Kyoto Mochi and Daifuku Making Class with Tea Tasting

Mochi is the sweet almost every visitor to Japan tries, and almost nobody gets to make. In this 90-minute hands-on workshop in Kyoto, you make two kinds yourself, then taste the teas that are made to go with them.

Your English-speaking instructor starts with a short introduction to wagashi - Japanese confectionery - and how it changes with the seasons. You then work the soft mochi dough by hand and shape a matcha mochi, before moving on to a seasonal fruit daifuku, wrapping whole fruit and sweet bean paste in a thin, translucent layer. Every step is demonstrated first and guided as you go, so no cooking experience is needed.

With the sweets finished, you sit down to a tea tasting. You try a Japanese green tea alongside roasted hojicha and learn how leaf, temperature and steeping time change what ends up in the cup - and why certain teas suit certain sweets. Eat some of what you made on the spot, and take the rest home in a box.

Groups are capped at 10, so there is room to ask questions and work at your own pace. Ingredients, tools, apron and takeaway box are provided. The recipes are gluten-free and vegan-friendly, and dietary requests can be accommodated with advance notice.