There are some things in life that should never change… tea and teatime talk with your oldest and dearest school friends being one of them.

Seeing as it’s been a while since we’d indulged in either, I had the girls over last weekend for a bit of both, albeit with a uniquely Japanese twist courtesy Little Moons, the artisan producers of mochi ice cream…

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If you’ve eaten at any of London’s popular Japanese restaurants from Bone Daddies to Tonkotsu and Nobu, then you might be familiar with the company’s beautiful range of mochi desserts, which see silky smooth gelato ice cream parcelled within a chewy outer layer of mochi, made with pounded rice flour.

It’s an artful take on traditional mochi that you’d usually find filled with a sweetened red bean paste, a revered delicacy in Japan that dates back centuries. The country’s Mochi Trade Association estimates that the Japanese consume a whopping 1kg mochi on average each year, mostly during the first week of January to celebrate the new year!

We were sent the full range of Little Moon’s six gluten-free mochi ice cream varieties to try: coconut; raspberry; matcha green tea; mango; toasted sesame; and vanilla. The soft velvety colours made for rather stunning tea-time fancies, don’t you think…

And so deliciously moreish too!

We loved the contrasting textures embodied by each hand-rolled mochi ball, with the doughy, perfectly elastic mochi exterior giving way to a cool explosion of creamy gelato…

As a matcha lover to boot, the rich, bittersweet flavours of matcha green tea mochi ice cream was simply a mochi matcha made in heaven for me.

A fine balance between sweet, savoury and nutty, the toasted black sesame was another favourite, especially given the lovely crunch from the sesame coating.

The delicate coconut flakes dusting the coconut mochi balls were also quite delightful, while a burst of sunshine flooded through with each bite of the mango mochi ice cream…

In keeping up with the Japanese theme, we also sipped on copious cups of “kukicha” green tea, supplied by Adagio teas – a light, balanced blend of leaves and leaf stems with subtle nutty undertones, it was both cleansing and refreshing.

… And rounded off our mochi-marvellous afternoon with decadent mochi truffles from Tsuki Mochi. Elegantly dusted with cocoa, these chewy mochi balls enrobed a smooth, rich Belgian chocolate cream. As with the mochi ice creams, they definitely made for an exquisite change from standard tea-time fare!

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For fellow mochi monsters looking for their fix in London, Little Moons mochi ice creams come in a box of six and are available to purchase in Whole Foods and Partridges.

Tsuki Mochi’s mochi truffles come in a box of four and are available to purchase in Selfridges.

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I was invited to review Little Moons’ & Tsuki Mochi’s products, but as always I hog full credit for my opinions.