If you just can't seem to find green tea ice cream that is green enough--then this just might be the place for you.

While green tea is sometimes sweetened in foreign countries, it's not supposed to be that way in Japan. And matcha, finely ground and powdered green tea, definitely isn't relenting in its bold flavor. Once you adjust to it though, the strength and rich depth of that flavor let you appreciate it as the gourmet of the green tea world. If you have that acquired taste down, well, then the sky is the limit--or more specifically, dessert is!

Green tea ice cream itself is popular not just in Japan, but all over the world. The intense flavor of matcha, however, usually is complemented by red bean or other ingredients that help soften the blow. One ice cream shop in Japan is shunning that philosophy however, by unleashing matcha ice cream with no punches pulled.

Nanaya is a gelato shop that claims to have the most intense matcha-flavored ice cream in the world. Originally based in Fujieda city and Shizuoka city of Shizuoka prefecture, the store has opened up a Tokyo branch by teaming up with famous Asakusa tea shop Suzukien on January 4th, 2016. The Shizuoka original is managed by Marushichi Seicha, a top producer of premium quality tea and matcha powder in Shizuoka prefecture, which is already famous for all things green tea and matcha related. Since then, they've branched out to a stylish spot in Aoyama for another Tokyo branch.

What's most interesting about the store is that you can select the matcha-level of your ice cream to your taste from rankings 1-7.

As you progress through the levels, so does the strength and bitterness of your ice cream. The level seven is said to be the most intense matcha flavor in the world, and the staff of Nanaya backs this claim by saying they have tackled just about every matcha ice cream in the world and boasts that theirs alone remains unmatched. (but really, what else were they going to say?)

If you're wondering what those brown and white flavors at one end of the spectrum are, they are respectively hoji-cha (roasted green tea) and milk, which along with some of the lower ranked matcha flavors provide some milder options for customers who aren't quite ready to jump into the deep end. They also offer classic sweet ice creams like strawberry that you can pair up with the green tea ones to counterbalance the bitterness.

If you're a first timer, we recommend getting an assortment of flavors (the cups they come in even resemble traditional green-tea cups!) so you can work your way up to the famously bitter but delicious premium matcha.

If you're in Tokyo and ready to challenge your tastebuds with some bitter, but ever-so delicious premium matcha gelato, check out Nanaya!