This milk tea place is one of my favorites! Their milk teas were traditional and incredibly flavorful. My favorite drink was the signature milk tea, which had early grey, lavender, and brown sugar boba. Their boba was flavorful and well made but much smaller in size than the boba I'm used to. Any milk tea lovers out there should definitely try these! read more

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MATCHA is my life! this place is located inside a korean grocery store with all the other amazing food vendors in the food court area. I got the matcha soft serve and it was delicious and they give you a lot! It was not bitter or too sweet, definitely taste like matcha, I would get this everyday if i could read more

releaf - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Thank goodness for Re Leaf at the Mitsuwa foodcourt. It offers a great venue for a tasty treat post shopping or chowing down on a main dish - if you can spare any room in your belly!!! Their prices are fantabulous! After lunch today, I paid $2 for two scoops of red bean ice cream. They offered to give me two scoops of different flavors but nu-uh! Red bean is way too amazing to share the spotlight! Super cheap and super savory! read more

I love their ice cream, soft serve and milkshake offerings. The matcha green tea, black sesame, red bean, etc ice cream flavors are delicious. That's all I have had in my few visits here. I would like to try other items from their menu. They have Boba milk teas as well. The prices are reasonable and they can be busy occasionally. read more

releaf - Matcha Vanilla swirl - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

I went to Releaf again and got a matcha azuki float. I was expecting a blended frappe type of drink, but this is actually an iced beverage. Now, the matcha was good, the soft-serve was good, and the red bean paste was good. However, half the cup was filled with ice cubes! Not only did the ice get in the way of scooping out the soft-serve and red bean paste, I would expect more substance for $6.12. I would give this drink 3.5 stars only. read more

Spilling the Tea on Releaf's Undisclosed Upcharge I think they have excellent matcha items but they will charge $5 (plus tax) even if the item you purchase is under $5 dollars according to their menu. I'm assuming they have a $5 minimum on credit card purchases but are not upfront about it and don't warn you beforehand to give you the option to cancel your order or pay cash instead. They also don't give you a receipt. They might possibly be taking advantage of the general cashlessness of transactions COVID-19 has caused, but then again I feel like I've been overcharged past trips too. I just never bothered enough to look into it, but a rare treat during long term unemployment that once again felt a tad too pricey in hindsight prompted me to this time. Calculating a pretax price of roughly $5 from the transaction total corroborated with a Yelp tip I saw from 2014 that states you can only use cards with a $5 minimum transaction. It appears their policy now is to just bump up the price of your item to $5 without telling you if you're paying with a card. Since few people pay cash or automatically expect a receipt for quick grab-and-go items like coffee drinks, this is a very sneaky and dishonest "policy." I don't even know if they have signs up telling you. If they do, it's not prominently posted. My advice would be to always check the price of what you order beforehand and demand a receipt. If the price doesn't seem in line with the menu, question them about it before they run your card. Full disclosure: I probably won't be getting the usual matcha latte anymore when I visit Mitsuwa. read more

Decisions, decisions... do I go for the matcha soft serve or the green tea ice cream instead?? I tried a taste of both and decided to go with the ice cream... and then added another scoop of black sesame ice cream along with it, too. :) The soft serve was definitely creamy, but there is something rich and decadent about ice cream that I just love. The black sesame was also really refreshing and tasty, too. Definitely one of the best green tea ice creams I've ever eaten. Highly recommended! read more

releaf - Green tea and black sesame ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Left room for this place because I had a feeling I'd love it. Looked at pictures online and wanted everything. I ordered a weekend special and matcha swirl soft serve, along with a matcha parfait. The soft serve was absolutely delicious. I regret not getting two. The parfait came with matcha ice cream on the very bottom, some whipped cream in the middle, along with pieces of cake, and topped with soft serve swirl, strawberries, mochi, and a cookie. Also comes with red beans, I opted out. Should have opted out of the whipped cream too. The soft serve allows for such a smooth start and the fluffy texture of the ice cream makes for the perfect finish. Cake pieces were a nice texture change, same with the mochi. Wish there were more mochi pieces within the parfait. My friend ordered the Earl Grey milk tea with boba and said that the boba was mediocre, but that the tea was amazing! read more

