Yoku Moku Turns to Matcha

Confectioner Noriichi Fujinawa entered Japan’s post-war period determined to create something new and absolutely saturated with fresh butter to appeal to the Japanese public, and his creation of the crisp and buttery Cigare cookie is what led to the establishment of Yoku Moku in 1969, as well as the brand’s subsequent success. More than half a century later, this Tokyo sweets brand is still hugely popular all across Japan, selling richly buttery Cigare cookies and other European-inspired sweet treats often given as gifts and shared on special occasions. Yoku Moku as a brand began with Fujinawa’s commitment to sharing the rich, luxurious flavors of Western confectionary with a Japanese audience, but with so many millions of foreign travelers coming to visit Japan in recent years, the brand is now looking at how to flip the script.

As two ingredients, matcha and butter couldn’t be any less alike, but if you’ve ever had a frothy, creamy, deeply flavorful cup of high-quality matcha, you might begin to see why it made sense for Yoku Moku – so adept at working with rich, creamy butter – to take on the new challenge of adding this distinctly Japanese flavor to its sweets. Of course, with a mission like bringing the very best matcha confectionary to an audience of both Japanese and foreign customers, the brand needed a little help from Japanese tea experts, so to develop its new products, Yoku Moku is working with the Kyoto tea seller Hotta Katsutaro Shoten, based in the famous tea city of Uji. The special blend of tea that Hotta Katsutaro Shoten created just for Yoku Moku uses first flush tea leaves, harvested in spring and aged for a year in cold storage, for a flavor profile perfected by the two brands over an apparently long and laborious selection process. The result is a matcha with a depth of flavor and not too much bitter bite, adding complexity and a certain Japanese flair to Yoku Moku’s deliciously indulgent sweets. 

Matcha Sweets at Tokyo Station

Yoku Moku has had its own shop in Tokyo Station’s Ichibangai (First Avenue) underground shopping area for some time, but this season the shop has been completely renovated to concentrate on the brand’s new matcha sweets, with decorations referencing traditional Japanese architecture and beautiful teapots. (Although the Cigare cookie light fixture is all Yoku Moku!)

The Tokyo Station Yoku Moku is clearly focused on the new limited-edition “Cigare au matcha” cookie, which is only available here from April 7th to 15th, and will be subsequently made available at Yoku Moku shops around Japan for the spring and early summer of 2025. According to Yoku Moku staff experts, the original Cigare cookie was created when Fujinawa asked “just how much butter can you add to a cookie before you can no longer call it a cookie?” and the new matcha version was crafted to perfectly balance the vital butter and matcha flavors. Matcha is added to both the cookie dough and the chocolate coating inside, and the Yoku Moku pastry chefs who designed the product carefully adjusted the matcha blend and quantity, as well as baking time and temperature, so that each one would be a brilliant matcha green even after a stint in the oven. The finished product has a strong matcha flavor and the kind of very light sweetness that’s popular in Japan, and according to the Kyoto tea experts at Hotta Katsutaro Shoten, it pairs perfectly with a cup of hojicha – roasted green tea. The cookies make great souvenirs for a matcha lover or any sweet tooth who can appreciate a more sophisticated flavor, and you can bring them home in boxes of 5 (993 yen) or 14-piece tins (2916 yen).

^{▶︎ If you want to bring home Yoku Moku’s classic original Cigare cookies along with their matcha treats, you can also find some options at the airport. Their series of “Japanese Scenery” tins is only available in select Japanese airport gift shops, including this tin with Cigare cookies and matcha biscuits, which can only be found at Haneda or Narita Airport.}

You can also peek through a window at the Tokyo Station shop to see the small bakery area, where fresh matcha sweets are prepared daily! Stop by any time until June 11, 2025 to try the “Yoku Moku Handmade Crispy Cream Puff Matcha” (572 yen) which is prepared on-site. The top of this French-style choux cream puff has a crackly coating made with crunchy cookie dough, and the inside is filled with a decadent cream filling made with the same first-flush Uji matcha Hotta Katsutaro Shoten designed for the cookies. You can also purchase the “Minami Aoyama Roll ~Uji Matcha~” (1,836 yen) in a special small size (only available at this shop for a limited time), a light and fluffy Swiss roll filled with an airy matcha cream and a little core of intensely-flavored matcha ganache – perfect for sharing with friends or family to finish off a perfect day in Tokyo!

Of course, this Yoku Moku shop also offers the classic buttery Yoku Moku Cigare cookies in their original flavor! But if you’re looking for some uniquely Japanese treats absolutely packed with Uji matcha flavor – to eat while you’re in Tokyo, or to bring home as souvenirs from Japan – you’ll want to stop by Yoku Moku’s newly renovated Tokyo Station location to enjoy the decadence of Japanese green tea!

Yoku Moku Tokyo Station Ichibangai Shop (ヨックモック 東京駅一番街店)
Tokyo Station Ichibangai B1, 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo
Hours: 10:00 – 20:00
Official Website (jp)

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