Packages of some of my favorite places I went or got in July / August timespan.
Musica tea have a history of 70yr. They started their business as a cafe in Dojima, Osaka (That is why the package says Dojima) and later they moved to Ashiya. They have one tea store in Ashiya and two cafe, one in Ashiya and one in Kobe. (near Motomachi or Chinatown)
I got Dojima Breakfast as a gift for my partner when I visited Kobe in July. It was a 350g package, he brewed this tea for breakfast every morning and it lasted for 1 1/2 month. We enjoyed Dojima Breakfast as a straight tea but should also be good as rich milk tea.
Since we enjoyed the tea, we order Darjeeling by mail and can’t wait to try!
H. Freundlieb is another old school bakery in Kobe. This bakery was near my house in Kobe and I have to walk pass this place every morning to go to school. I had a classmate who loved the sausage pie from this store and she will buy it every morning. The tiny sausage pie was 200yen a piece and this was like, 40yrs ago??? I though it was so expensive and never got it myself but my friend always got 3 of these and gave me one ! (LOL) Since this bakery was near our school bus stop, we would be munching these while waiting for our bus to come… Anyway, good memories.
The store moved to a what used to be a Union church after the big earthquake 1995 which distroyed the original store forever. However, the new place at what was the Union church happen to be a very special place for me too because my graduation ceremony took place at that same place. Since I was in a school choir back then, it was such an ephipany moment for me to sing in such a beautiful place.
Their baked goods had never changed. Always the same old school kind of cookie, pies and pastries. I miss their breads, my first experience eating a sour hard bread was from Freundlieb. Now we can gets these kind of breads anyway but back then, this was the only place you can get them.
If you ever make it to it’s main store / cafe, try getting those sausage pies. Also the cafe’s sandwiches are very good.
Nishimura’s coffee have a history of 74yrs. It’s main branch was right next to the Freundlieb’s old store. Yes, I walked pass this store every morning from grade school till graduating high school. My dad’s staple coffee and he alway had it blended to suit his taste. When I’m in Kobe, I just have to grab a bag. This yellow package had never changed and I love it that way. When you are in Kobe, try to drop by at this place, there are plenty of store all around the town and if you are making and cafe stop, make sure to order there Vienna pastry because they are very special.
Akafuku comes in these pink package, an illustration of a bridge that crosses to the Ise shrine. It is a fresh sweet mochi covered with red bean paste and you can only get this in the west. (From Kobe to Nagoya area) I live in the east part of Japan so I cannot get these unless I travel to the west. I got these at Kobe airport and as soon as I saw this pink package I grabbed one. (LOL) I cannot get lots and store it home because these last for only a day, Yes a day. (The mochi will get hard and not as good as the fresh ones)
I wished I took more pictures of these but I wasn’t planning to blog so jump to it’s HP on the link and take a look at it. When you unwrap the pink paper, there will be a small postcard size seasonal illustration and a wooden spatula so you can scoop this soft sweet without damaging them. My picky mom in law will never decline this sweet and as soon as I bring it, she will run to her kitchen and brew some good green tea.
Their main store is on the street that leads us to the Ise shrine and it is a very popular spot with always long queue. Be ready to get in those lines because the cafe have special menu serves only there and it’s definitely worth the wait. (BTW there are similar ones with same pick package so don’t get fooled!)
Au Bon Vieux Temps ! I happen to be in Tokyo few weeks back and manage to get my hands on (finally) a cake from Au Bon Vieux Temps. There are only two stores and the main one is in the outskirts of Tokyo which I never made it and the other one is in the Takashimaya Department Store Nihonbashi Head Branch.
Why took me so long to get hands on these cakes? Because they are always sold out! I am not much of a fan of these kind of super rich authentic French cakes so never planned to go out just to get these cakes but, when I’m near the store I will just go by and peek to see if anything is available,,,, but never. Always sold out. I was lucky on this day, after a long, long day with my brother… There was only 2 cakes left, either a black rich brick like chocolate pound cake or a buttery orange cake. I got the orange cake ones. It took us more than a week to finish the cake but well worth it. (I don’t have a photo so check in my instagram because I am planning to upload a reel.)
Yamamoto Nori Ten started it’s business in 1849. That’s about 170yrs of history… The main store is in the center of Tokyo and had been there forever.
When you go to an old Japanese house, there are always an orange large cylinder can with an illustration of a plum flower. It’s the can to keep the seaweed in and every household have one. It’s large and sturdy and people don’t throw it away. My parter stores brushes in these, some store bills etc, all I want to say is that everybody living in Japan had either got it or bought it once.
My brother wanted to get some seaweed so we dropped by at the main branch. I passed this store when in the area but never walked in. The store is huge and very intimidating, also you can get these seaweed in all major department store anywhere so I don’t need to go the the main branch.
As my brother was shopping, I came across a hand grilled seaweed. When you order it, the staff will grill the seaweed in store, in front of you. How fun. I decided to get one pack as a gift for my partner. Good nori is not just for sushi, but good as it is which accompany hot sake very well.
The last one for today is an ice cream bar I found in Lawson ( a 24hour store).
Cha Shi （茶師）ice cream bar are only sold in Lawson for a limited time. At this point there are two types from this series and one is green tea and another one, the one I got is Wako-cha, a Japanese black tea flavor. Japanese black tea are like English tea but made with Japanese tea leaves. These tea are becoming popular in Japan, a lot of places are blending Wako-cha but because this variety are new, the taste may varies.
About the ice, my first impression was sweet. It’s not so milky more like an ice bar so very light and refreshing. I think the celebrated Tea Meister did a good job bringing the uniqueness of the Wako-cha out, it’s like a milk tea flavor with a more roasted after taste like a Bancha.
I also enjoyed the package too. The box was designed with a old style fronts with a European Japanese style back in the old Meiji era and when you open the box, there was a little explanation of the tea leaves. The tea leaves were from Miyazaki Pref (Southern part of Kyusyu) , and actually my partner’s favorite Wako-cha is also from this area.
OK, that’s it for today. I’ll come back a couple month later when I bump into something interesting to introduce.
ORANUDH SYNDICATE 