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The ultimate comparison between match ice cream vs soft served. Their ice cream is fluffy, airy and tastes higher quality as its got more ice crystals than the soft served counterpart. As a result of the lack of micro air pockets that gives ice cream the texture, the soft served is more flat and smooth. I personally prefer the matcha ice cream. For future reference. ReLeaf Matcha Cafe's got many other oriental flavors to be tried: black sesame, ginger, lychee. read more

releaf - Matcha ice cream vs. soft served. The ice cream has more air pockets that gives it the fluffy texture, whereas soft served is more creamy. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Such an amazing little place inside of mitsuwa! They have many drink options, from teas and coffees to milkshakes. The service here is quickly and the people behind the counter and very friendly. Definitely recommend the blue flower iced tea or an iced match latte. A can't miss here in Arlington Heights read more

After eating food at the food court, you have to stop by and get some dessert here! My go to dessert is the matcha and vanilla soft serve and black sesame ice cream! The matcha is on the sweet side and tastes authentic, not artificial. As of now their menus say espressos are all sold out. Friendly service. The only thing that is hard to do is eat your dessert at a table unless you have a spot saved because the food court is always crowded! read more

releaf - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

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I was super exited to get green tea ice cream! I haven't been able to find good green tea ice cream since I went to Japan. And let me warn you, it's not the same in China. Tried twice and it's vile there. The soft serve ice cream here was exactly the flavor of matcha green tea. It wasn't exactly what I expected and wasn't exactly what I'd had in Japan. But I'd go back to try one of their delicious-looking parfaits! read more

Love the matcha soft serve! I got the all matcha one, not the half vanilla mix. It's serious business, deep green, not too sweet, and slightly bitter. Not something that should be eaten quickly. The soft serve was also well made, it wasn't runny and stayed solid for a while. read more

The matcha soft serve is sooo good! It's a swirl of half vanilla and half matcha flavor, and the sweetness from the vanilla balances out the slight bitterness of the matcha. It's so pretty and picture-worthy too, although I forgot to take a picture. :( I've also had the iced military latte which I found to be just ok. The sweetness level was perfect, but the matcha didn't seem like quality matcha--it contributed a weird mouthfeel to the drink. It also just had a bad aftertaste. Would not order again, even though it looked pretty! read more

releaf - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

No line on a Wednesday afternoon. I got 2 matcha soft serve that tasted great and were such a ReLeaf on a hot day ;). You can really taste the matcha and it's not too overpowering or sweet. They have plenty of options from matcha parfait, boba drinks, and ice cream. I would definitely come back again! read more

releaf - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Almost all of the menu items have green tea incorporated into them. I ordered the matcha matcha smoothie and the bf ordered the lychee matcha smoothie. The matcha matcha smoothie was SOOO GOOD, but the green tea flavor was undetectable in the lychee matcha smoothie. We were eyeing the green tea soft serve ice cream and matcha parfait so we will definitely be back to try them! FYI: $5 minimum to use credit card read more

releaf - Lychee matcha smoothie (left) and matcha matcha smoothie (right) - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Re Leaf is one of the most exciting parts about Mitsuwa Marketplace (in addition to Santouka Ramen and Lady M), and it is well worth the trek all the way from the city. The menu specializes in matcha, so they have a huge selection of matcha drinks and desserts. I usually get the matcha parfait ($6), which consists of match ice cream and matcha soft serve (yes, both, you read that right) topped with red bean, mochi, spongecake (sometimes they swap it out for a cookie), and strawberries. The matcha soft serve here is very creamy and has just the right amount of matcha flavor - not too sweet, but not too earthy either. I've also tried their iced matcha tea (very strong yet refreshing), iced matcha latte with red bean, as well as the honey affogato - all of which were great. The staff here have always been really friendly and accommodating. Service is quite fast, despite how long the lines can get here. If you ever drop by Mitsuwa for groceries or lunch, make sure to save enough room for Re Leaf - I promise you won't regret it. read more

releaf - matcha parfaits - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Best matcha soft serve on the Chicago area!!! .if you are lucky it's not super creamy and just really really deliciously matcha their kinako lattes are really good too . read more

