Surprisingly, a perfect match. Enjoy a tea sweets time with coarsely ground tea, smooth pudding, and a touch of salt.

"Arabikicha" is a tea that uses only luxurious first flush tea leaves from Kagoshima Prefecture and is made with a unique roasting and grinding technique, allowing you to consume the entire tea leaf. We found a convenient convenience store pairing that enhances the umami unique to "Yutakamidori" and "Saemidori" kabusecha, the richness created by savoring the entire tea leaf, and the aroma and freshness characteristic of sencha.

The pairing chosen is "Meito's Silky Pudding." And to that, we add a pinch of salt. For the salt, a coarser grain is recommended if available, but feel free to use whatever you have at home. The arabikicha was prepared by dissolving 2g (1 sachet) in 200ml of hot water, making a strong brew.

While matcha is also tea leaves ground into powder, arabikicha differs from matcha, which is ground with a stone mill, by retaining a pleasant particulate texture through its unique manufacturing process.
This allows for a greater sense of the aroma, richness, and body derived from the first flush tea leaves, in addition to the umami, making it a great match for milky sweets like this one. Furthermore, because arabikicha has a suitably coarser particle size compared to matcha, it is less likely to clump and can be easily enjoyed by simply dissolving it in hot water without any special tools.

Arabikicha has a subtle astringency and roasted aroma. When combined with the smooth, milky sweetness of the pudding, it enhances the savory aroma and refreshing taste characteristic of sencha. Adding a pinch of salt creates a synergistic effect with the abundant umami components, glutamic acid and theanine, found in first flush tea, spreading a lingering umami. The subtle astringency delicately cuts through the sweetness of the pudding, making it a combination that will have you reaching for another spoonful.

Arabikicha, which allows you to savor the entire first flush tea leaf, has a moderate richness and body on the palate, harmonizing wonderfully with the smooth texture of the pudding. Adding salt at the end creates a pairing that brings out the umami of the tea, derived from its variety and production method.

Chef Chisato Maruyama
Born in Kagoshima Prefecture. Inspired by an encounter with farmers during her student days, she aspired to become a chef. After training at restaurants and working for a food creative production company, she became independent. She excels at bringing out new charms in Japanese ingredients, and based in Kanto, she travels throughout Japan developing products, creating restaurant menus, and holding pop-up restaurants. She was the runner-up in the CHEF-1 Grand Prix 2023 and the runner-up and Gold Egg winner in RED U-35 2025.
 https://www.instagram.com/maru.ch_/