Green tea ice cream
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| Alternative names | Matcha ice |
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| Type | Ice cream |
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Serving temperature | Cold |
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Green tea ice cream (抹茶アイスクリーム Matcha aisu kurīmu?) or matcha ice (抹茶アイス Matcha aisu) is a Japanese ice cream flavor. This flavor is extremely popular in Japan and other parts of East Asia. Green tea ice cream is also sold in monaka form. It has been available in the United States since the late 1970s, primarily in Japanese restaurants and markets, but is currently moving into mainstream availability.
There is a clear indication that Mount Fuji-shaped green tea ice cream was an item on the menu at the royal dinner party during the Meiji period (1868–1912). The true origin of green tea ice cream, however, is unknown. Although green tea itself seems to have existed as local handmade ice cream at some districts in Japan, none of the Japanese flavored ice creams were really merchandised until the 1990s because the major Japanese ice cream manufacturers were producing vanilla, strawberry and chocolate as their primary flavors. However, green tea shaved ice Uji Kintoki (宇治金時?) has been well known and popular in Japan long before green tea ice cream.
The amount of luxurious imported ice cream has increased in the Japanese market since the import liberalization act of ice cream in 1990. However, the trigger of the nationwide sales of Green Tea Ice Cream in Japan was actually from the importation of green tea ice cream from Maeda-en USA in California with the catch phrase "Pure Japanese style made from California”. It has been produced since April 1995, using fresh California milk made in U.S.A.
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Wikipedia