Japan has a rich culture when it comes to tea, and there are many assortments and plenty of blends you can choose from for your relaxing tea break. It is the same for sweets.

In Japan, you cannot hold a tea party without sweet treats. Japanese sweets, especially, tend to reflect the four seasons in Japan, and beautiful motifs such as sakura (cherry blossoms) or momiji (red maple leaves) often get used as inspiration. Some of the sweets frequently seen in combination with Japanese tea are yōkan, manjū, daifuku, dango, or senbei (rice crackers), and my favorites: warabi mochi and ohagi. 

To discover what the top sweets preferred when drinking green tea or hōjicha (roasted green tea) are, around 200 people answered a questionnaire regarding Japanese/Western confectionery sweets.

Everyone who collaborated and answered were staff members of the Daimaru Tokyo Store (大丸東京店), and thanks to them, we now have a list of the 10 top treats perfect for a relaxing afternoon tea break.

Unless indicated otherwise, these sweets can all be found on the first floor.

1. Ocha-Puku お茶―ぷく(Tea-Puku), 950 yen

Starting in the first place, we have the Ocha-Puku of the Kamakura Gorō Main Store (鎌倉五郎本店 kamakura gorō honten). It has a moist texture and comes in a set of 8 pieces. The exterior is made of Uji matcha, while on the inside, it has adzuki bean paste and milk paste that complement each other perfectly.

2. Mount Baum Omatcha (マウントバームお抹茶 maunto bāmu omatcha) - 864 yen

This Baumkuchen cake from Nenrinya (ねんりん家) has a rich fragrance of Uji matcha.

3. Matcha Cake - 1,080 yen

This luxurious matcha cake from Tops (トップス toppusu) is made of adzuki bean paste and matcha and has matcha powder and gold leaf on top. It has a mellow sweetness.

 

4. Cigare au Matcha (シガールオゥマッチャ) - 864 yen

These cookies from Yokku Mokku (ヨックモック) have a buttery dough mixed with matcha and matcha chocolate on the inside.

 

5. Matcha Tamago: Fragrant Uji Matcha (抹茶たまご 薫る宇治抹茶 matcha tamago kaoru uji matcha)- 5 pieces, 880 yen

These egg-shaped sweets from Ginza Tamaya (銀座たまや) contain castella sponge cake, condensed milk, and dark chocolate in combination with a special Uji Matcha bean paste.

6. Yokan Shimmidori: Verdure (Matcha) (竹皮包 羊羹 新緑 takenokawa-zutsumi yōkan: shinmidori) - 330g x 2 for 3,024 yen

This matcha yokan from Toraya (とらや) has a beautiful green color with the delicate flavor of matcha and a subtle bitterness.

7. Matcha Tart - 4 pieces, 1,080 yen

The special matcha cream in the interior of the crispy tart from Tokyo Campanella (東京カンパネラ) makes it a unique and delicious combination.

8. Kuki Hōjicha Financier (茎ほうじ茶フィナンシェ)- 5 pieces for 1,242 yen - basement

This financier from Henri Charpentier (アンリ・シャルパンティエ) uses roasted stems of tea leaves from Kyoto, and one of its characteristics is its mellow fragrance.

9. Matcha (抹茶) - 130g for 378 yen - basement

A sweet treat worth being in the top 10 is Matcha from Mame-gen (豆源), famous for its matcha-coated peanuts. It has a delicious, luxurious taste and an elegant appearance.

10. Honwarabi Matcha (本蕨 抹茶) - 280 yen

Last but least is the Honwarabi Matcha warabimochi from Tsuruya Yoshinobu (鶴屋吉信). It has a unique flavor that makes you think of fresh greens, a soft and mellow texture, and a refreshing taste.

This questionnaire is from April (1st-11th) this year, and the sweets mentioned above will be available for sale at the Daimaru Tokyo Store until the 1st of June.

These sweets are the perfect treats to brighten up the gloomy rainy days in Tokyo during the rainy season and our time spent in our homes, so I recommend trying them out if you are in the area. Let us know which one caught your eye.

For more information on Daimaru Tokyo, visit their website here.