Matcha soft-serve is the name of the game here. I honestly would recommend trying it at least once, even if you aren't the greatest fan of matcha. I don't recall it being harshly bitter, which is what many people find offensive about matcha-infused items. Hey, even if you don't like it, at least it makes for a good picture! The drinks here are quite good as well. They have a lot of unique Asian-inspired drinks, such as Thai tea and Vietnamese coffee. The price is slightly higher than one might normally pay at a coffee shop, but I justify this by the rarity of these types of drinks. read more

Good variety of options on the menu and prices are reasonable. There's usually little to no line and the turn around is relatively quick. This is our go to place for picking up drinks to go with lunch or for an afternoon pick me up. read more

Everything I've had here is really good. The ice cream is excellent and it was where I first tried black sesame ice cream. It was an unexpected delight! The hot taro latte was also very good if you're looking for a warm treat. While waiting in line, the customer in front of me ordered the mango matcha smoothie and just seeing it made me want to try it. It did not disappoint! It was refreshing and satisfying at the same time. While standing in the food court, I had people come up to ask me where I got it so I very highly recommend it! read more

releaf - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Wow!!! The matcha ice cream here has a really nice, fluffy texture. It tastes really good, and it is not too sweet. The parfait is a really good dessert to split - it comes with strawberries, cookies, cake bites, red beans, and cream, basically EVERYTHING YOU COULD WANT IN A DESSERT! I will definitely have to come back again to try all of their other stuff. It looks like they have an amazing selection of ice cream. I saw a lychee flavor that looks promising. read more

releaf - Matcha Parfait - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

I scream, you scream, we scream for ice cream! I like the matcha green tea ice cream sadly due to the lockdown, they currently only have scoops instead of the machine soft serve. I always get the soft serve when I'm here! The scoops aren't as good so if you happen to be here with the ice cream machine operating then you'll get a 5/5 star green tea matcha soft serve. read more

releaf - Green tea scoops. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Beautifully crafted frozen treats! I very much enjoyed my matcha parfait. Next time I visit Mitsuwa Marketplace, I be sure to stop by Re Leaf to get my frozen treat fix! read more

releaf - Matcha parfait!!! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Green tea ice cream and extra mochi next time ! Only thing I wish the cake was softer . But it's still good . read more

releaf - Matcha Parfait - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Red bean and green tea matcha ice cream? Ohhhh, sweet, creamy goodness! YES! I'm such a creature of habit, buttt I want to try (most of) the flavors: ginger, lychee, sesame are all on my radar. I can't give ReLeaf a full 5-star since cashiers can be surly. I even tipped despite the fact, and no "Thank you"? C'monnn now. read more

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Matcha Latte, Yo! It's served cold and it's absolutely perfect. I know you're supposed to get the Matcha Parfait, Matcha Soft Serve, or any of the dozen ice cream flavors they offer, but this was my first time here and they had a lot of other things on the menu and I was trying this new thing where I limit myself to "just one thing" I want on the menu, instead of getting everything I want on the menu and having enough to feed a litter of people, because it's probably the healthy thing to do and my partner hates when I surplus order. So I started to ask the girl behind the counter what her favorite thing there was so I could be sure that my 'one thing' was the very best thing they've got and she cut me off at *maybe* my second word and literally finished the rest of the sentence for me. Clearly, we had a connection and I could trust this girl. She said her favorite was the Matcha Latte and I said, 'Yes, please.' Two minutes and $2.50+tip later and I was sippin' on one of the best drinks I've ever had. So good it could've even rivaled drinks with alcohol... so that should say something. The only unfortunate part of my visit was that I heeded the ongoing advice of my partner and got "just one thing"... not that the latte wasn't enough for one serving, but my partner definitely drank about 85% of it. Sad face for me, but he doesn't really like going out to eat or drink (my two favorite things) and he really loved this drink and I could see it made him happy so I let him at it since I knew I could go back anytime and get more and also because I knew I'd be hitting up Pastry House Hippo after and that I was definitely NOT going to heed any advice about getting "just one thing." Their other famed menu items might be just as good as the matcha latte, but I think I've found my sweet staple at Re Leaf. read more

