Dirty Matcha Pound Cake by Hvala Kissa

Hvala Kissa is a new concept by the Hvala teahouse chain that specialises in low or no-caffeine drinks, serving decaffeinated coffee, for example. I believe "Kissa" might be a reference to the Japanese kissaten (喫茶店), which is a style of traditional Japanese coffee shop prevalent in the early 1900s before the war. They tended to resemble living room of that era, and the modern ones are characterised as having nostalgic, retro atmosphere, quiet ambiance and dark wood interior, as opposed to the chic, clean and modern looking coffee chains and cafes. 

While I'm not a fan of decaf, I was drawn to one particular item on their menu, which is the Dirty Matcha Pound Cake. I love pound cakes, and while "dirty" matcha drinks are quite common these days, it was my first time seeing the drink in pound cake form. And also the first time trying a pastry using decaf coffee.

Dirty Matcha Pound Cake by Hvala Kissa

My favourite part of it turned out to be its texture and quality. It was an extremely dense pound cake, quite similar to the cakey and dense old fashioned donuts, which I absolutely love (but which are unfortunately not that popular in Singapore, so the major donut chains like Krispy Kreme or Mister Donut don't sell it or have stopped selling them). This pound cake was slightly firmer and less crumbly than those donuts. It looked dry and even a bit powdery, but when I bit into it, it was not dry or powdery at all and was smooth, like a super dense non-fudge brownie, minus the cloying sweetness.

The matcha tea flavour was more like a delicate but fragrant and slightly bitter jasmine green tea than a matcha - not much grassy taste or umami, but kind of floral. The sweetness was also more like a delicate green tea sweetness, a tad too sweet for me, but not cloying like most fudge brownies or donuts. 

Dirty Matcha Pound Cake by Hvala Kissa - texture closeup

The coffee parts were a bit like Kopiko (a coffee flavoured hard candy) or instant coffee in flavour, which is one of the characteristics of decaffeinated coffees as well. I would describe it as a dark toffee-like flavour. 

Because of the toffee-like notes, it ended up complementing the matcha parts well in an unexpected way, coming close to a matcha-kuromitsu flavour pairing, which I found interesting. 

So overall, this was a pleasant experience for me. It's hard to get old fashioned donuts in Asia these days, especially in green tea and or coffee flavour, so if you love dense cakes with thick flavours, this is would be a really good treat.

Discover other "dirty" coffees and coffee/tea-inspired pastries

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