by Lauren Voinovich

Hello readers! I’d like to present a new column to Retrospect: Real Talk. 

In this column, I’ll be taking recent (food) trends, reviewing them, and figuring out if they’re worth all the hype. In the future, I may interview some of you guys and get your opinions about whether they’re worth it to you! 

This week, I got curious about Mochi. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain. Mochi ice cream has become an international sensation in the sweet treat world and is now so popular that people all over the world are obsessed. The dessert got its fame rather recently, but it’s been around since 1974, and maybe even before then. Sweet, sticky, and dense, these balls of sweet rice dough that encapsulate ice cream have intrigued millions; including me.  

For a little more background, mochi is a main part of the Japanese New Year celebration. It’s regularly sold and eaten around the New Year and is known as a “sign of the season” in Japan. Different types of mochi have represented different things over the history of mochi. Because mochi was symbolically linked to good fortune, the aristocratic class consumed it regularly. 

Okay, back from that history lesson, let’s jump straight into the review! 

So, I’d never really had mochi before, so I asked random people what the best flavors were and where to go to buy quality mochi. The large majority said the same thing; buy it from Whole Foods and the top six flavors are passionfruit, mango, matcha green tea, chocolate espresso, pistachio, and vanilla bean. So, with that information, I went into WF, got incredibly lost, and eventually brought home the mochi! 

So, onto the review 😉 

PASSIONFRUIT: 

Okay, so this was the very first time I’ve ever had mochi… it. is. weird! The texture is super interesting, but bottom line, I love the flavor. Definitely an awesome start to this taste test. 

MANGO: 

Alright, I’m going to be straight with you; I had high expectations for this one. I am a huge mango lover, but long story short, this was a huge let down. The taste was not there, and the rice outer layer was grainy. 

MATCHA GREEN TEA: 

Omg, I love it, I love it, I love it!!! I am a really big fan of iced matcha green tea lattes, and the mochi version tasted just as good. I know matcha is kinda controversial, so if you don’t like matcha in other forms, I would not recommend this flavor. Otherwise – it’s definitely one of my favs. 

CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO: 

I’ll be honest, I am a total chocoholic. If there’s anything with chocolate in it, I will eat it, and love it, and that extends to mochi as well. Unfortunately for me, it tasted more like espresso than chocolate, but I love coffee too, so it was doubly delicious for me! This is a must have for the caffeine and cocoa lovers out there. 

PISTACHIO: 

This one was tricky for me. I’ve never been the most interested in pistachio in general, but I thought I should give it a try. It was about what I expected, it tasted like pistachio. If you like pistachio, you’ll like this. 

VANILLA BEAN: 

The final flavor, vanilla bean is the classic option for any dessert you have. And, there’s a reason why. Although there’s nothing all that special about the flavor, it’s a solid choice for any mochi – warranted situation.  

TLDR: Ranking of flavors: Matcha, Passionfruit, Chocolate Espresso, Vanilla Bean, Mango, Pistachio 

WORTH IT OR WASTED? 

So, with this very satisfying taste test, I got to try something new, and found out that I actually really like mochi. Now, usually, the cost of just one Mochi ball is $2.00 – which I consider to be a lot under the circumstances. Fortunately, I was able to by 6 of them for $10.00, so I didn’t really break the bank here. Mochi is an interesting creation that has been around since way before any of us, plus it tastes really good, so… 

in my mind, Mochi Ice Cream is officially WORTH IT.