SORA NEWS



 

As the summer rains and summer flowers return, so too does this special treat.

The city of Uji, in Kyoto Prefecture, is pretty much synonymous with tea, and with good reason. Uji produces some of the finest green tea in all of Japan, and the mere mention of “Uji matcha” is enough to preemptively delight the taste buds of tea fans and dessert enthusiasts.
But at this time of year, it’s not just the tea that draws visitors to Uji, but the flowers too. The city’s Mimurotoji Temple is famous for its hydrangeas, or ajisai, as they’re called in Japanese, which bloom on the grounds of the sloped temple gardens.

So to celebrate this seasonal event, the Itokyuemon Sabo cafe has brought back its most popular seasonal treat: the Ajisai Parfait.

▼ The visual design of the dessert is meant to evoke a hydrangea bush glistening in the dew of early-summer rainfall.

Unlike sakura cherry blossoms, hydrangea petals aren’t really edible, so instead the Ajisai Parfait is made with tastier ingredients that feature the shapes and shades of the flowering plants. Most striking is the blue-and-purple kinton, a mixture of mashed sweet potato and sweetened chestnut, that sits atop the parfait and looks like a hydrangea cluster.

The “leaves” are actually matcha green tea cookies, accented by blueberries, and as you progress farther down the glass you’ll happily encounter ice cream, kanten (agar), gelatin, and matcha syrup, the latter of which draws on the skills Itokyuemon’s staff has acquired over the company’s 188 years in the tea trade.

 

Much like the blossoming hydrangea themselves, the Ajisai Parfait will be here for only a limited time before bowing out until next year. On the bright side, while the breathtaking dessert was only offered at the main Itokyuemon Sabo branch in Uji last year, this summer it’s also being offered at the cafe’s locations near JR Uji Station and Gion, in Kyoto City, thus further breaking down our already limited ability to resist its delicious pull.