Glico Pocky Chocolate Double-Layer Koi Shibumi Matcha

The Japanese name of this Pocky puts shibumi at the centre, and that word does not translate cleanly.

Shibumi is astringency — the dry, puckering quality in strong green tea that English tends to file under bitterness and lump in with a fault.

In Japan it is neither.

Shibumi is a flavour people actively seek, the thing that separates a serious matcha from a sweetened one, and Glico has named this product after it rather than apologising for it.

Two different matchas go into it, layered so the astringency and the savoury umami underneath both come through.

What keeps it from being punishing is the construction: Glico wraps the outside in aeration chocolate, whipped through with tiny air pockets so it collapses almost instantly on the tongue.

The dense matcha flavour arrives through a soft, quick melt rather than a solid coating, and the effect is that a genuinely strong matcha reads as smooth.

The pretzel core carries wheat gluten and fermented butter for a firm snap underneath.

Two sealed bags to a box. This is the Pocky for people who order their matcha unsweetened — 17 mg of caffeine a bag, and no attempt to soften the tea into a dessert flavour.

About this item
Item Name : Pocky Double-Layer Koi Shibumi Matcha
Brand : Glico
Item Form : Chocolate
Number of Items : 24.7g x 1 Packs (Box of 1)