Trader Joe's Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream

Three years. That's how long I've waited for the return of this product. I never got to even try the first iteration of this product - I hesitated to get it, and then it got recalled in 2017 for "the potential presence of small metal pieces" (yes, I saved the email). I'm not a huge ice cream person. I blame it on the lactose sensitivity. But I love a good matcha ice cream. We make the occasional trek to Mitsuwa, a Japanese supermarket with a wonderful food court, where we indulge in green tea and black sesame ice cream. I'm happy to see this product return to TJ's, this time without small metal pieces and with prettier packaging.

Matcha is my favorite ice cream flavor. Well one of my favorites - I like anything that is bittersweet like matcha or coffee/espresso flavored ice cream. I have nothing but glowing things to say about the matcha flavor mochi ice cream, so this was a no brainer product for me. 

CREAM. MILK. Perhaps there is a time and place for "nice creams" and sugar alcohols and Halo Tops and the like - BUT NOT IN MY FREEZER. If I'm having ice cream, I'm taking a lactase and having the real stuff. And if it's a Trader Joe's ice cream, I'm expecting a nice creaminess and "higher quality taste."

There's matcha in it, so it means it's a health food right? Listen, life is short. Moderation is great. Eat the ice cream. Moderately. 

1) I have no complaints about this ice cream at all. It's creamy, rich, and has a mild but solidly matcha flavor. As a matcha fan, I could take a heavier amount of matcha but I don't think it's necessary here. The grassy/earthy flavor of the matcha comes through very nicely. 

1a) This is a friendly and mild enough to introduce to those who have never tried matcha before. If you love super concentrated matcha flavored products, you might find that this isn't "matcha enough" or dark enough. But as for me, I think it's true to what it aims to be.  

2) I haven't had it in a while, but I want to say this is just as good as the Haagen-Dazs matcha ice cream except maybe a tad bit richer/creamier. 

3) This product is better than a lot of the Asian supermarket matcha ice creams that I've tried- the ice cream base itself is very good quality. It's still sweet enough but not so overly sweet that the matcha flavor is lost. 

4) $2.99 for a pint. Also cheaper than a not-on-sale Haagen-Dazs. I've found my new go-to. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream. THIS ROCKS DON'T EVER CHANGE. PLEASE STAY IN STOCK FOREVER. 10/10.