Journal

Notes from the shop. Ingredients, seasons, the neighborhood.

The Shape of the Week

Some kitchen work happens every morning and some of it keeps. Sorting the two is what decides which day is the heavy one.

Why the Lattes Are Made Ahead

No tea latte here starts at the counter. Each one is pulled from a concentrate made earlier, which is also why oat milk cannot make two of them dairy free. A cream cap rules out a third.

Six Yuzu Ades, One Base

Six drinks on the menu carry the name yuzu. Only one of them is mostly yuzu, and the other five run on something else entirely.

The New Drop: Banana Milk

Ripe banana in cold milk, wrapped in fresh mochi, with sliced strawberries on the mochi and coarse sugar on the soft serve.

What Is the Pipette For?

The small dropper tucked in with your mochi is a pipette of flavor, included in the price and meant to be emptied.

The New Drop: Peach Oolong

Ripe peach folded into roasted oolong tea, wrapped in fresh mochi. This month's new flavor, around for a limited run.

A Short Guide to Japanese Desserts

Wagashi, daifuku, monaka, soft cream, and the tea flavors that hold it all together. What the words mean and where to start.

What Is Mochi Ice Cream?

A ball of ice cream wrapped in a thin sheet of soft rice dough. The freshness is most of what separates a good one from a grocery store one.

Why Harvard Square

On being a Japanese dessert cafe inside The Garage on JFK Street, and why Harvard Square is the right block for it.

Before We Open

What happens in our kitchen before the doors open. The daily mochi process - from dough to display - is the same every day.

What First Harvest Actually Means

Matcha has grades, and the gap between grocery-shelf matcha and first-harvest ceremonial is easy to taste. What the labels actually mean.