First Flush Matcha Milk Tea (一番摘み抹茶 ミルクティー) – Gong Cha

I’m briefly going home for about a long weekend for a special occasion (also delaying uploading this post for personal reasons)!

So last year they had a similar type of “freshly picked matcha” up for a pretty limited time last year too (I think the period was for two weeks or so) but I missed that one. This year, the campaign period for this started on May 23, and I’m not sure when it’s going to end, but one thing I’m sure of is that I’m in Sapporo when it is! Simultaneously, they’re doing the yogurt shine muscat thing again, which has the exact same ingredients as last year but a different name for some reason.

The drink is milky (yes I know it’s made with powder) and with a very nice matcha flavor (actually I think it could do with no sweet)! It’s very balanced between the sweetness, the matcha, and the not too bitterness, though there is a certain aftertaste then I’m not sure where it comes from. Boba is pretty good, chewy, bouncy, a bit sweet, and a nice change in small size from the giant ones at Shin An Ju I’ve been getting recently.

One kind of suspicious thing I noticed halfway through drinking my drink is that the tag on the drink (always in English for some reason), and the tag only said Matcha Milk, and nothing about it being the “First Flush” or Ichiban Tsumami in Japanese. I check the receipt, and it says matcha milk on there and not the name of the current campaign. I know I specifically pointed at the campaign one and said the name when I ordered it, which leads me to two theories: either the cashier just didn’t hear or remember me say the limited version, or the only matcha they’re doing right now is the campaign one. Regardless, I quite liked it.

Edit/Update: When I went again and saw other people order it, they also pointed to the campaign menu but just said Matcha Milk Tea, and so did the cashier. The online website menu also doesn’t have the regular option but only the First Flush one, so perhps during the campaign period this one takes over as they’re basically the same thing.

Details: First Flush Matcha Milk Tea; large; less sugar; pearl; from Gong Cha (Sapporo Akarenga Terrace)