Considering that it's based in Japan, it may come as no surprise that 7-Eleven Japan regularly features Japanese ingredients in its branches. One of these ingredients is matcha green tea. Of course, you'll find it in the beverage section, but also in things like candy, ice creams and desserts.

In addition to its usual products, 7-Eleven, just like its rivals Lawson and FamilyMart, often collaborates with famous regional products or traditional Japanese shops on limited series, often at slightly higher prices and higher quality. Such is the case with 伊藤久右衛門 Itohkyuemon, a green tea specialist shop founded in Kyoto in 1832. Any time you see a collaboration with Itohkyuemon at 7-Eleven, you can consider it a guarantee of good quality.

We've previously introduced such collaborations as matcha crepes and puddings, cakes and matcha cream sandwiches, and parfaits and matcha chocolate truffles.

Itohkyuemon Supervised Matcha Donuts

Sold under the "Seven Cafe" brand available at 7-Eleven branches operated by Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., this latest collaboration features a pair of special donuts featuring matcha from the famous tea-growing area of Uji in Kyoto, which is Itohkyuemon's mainstay.

Of course, we had to try them out!

Matcha & Sugar Coating

The first donut in the series is もちもちリング宇治抹茶 (mochi mochi ringu uji maccha | lit. "soft and chewy matcha ring" | Official English: "Matcha & Sugar Coating").

Similar in shape and texture to the chewy mochi donuts popularized but not trademarked by Mister Donuts with their "Pon de Ring" series, these donuts not only have a sugar coating generously sprinkled with genuine Uji matcha powder but also have Uji matcha kneaded into the dough.

Breaking one open, we could see from the deep green color inside that the taste of Uji matcha would be waiting for us when we sunk our teeth into it.

The sweetness of the sugar coating was a good foil for the bitterness of the matcha powder. However, the more we chewed, the more we could appreciate the rich taste of Uji matcha as well as the satisfyingly chewy texture of the donut.

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Matcha Donut

The second donut is オールドファッション宇治抹茶 (ōrudo fasshon uji maccha | lit. "Old-fashioned Uji matcha" | Official English: "Matcha Donut").

The old-fashioned donut, a classic donut with tapered edges invented in the United States in the 1820s, serves as the basis for this special collaboration. A generous amount of Uji matcha is kneaded into the dough, and one half of the donut is coated in dark chocolate.

It looks very enticing...

Just as we did with the Matcha & Sugar Coating donut, breaking off a piece revealed a deep green color inside.

Moist and aromatic with the rich taste of matcha but not cloyingly sweet, the old-fashioned donut dough was a good match for the chocolate coating. It was nice to have a contrast between the two sides. You can also share it with a friend if you don't like chocolate or can't eat it for other reasons. All in all, it was a delicious donut, and probably our favorite of the two.

These donuts only cost 150 JPY plus tax, a very reasonable price considering their quality, and are available at all 7-Eleven branches in Japan while supplies last.