Gion Kitagawa Hanbei's Matcha Chocolate, which sold out within 2 hours of opening Matcha Chocolate Collection" limited to 295 boxes to go on sale on Feb. 2

Following the success of Gion Kitagawa Hanbei's Matcha Chocolate, which sold out within two hours of its release, Gion Kitagawa Hanbei will be pre-selling a new chocolate collection limited to 295 boxes at the Tokyo Marunouchi Building from February 2 to 14, 2024.

Uji Matcha Chocolate(1)

Uji matcha green tea chocolate 1,480 yen (tax included)

Uji matcha raw chocolate (1)

Houjicha raw chocolate

Uji matcha raw chocolate 2,480 yen (tax included)

Uji matcha and hojicha raw chocolate set 3,680 yen (tax included)

<Outline

Following the success of Gion Kitagawa Hanbei's chocolate, which sold out within two hours of its release, the new matcha green tea raw chocolate (limited to 295 boxes) will be sold in advance and in limited quantities only at the Gion Kitagawa Hanbei Tokyo Marunouchi Store. (February 2-14, 2024)

The theme of this new product is "One bite, endless lingering taste of matcha green tea". The chocolate has a deep and rich flavor that can only be obtained by grinding matcha with a stone mortar, which reduces the astringent taste.

Outline of the product

Product name: Uji green tea raw chocolate

Date of release : February 2, 2024 (Friday)

Price ： Uji green tea chocolate 1,480 yen (tax included),

　　　　　　 Uji matcha raw chocolate 2,480 yen (including tax),

　　　　　　 Uji matcha and hojicha raw chocolate set: 3,680 yen (tax included),

Sales outlet: Gion Kitagawa Hanbei Tokyo Marunouchi Building

URL: https://gion-kitagwahanbee.com

＜The story behind the creation of the product

The development of this product began with the goal of creating the world's richest matcha chocolate.

Generally, when making matcha chocolate, the most economical matcha for confectionery use is often chosen due to the cost ratio, but matcha for confectionery use has a strong astringent taste. To neutralize this astringency, sugar is often added to sweeten the chocolate, but this can result in an unnatural sweetness.

In order to increase the amount of matcha to the limit and to create a matcha chocolate that is not sweetened, the quality of the matcha itself had to be of a higher quality. After repeated trials, we developed a thick matcha chocolate with less astringency, not too bitter even when increased to the limit, and using the maximum amount of stone-ground high-grade matcha (more than five times the normal amount).

Until now, it has been difficult to make chocolate with high-grade matcha for beverage use because the cost is too high and it is too expensive, but we decided to develop this product because it was necessary to make it happen because we are a tea wholesaler, Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten.

As mentioned above, matcha used in confectionery is inexpensive and has a strong bitterness and astringency, and most of it is sweetened with sugar and other ingredients. The "Gion Kitagawa Hanbei Matcha Chocolate Collection," which includes raw chocolates, is the ultimate Uji matcha chocolate, developed only by a tea wholesaler.

Photo of the store

About Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten

Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten was founded in 1861.

For 162 years, under strict quality control, the company has continued to provide the highest quality tea as a wholesaler. It has developed various products related to tea, including the production of the world's finest tea leaves, which are generally unavailable to the public and cost over 2 million yen for 1 kg. In addition, of the 77 national tea fairs held in the past, Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten has won the highest award 11 times as "Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten" and more than 40 times including contract growers of Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten. In April 2023, following the Gion main store in Gion, Kyoto and the Namba store in Namba, Osaka, the company opened its first gift specialty store, Gion Kitagawa Hanbei Tokyo Marunouchi Store, in the Marunouchi Building in Tokyo.

Gion Kitagawa Hanbei Tokyo Marunouchi Building

Location ：Marunouchi Building B1F, 2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

TEL ：03-5860-3733

Hours: Weekdays & Saturdays 11:00 - 21:00, Sundays & Holidays 11:00 - 20:00

＜For product reservations

Available from Thursday, January 25, 2024, and from Friday, February 2, 2024.

Gion Kitagawa Hanbei ONLINE STORE

Gion Kitagawa Hanbei's online store, produced by Kitagawa Hanbei Shoten, a tea wholesaler in Uji, Kyoto, offers a wide range of products from Kyoto to all over Japan, including products sold exclusively through the Gion Kitagawa Hanbei online store.

https://gion-kitagwahanbee.com

Uji matcha green tea raw chocolate(2)

Uji Matcha & Hojicha Raw Chocolate