Kyuemon Ito Hydrangea Festival - Seasonal Matcha Treats In Kyoto

Kyuemon Ito is an established producer of high-grade Uji matcha in Kyoto. In June 2019 they will have a special Hydrangea Festival menu including three matcha desserts that are reminiscent of hydrangea to celebrate the famous rainy season flower.

June means raining season in Japan and the flower that represents the raining season the most is the Hydrangea. They are beloved all over Japan as they thrive in a humid environment and make the grey days a little bit more colorful.

Kyuemon Ito is a matcha green tea producer in Kyoto with a history going back to the Edo Period. In their cafes, they offer tea and treats only using their finest matcha.

During the rainy season, selected Kyuemon Ito stores will offer a "Hydrangea Festival" menu. It will be featuring a variety of matcha treats resembling the beautiful purple flower. Each item will be available from the beginning until the end of June 2019. If you spend more 1500 yen on the limited menu items you will be presented with a heart-shaped hydrangea coaster.

Hydrangea Parfait

The breathtaking Hydrangea Parfait is created with layers of high-quality matcha sauce, mochi, and agar agar jelly cubes, homemade matcha ice cream and blueberry flavored jelly to resemble the color of hydrangeas. The parfait is topped with matcha cookies, whipped cream and a sweet potato-matcha wagashi (Japanese traditional artful sweets) known as kinton.

The parfait will be available as a single item for 1280 yen(including tax) and a parfait and tea set for 1680(including tax). You can only purchase the parfait at the Kyuemon Ito Uji Main Store and JR Uji Station Store.

Hydrangea Panna Cotta

The Hydrangea Panna Cotta (540 yen including tax) consists of rich matcha and milk pudding. It is topped with the same blueberry jelly as the Hydrangea Parfait. The Hydrangea Panna Cotta will only be available at the Kyuemon Ito Uji Main Store

Hydrangea Kinton

Kinton is a traditional type of Japanese wagashi. It mainly consists of mashed and sweetened sweet potato. It the case of the Hydrangea Kinton it is arranged to look like a hydrangea. When you bite into it, the core will fill your mouth with the rich flavor of matcha.

The Hydrangea Kinton will be available in sets of three for 777 yen including tax. They will be available at the Kyuemon Ito Uji Main Store, the Uji Station Store and the Kyoto Station Store.

Read more: Get to know about Wagashi, the Japanese traditional sweets

Source matcha-jp

The best souvenirs from Kyoto

Kyoto is a famous tourist attraction that is just as popular as Tokyo. The city's charm comes from the many temples and the nice neighborhoods it has, which make it a destination loved by visitors from all around the world. Let's take a look at what kinds of souvenirs Kyoto has to offer.

1. Nama Yatsuhashi With Red Bean Paste

Among the Japanese, a long time favorite souvenir from Kyoto is the nama yatsuhashi. Yatsuhashi is a type of senbei, cracker that is made of rice flour, sugar, cinnamon and water, which is mixed, then rolled out into a thin sheet before being baked. When the dough is steamed instead of being baked and filled with red bean paste, it turns into a confectionery called nama yatsuhashi with red bean.

2. Konpeito Sugar Candy

Konpeito is traditional sugar candy that originates from Portugal. True to its name, Kyoto Marun's "World's Smallest Konpeito" is very tiny. White, green, yellow and pink konpeito as small as grains of sand can be found in a jar. It is very tiny, but you can taste the wonderful flavor of the sugar in each piece.

3. Fukkura Usagi Set

Fukkura Usagi is a sugar confectionery made by Kyoto Marun. The sugary treats in the shape of hearts and bunnies are so cute that it's almost hard to take a bite. The bunnies are placed in a box that is filled with konpeito sugar candy. Cute designs such as this are a trait of Japanese souvenirs.

4. Yuumochi

Yuumochi are bite-size rice cakes inside a cute packaging in the shape of yuzu citrus. When you open the lid, you will smell the refreshing aroma of the yuzu citrus. It has a nice texture, almost like something between a gummy and a standard rice cake. The yuzu citrus flavor is very bold and makes you feel like you are eating the actual fruit. You can also taste the mild bitterness of the citrus, making it an addictive treat.

5. Matcha Anpone

Matcha Anpone is a confectionery set with matcha green tea bean paste, homemade cheese cream and monaka (Japanese wafers). The unique trait of this sweets is how you stuff the filling into the monaka wafers. The two types of pastes, homemade mascarpone cheese and bean paste using matcha green tea from Uji, Kyoto, come in jars. The Japanese confectionery, monaka is a crispy waffle made out of thinly baked mochi rice cake with a red bean filling.

6. Suhama Dango

Suhama dango is a cute tri-colored sweet made of domestically produced kinako and syrup that has been mixed together. Kinako is a powder made from ground soybeans. The soybean powder has been mixed in so you can savor the taste of the beans from each bite. The sugar coat also helps bring out the sweetness of the bean as well. Since it comes in a nice bite-sized piece, it is hard to resist eating more than one.

Read more: The ultimate Japanese food guide

Source matcha-jp