Like avocado toast and açaí bowls, matcha often makes the list of delicious trends damned to illegitimacy—Instagram foodie fads that are set to fade and fail. Listen, I understand. Once a matcha skeptic myself, I never would’ve imagined my conversion to matcha snob, but here we are. My eyes—and taste buds—have been opened, awakened, enlightened. That’s not to say that everyone who tries matcha will love it, but writing off foods and flavors just because they’re “basic” closes a lot of doors, including the door to Downtown Berkeley’s newest dessert cafe: Amausaan Uji Matcha.
A nascent matcha specialty shop, Amausaan opened over the summer of 2019 and continues to attract tea-craving crowds. The shop’s claim of using matcha imported from Uji, Japan—widely regarded as the finest of its kind—has translated into sublime sweets and a whole lot of buzz. We went on a slow weekday afternoon to get the scoop on the soft serve.
The Desserts
As one does before a first-time visit to any eatery, we consulted Yelp and decided on two photogenic favorites: the Ishita Shiratama Matcha Story and Spike Caramel Black Tea Mille Crepe Cake.
True to its name, the Shiratama Matcha Story is a complex dialogue between a billion different flavors and textures. Silky egg pudding hides beneath a layer of charcoal cone crumbles and smooth matcha soft serve infused with whipped cream. Atop the refreshing swirl, dense and chewy shiratama dango (glutinous rice dumplings) sit beside a sweet pool of chilled adzuki bean and charred grains of rice. The ice cream melts into every crevice, melding the textured notes of crisp and crunch together in dynamic harmony.
Crêpe cakes have been all the rage, and Amausaan is no stranger to feeding the hype. Delicate sheets of sweet crêpe are separated by even airier layers of cream, easily avoiding the common pitfall of dry cake. Surprisingly, the flavor was heavily floral, with the black tea appearing as more of an aftertaste. Single slices come at a steep price, but they're worth a try for curious crêpe cake virgins.
The Drinks
Amausaan’s drink menu boasts upwards of 30 liquid matcha varieties—and that’s not including the fruity seasonal sodas and bubble water beverages. Sometimes it’s easiest to just go with what you know, so we put our faith in the classics: the Creamy Matcha Latte and Milk Float Uji Matcha Latte.
Both lattes were a pretty pastel green—extra milky in both taste and appearance. Surprisingly subtle in matcha flavor, the two were mostly distinguished by their respective toppings. The Creamy Matcha Latte was finished with a simple matcha powder-dusted whipped cream, while the Milk Float Latte had a creamy cap that tasted vaguely of cheese foam before mixing.
#SpoonTip: For a more pronounced matcha taste, it’s worth forking over the extra dollar for a float that features a scoop or swirl of the shop’s ice cream.
In my opinion, the atmosphere of the quaint cafe is what really makes the Amausaan experience. Red torii gates welcome customers into the shrine-inspired space, with cream and red woven tapestries breaking the monochrome black of Amausaan’s booths and tables. Clean and inviting, every square foot of the shop pays homage to elements of Japanese design—from its “wish wall” of inscribed wooden plaques to the faux cherry blossoms that lace its interior. I could—and have—spent hours chatting there, and would readily do it again any day.