As I ate my tasty and filling curry katsu lunch at the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court, I stared longingly at the surprisingly quiet re Leaf ice cream counter. I guess the diners on this afternoon were more focused on scarfing down lunch rather than dessert, but I'm an equal-opportunity consumer. Food followed by dessert! Fortunately I still had a bit of room for dessert after eating my lunch. re Leaf has a counter of scoopable ice cream selections, as well as the soft serve dispenser with green tea and vanilla flavors. I went with one scoop of the green tea ice cream served in a regular cone. The price is right - under two bucks, and the matcha ice cream was yummy. I've enjoyed green tea ice cream during my trips to Japan over the years, and now I can say I have had some fine green tea ice cream in Chicagoland. Just do it! read more

I ordered the iced matcha latte and it was a very simple, yet delicious drink. I can't wait to try their froyo. You must come if you're a fan of all that is green tea. Plus, the prices are great! read more

When I stepped up to the counter at Re Leaf yesterday, I didn't even bother to look at the ice cream or read the entire menu. I saw "Matcha Latte" and that's all I needed. I've never had a Matcha Latte before, but have been hearing good things about Matcha [green tea powder] lately and wanted to give it a try. I ordered my drink with soy milk, handed over my cash (less than $3 for this drink!? a steal), and soon had a delicious iced matcha latte in my hand. And it was good. Oh, so good. So good that I drank it too quickly and wanted more. I didn't order another one, but now that I'm writing this, I should have. Oh well. Next time? *drool* read more

Coffee was decent. Gelatos are also good and at reasonable prices. Not too sweet and deep flavor. I didn't try but soft matcha ice cream would be better I guess. Gelato is 2.25 per spoon, but pretty big comparing it to other stores. read more

releaf - Lychee and sesame - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

Haha! I feel like such a ditz after reading Yanyao's review on Re Leaf. I totally did not get the whole "Relief" pun! Very catchy. I enjoyed a cup of ice cream. I had red bean and green tea which were both amazing. I wanted to try some of the other menu items from the various places in the food court, but the two scoops of ice cream were very filling! After enjoying our ice cream and chatting it up. Jelena, Erika, Jeka and I explored the grocery store portion where I bought a jar of pickled ginger and two sushi rolls for dinner. I had a great time getting to know some of my fellow Yelpers. Thanks for everything Jelena! read more

I can only speak for the soft serves and ice cream but those are really the star here! My partner loves the vanilla soft serve. He's not a vanilla person but swears this is not your ordinary vanilla, I always get the Macha (green tea) soft serve, seriously it's so good! read more

releaf - Macha soft serve! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

2 scoops of black sesame ice cream is what I usually order, and it's only $2.20something with tax included. I've tried their lychee and green tea ice creams too, along with their soft serve green tea and the matcha parfait. All are delicious, especially the lychee one with chunks of lychee, or maybe it's imitation lychee, not totally sure lol...but it's awesome! read more

