Kurobei
黒べい

This is a new perspective on a traditional Japanese “wagashi” (sweets) featuring castella (sponge) cake using walnuts & pure Hateruma (Okinawan) brown sugar mixed into the batter, coated by a thin layer of “yokan” (a type of sweet red bean paste), giving a deep & rich flavor, available in both “azuki” (red bean) & coffee flavors.  It was named the Kurobei (black wall) based on a row of restaurants in the Akasaka section of Tokyo.  It is not overly sweet and was developed as a means to reset the palate & are individually wrapped to extend the shelf life.  Based on numerous customer requests, the coffee flavor was developed, which won the Gold award at the AGF coffee wagashi competition.