Bourbon Matcha ChocoChip Puchi Cookies

I haven't thought about this kind of cookie much since I spent the summer of 2004 at a university in Nagoya, Japan, but I used to get them all the time at the local Valor (a Wal-Mart type department store). I can remember many different kinds of these tiny cookie tubes, including vanilla cream sandwiched and chocolate chip, but of course, matcha suits me best.

It would have never occurred to me to order this type of cookie for myself, but now that I have some, I realize I missed them. These Matcha ChocoChip cookies were provided by Tsunami.hk, an online shop with an extensive selection of Japanese candy as well as some other specialty items.


The scent of matcha was definitely noticeable, along with the familiar aroma of packaged cookies. They had a nice, crunchy texture with vanilla notes that reminded me of Chips Ahoy (or other branded chocolate chip cookies). The grassy and delicate matcha flavor was certainly there, if a little weak, and it went very well with the slightly bitter chocolate chips.

If you exert a little self control, these tiny cookies make great little indulgent snacks. The are around 25 mm in diameter, and even if you eat the whole package, it's still under 300 calories. I enjoyed mine with a cup of green tea. My only complaint is that the matcha flavor could have been stronger, but that's just because I'm a matcha nut.

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Bourbon website

Bourbon Matcha Mont Blanc

On the last day of our time in Japan last month, my husband and I went to a nearby grocery store in Kyoto to get some cheap things to fill the empty space in our suitcases. That was the only place I saw large packages of single serving cakes, so I decided to try these.

Mont Blanc is a famous and fairly popular dessert in Japan. It is very pretty, and though typically made with chestnuts, sometimes there are other flavors included, like in these matcha cakes. Of course, being a packaged product, I didn't expect these to be as good as the real thing.


Although the box claimed that these had the aroma of matcha, all I could smell was something odd (probably preservatives). Moving past the smell, the taste wasn't really matcha, either. Or at least it wasn't as strong as I would have liked. It might have been masked by the chestnut flavor.

To call the spongecake mild would be kind, as there wasn't much flavor to speak of, and the cream in the middle was not terribly noticeable. Even the chocolate on the top didn't really taste like matcha, just sweet white chocolate. The azuki beans throughout the layers did add a nice texture, and surprisingly, carried their own flavor well.

I might like this more with some actual matcha brewed tea, as I think the bitterness would bring out the flavors in the cake, but on it's own, this cake just wasn't flavorful at all. It wasn't a bad taste, but it was very disappointing. I would like to point out that Bourbon can make good prepackaged cakes. I took some vanilla and chocolate cakes into work, and they were much better.

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Bourbon website