Match parfait was hands down awesome!!!!! It tasted like it came straight from a Japanese Cafe! It had the best combo of flavors and I'm not even a red bean paste fan. I loved the taste and texture of the multiple layers of the parfait. Will be back! read more

releaf - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

The key to Re Leaf is knowing what you like and getting it. My first time here was really disappointing. My family needs to be gluten-free, so we couldn't order the famed Matcha Parfait. So I opted for something that looked visually similar - the Red Bean Ice. It was NASTY...gross...not good at all. Basically it was just red bean paste and shaved ice. I paid extra for the condensed milk and it was literally just swirled at the very top...didn't really add anything to the flavor/texture. Flavorless and cloyingly sweet (I believe they add sugar syrup). I asked for them to put some regular milk in there, and the girl told me no. What? There's a gallon of milk sitting right next to you!!! I prefer the red bean ice at Chinese restaurants where they put evaporated milk in it and it's more a beverage than a dessert. Wait...if it was this horrible, how do they get 5 stars? Well, they should technically get 1 star for my first experience there. But I went back because my family wanted ice cream and it was the only place at Mitsuwa that served it. Here's where they shined. They have lots of "Asian" inspired flavors that you can't find at your local ice cream shop...banana, mango, lychee, red bean, etc. And the $2.00 (plus $0.22 tax) pays for 2 scoops! Banana + chocolate for my son for the WIN! While we were waiting, someone ordered something that I didn't see on the menu called the Matcha Matcha. What is that??? Turns out to be a green tea shake/smoothie. Ordered one and it was AMAZING. Literally awe-inspiring. Green tea ice cream, crushed ice, whipped cream, and matcha powder. DELICIOUS. I particularly loved the powdered matcha they sprinkled on top. There are some reviews on here that were complaining about the green tea powder being cheap and to use "real" green tea. Obviously they don't know what they're talking about. Matcha powder is exponentially more expensive than regular green tea, and I was impressed with the quantity that they gave. So for scoops of ice cream and their Matcha Matcha shake/smoothie, it's definitely a 4.5 to 5 star place. read more

Three words: matcha soft serve. What did you do, Ray? WHAT DID YOU DO?!?! Seriously, the ice creams I've tried are fantastic. The drinks are fantastic. The only reason I'm not giving this place five stars is that it's cash only, and I *always* forget to bring cash when I come into Mitsuwa and decide I need to stop here. Every other establishment in the Mitsuwa complex takes credit or debit cards, and I'm one of those modern jerks who rarely (if ever) carries cash anymore. From a shopowner's POV, I get it. Those fees cut into profits. And this place is so good, of course people will go out of their way to get cash so they can have some. I know; I've done it. So maybe I'm really giving myself four stars here for never having cash when I hit up re Leaf. Yes. That's it. read more

Depending on what you're wanting to try this place is hit or miss it seems. The lady was nice enough to let me try a bunch of flavors before I made my choice and the employees are always nice. I personally enjoyed the black sesame seed ice cream, but It's an aquired taste I'm sure. I originally wanted the red bean but it has NO red bean flavor? It was almost fruity, It was confusing. Their coffee flavor is pretty good and so is the cookie flavor. I tried a few others and wasn't too impressed. I also think it's a bit pricey. (this coming from someone who likes frozen yogurt shops) However after a spicy bowl of ramen maybe a green tea cone isn't that bad. (which I haven't tried yet, last time I went there it wasn't working sadly). read more

We are in the middle of the winter season in the Midwest, so I'm assuming the menu items are significantly reduced for that reason. We ordered the soft serve green tea on a cone. For $2.75 each, it was just ok. I wouldn't honestly say it was delicious at all. I guess it's the best you can can in the Chicagoland since Japan is really on the opposite end of the globe. They do accept credit card, but the minimum purchase has to be $5. read more

Where else can you get a scoop of ice-cream for $1.50? The green tea scoop sent me to a world of creamery, sugar and tea fields. From their variety of ice-creams (minus the soft serve), the green tea had the 'strongest' flavor and was the tastiest in my opinion. IF you are a coffee lover, check out the affogato. A scoop of any ice-cream (but I would go with chocolate for that mocha flavor) topped with a fresh espresso shot. You'll be amazed by how the crema layer mixes with the ice-cream to create something wildly delicious. Can't you just taste it now? read more

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