Green tea and matcha have become so popular outside of Japan, but you might find it hard to find an authentic green tea present.
My recommendation, cha-no-ka is not a traditional food, but it is a product of drawing on many elements of Kyoto’s 1000-years of history.
It was created through the collaboration of three experts: the first in tea leaf production, the second in tea, and the third in patisserie making.
The exquisite, refined taste makes this a great gift to take home, especially for your older relatives.
You can never go wrong with a traditional snack!
The structure of the cha-no-ka is very simple.
It is two pieces of okoicha langue de chats (imagine something like green tea biscuits), with a piece of white chocolate is sandwiched in between.
Okoicha is a strong type of Japanese tea (okoi = thick, cha = tea), obtained by grinding the fresh tea leaves.
The bitterness of the langue de chat and the sweetness of the white chocolate match well, filling your mouth with excellent flavours.
The cha-no-ka, which is produced by a company called Male Branche, can only be bought in Kyoto or online.
You can find them at: Daimaru (Shijyo-Karasuma), Takashimaya (Shijyo-Kawaramachi), Isetan (JR Kyoto station) and five of their directly operated stores around the city.
They are sold in multiple of five, for 630 yen/five pieces. To me, this is never enough as this delicious snack is typically consumed faster that you can blink!
I would highly suggest buying more than 1 box when you visit.
If you ever pay a visit to Kyoto, do try to go to the Male Branche main store.
The operating hours are from 9am to 9pm, and the address is: Shokubutsuen Kitamonmae, Kitayama-dori, Kita-ku, Kyoto. Alternately, you can visit the website at http://www.malebranche.co.jp/
Map:
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