Mar. 26, 2021 UPDATE
Gochio Cafe
- 伍町カフェ -Traveler Friendly
The names of the dishes on the menu are in English and the staff can speak some simple English.
Menu
English and Japanese.
Languages spoken
Japanese and some simple English.
Story & Recommendation
Delicious matcha espressos made from single-origin matcha in Uji at Gochio Cafe
Single-origin coffee is something we’re used to hearing these days at coffee shops, but have you heard of single-origin matcha? And in the strictest sense of that word, in that, the matcha can be traced back to only one farmer and his tea fields? Gochio Café is a place that takes dedication to matcha to a completely new level.
The café is actually run by a matcha farmer, and the reason why this café was started is that he wanted people to have a chance to taste real single-origin matcha, not matcha that is a blend of many types. Matcha may have an image as something bitter, but for high-quality matcha, this does not hold true. There is a distinct sweetness to the matcha used at Gochio Café.
1Recommended
Monthly matcha espresso
/ ￥650
One of the greatest joys of going to Gochio Café is getting to taste their monthly matcha espresso. Every month they have a different single-origin matcha from one matcha farm in Uji, and this time I had a matcha espresso made from tea leaves hand-picked at the tea farm of a matcha farmer called Mr. Furukawa. The “crema” on top of the espresso was surprisingly sweet, and the taste of the matcha was very elegant.
2Recommended
Cream sauce pasta topped with crumbled match tea leaves
/ ￥980
Matcha and pasta may sound like a weird combination, but actually, this pasta is topped with tencha, matcha leaves before they are ground up to make the powder we all know and love. The crumbled tea leaves on top of the pasta go surprisingly well with the shrimp in it, indeed so well that I would recommend ordering an extra amount of tencha topping for your pasta for 100 yen more. This pasta dish is made from fresh pasta noodles!
3Let's Try!
Dassai ice cream
/ ￥580
Dassai is one of the most famous sake brands in Japan, and for a good reason, but did you know you can also get ice cream that is made from the sake lees that are left over when making Dassai? And Gochio Café is probably the only place in the world where you can have this ice cream topped with high-quality matcha. The Dassai ice cream is 100 yen cheaper if ordered as a dessert for lunch.
4Let's Try!
Matcha parfait
/ ￥890
Not all matcha parfaits are made equal. The matcha parfait here at Gochio Café may not be as huge as some other offerings, but the matcha ice cream and chocolate used in it are in a class of their own. The matcha ice cream has a strong, bold taste, but it’s not bitter, there’s an elegance to the taste. You can also have the matcha parfait as a set with the matcha espresso starting at 1,300 yen.
How to Order
You can also buy food or drinks to go from Gochio Café, and you can also get their famous matcha chocolate croissant to go too.
- Order Tips -
The café is owned by the people behind the artisanal matcha farmers of Shimizu-ya, which is why you can also try the matcha they’ve made, made in the authentic style (so not as an espresso, but in the tea ceremony style). Their “Samidori” matcha is 1,000 yen, and the highest quality Asahi is 1,600 yen per cup, but for this price you also get a traditional Japanese sweet with the matcha tea.
