I've recently begun sharing a few of the tea-related things I found in Japan, like these green tea caramels. None of them are high-brow collectors items (although I did pick up a few of those as well!), but they do meet two important criteria: They are fun and they are relatively rare in North America.Today's "Find From Japan" is a green tea yokan. Yokan is a type of wagashi, or Japanese sweet. It's sometimes eaten before matcha is drunk in chanoyu or chado. It has a dense, jelly-like texture and is made from agar agar, a type of seaweed that's sometimes used as a vegan substitute for gelatin.
This particular Yokan is from Toraya, one of the biggest and most respected wagashi companies in Japan. Toraya's green tea yokan is one of their classic offerings. Yokan are also frequently available in flavors like black sesame, burnt sugar and azuki (red bean).
Next up: Green Tea Bath Salt.
Photo (c) Marko Goodwin
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