheese might throw off the careful balance between sweet flavours, they actually blended together beautifully, with the saltiness from the cheese helping to bring out the sweetness of the bean paste, making us marvel at how the paste was able to taste sweet, then salty and then sweet again.

The matcha, azuki and mochi burrito strikes a perfect balance between salty and sweet flavours while broadening our horizons on what’s possible in the world of convenience store foods…and burritos. Not only does it taste fantastic, it will fill you up nicely thanks to the mochi, despite containing just 256 kilocalories. Priced at 311 yen (US$2), it’s a great new snack to have on your radar when you’re feeling peckish, and we reckon it’s so good it might just become as popular as the viral 7-Eleven pancakes.

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