Coolhaus - Mo Matcha Mochi

Mo Matcha Mochi - Japanese Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream with Green Tea Mochi Bites

I decided to treat myself and order six pints from Coolhaus Ice Cream in Culver City, California.  Coolhaus is a fun brand started about ten years ago by a pair of architecture students in Southern California.  If you check my archives, you can see all of the flavors that I have reviewed of theirs over the past couple of years.  They released several new flavors last winter and I have been biding my time to see when they'd become available in Minnesota.  The local Fresh Thyme markets stock this brand, but so far I have only seen one new flavor available here -- Milk & Cookie Crumbs.  I decided I could not wait any longer, so I ordered six pints shipped to me through the mail.  As far as I know, none of these flavors are available yet in the Twin Cities, but maybe someday. 

The first flavor in my shipment is called Mo Matcha Mochi.  This combines two elements that I have not yet seen in an ice cream:  matcha green tea and mochi.  Matcha is a green tea powder which originated in China and was adopted by the Japanese for use in their traditional tea ceremonies.  Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made from japonica sticky rice.  I have seen flavored mochi in the dessert section of some fancier grocery stores.  Here, small bites of match-flavored mochi are mixed into a matcha green tea base.  It should be interesting.

Removing the lid reveals a message on the protective foil.  I have seen this message before, but it is still fun.  Peeling it back shows the matcha base is a bright lime green color.  A couple of the mochi bites can also be seen in the mix.  They look like little pellets.  Digging in, the ice cream has a thick consistency that almost folds into my spoon as I scoop.  I have mentioned this in previous reviews, but Coolhaus' specialty is ice cream sandwiches, so their bases are designed to hold firm when pressed between two cookies.  I really like this texture.  The matcha green tea flavor in the base itself is fairly mild, but the tea flavor in the mochi mix-ins is fairly strong.  It has a very distinctive flavor.  For those that have had matcha tea before, it tastes just like it, for those new to matcha I found a discussion on the difference between matcha and standard green tea here.  I find that the matcha has a little bit of a bitter kick to it with a bit more aftertaste.  The mochi itself is a great idea for a mix-in.  They are firm, but chewy and deliver the matcha flavor quite well.

This is an interesting and unique flavor from Coolhaus!  The tea flavor is a bit potent and bitter for my taste, but if you are not a sweet tooth and you love matcha tea, it might be more up your alley.  Using mochi to deliver extra match flavor was fun.  It made me wonder if mochi could be used to deliver other flavors as well.  I'll keep my eye out for other flavors that might use mochi in the future.