Japan’s beloved donut chain teams up once again with Kyoto matcha sweets specialists Tsujiri, but how do they taste this year?
Mister Donut, Japan’s donut and coffee chain, recently announced that they would be collaborating with Kyoto-based green tea sweet specialists Tsujiri, and releasing a new line of donuts for a limited time only. This isn’t the first time that Mister Donut (also called ‘Misdo’) and the matcha makers have teamed up, and their previous collaborations have all proved hugely popular with sweets fans all over.
This year , the new donuts were available to buy from March 29th, so we rushed out to buy some.
This selection of donuts differs slightly from offerings from previous years, as in addition to the usual matcha donuts fans have come to expect, there are also two donuts featuring hojicha, or roasted green tea.
Image: PR Times
We were keen to try all five donuts, but unfortunately the Pon de Double Uji Matcha (seen above) was sold out at all the nearby branches of Mister Donut. Luckily, though, we were able to get our hands on the other four.
They all looked pretty tasty, but we decided to start with the Pon de Koi Matcha Whip Azuki, which cost 216 yen (US$1.62).
The outside of the donut looked like this, with half of the donut drizzled in a green tea chocolate.
The inner layer of the donut had a thick, generous layer of matcha cream and azuki (sweet red beans). When matcha cream is included in desserts, sometimes the subtle flavour of the tea can get lost amongst the other, stronger flavours, but this was different. The matcha flavour was sharp, and thanks to the matcha powder kneaded into the donut dough before it was baked, the matcha flavour is anything but subtle. The sweetness is kept at a moderate level so it doesn’t get in the matcha’s way, so tea fans are sure to love this donut.
Next up was the Pon de Koi Matcha Whip Warabimochi (216 yen). As the name suggests, the donut is filled with warabimochi, is a jiggly Japanese sweet.
As well as the warabimochi, there’s more thick matcha cream inside. The matcha cream, again, has a strong flavour, but pairing it with the gentle sweetness of the warabimochi kept the bitter tea notes from being overpowering, making this a donut for those looking for a delicate balance of flavors.
Like we mentioned above, this year there are some hojicha donuts mixed in with the matcha offerings. At first glance, the Rice Flour Uji Hojicha Donut (194 yen) just looks like a regular karinto (Japanese traditional baked sweet) donut. It’s incredibly sticky, so watch out if you plan to eat it with bare hands. As for us, we’re gonna need to glove up to properly review this donut.
As the donut is made using rice flour, it’s a little more stodgy and firm than a regular donut. It takes a bit of strength to tear a piece off. The surface of the donut has a hojicha glaze, giving it a satisfying glisten.
The inside looks thick and sticky, and the dough is made using both rice flour and hojicha. Combined with the glaze, this donut has a strong tea flavour, and tastes even more like hojicha than a regular cup of hojicha does!
Last is the Rice Flour Koi Uji Hojicha Whip Donut (194 yen). This is easily the most luxurious looking of all the donuts in the batch, with a a swirl of hojicha cream in the centre of the donut.
Underneath the hojicha whip is a layer of chestnut bean paste. Delicious!
More so than a snack candidate, to us this felt more like a whole dessert, similar to Mont Blanc. True, it didn’t look like Mont Blanc, but with the chestnut bean paste in the centre, the chewy donut dough and the thick whipped cream, each bite was sending some sort of Mont Blanc signal to our brains. It was a delicious donut, but definitely not one you could eat more than one of at a time, as it was heavy and very sweet. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, just eating half of this donut might be enough to satisfy you.
In our opinion, this year’s Mister Donut and Tsujiri collaboration is even more tasty than the previous years, and matcha fans should head down to their nearest branch of Misdo to try them for themselves. The collaboration will run until late April while stocks last, but seeing as we already had trouble getting our hands on all five of the donuts, it might be best to go sooner than later.
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