Koots

November 20, 2005

Koots looks like the Japanese answer to Starbucks. Where Starbucks offers all kinds of drinks based on espresso, Koots offers drinks based on matcha, the strong green tea made from ground tea leaves that’s also used in the Japanese tea ceremony. Since matcha is somewhat bitter – and adding sugar is just not done –, it’s best taken with sweets, such as this ice-cream-jelly-sweet-beans-cookie combination.

So far, Koots isn’t serious competition to Starbucks – they have just four locations in all of Tokyo, fewer than Starbucks has within 200 meters of Tokyo station. But their recipe may catch on.