Tsujiri Patisserie is the first pastry-focused outpost by the world-famous matcha empire, known for its time-tested premium green tea powder. 

Focusing solely on sweets and drinks using high quality matcha, this patisserie marks another debut for Tsujiri in the city. 

The Kyoto-born, Fukuoka-based tea brand evidently sees Toronto as an important hub for their green goods: their store by Yonge and Dundas was the company's first overseas location outside of Asia. 

Their other store by Yonge and Sheppard was also the first to offer matcha soba noodles outside of Japan. 

It's no surprise that the brand, which is over 150 years-old, has decided to launch its first patisserie, where it concentrates on mochi, soft serve, and other desserts.

Chef Tomoyuki Rikuta, the mastermind behind all of Tsujiri Canada's pastry recipes, can be found running between the ground floor and the basement kitchen, where everything is made from scratch. 

Though the other stores offer around three to four patisserie items, this store offers a full list of sweets like matcha daifuku ($5) and drinks like kinako or black sesame lattes ($6 each). 

In the display case is where you'll find some items that are exclusive to this store, like their crunchy eclairs ($3.95), which are freshly piped with matcha cream to keep the dough crispy. 

There's also the matcha cream puffs—deliciously buttery and crispy cones filled with cream and covered in sugar icing. 

A couple of dessert platters offer a chance to sample a few different items, like the Tsujiiri Soft Cream platter ($10), which comes with matcha soft serve and cheese cream overtop a lava cake. 

This rich little cake will ooze out matcha chocolate when you open it up. Add $2 to add some premium matcha tea to your meal. 

The Wagashi Patter ($30) which comes with sakuri- and matcha-flavoured warabimochi, and Tsujiiri's Rare Cheesecake, a simple recipe with egg, sugar, almond, and matcha flour.

There's also strawberry daifuku, and monaka, a traditional Japanese dessert consisting of a crispy wafer box filled with azuki bean jam. 

The Monaka Parfait ($12) is an epic summer treat, topped with monaka and azuki beans.

According to Chef Rikuta, the key to Tsujiri's amazing pastries is finding the balance between matcha's naturally bitter taste and the sweetness of desserts. It's safe to say it's been nailed down to a science here.