Every My/Mochi Ice Cream Flavor, Ranked

Mochi is a small, spherical delight that's hard to pass up. Traditionally, mochi consists of a small ball of ice cream covered in a thin, chewy casing that holds everything together so that you never need to use a spoon. All you need to make a basic mochi casing is three ingredients: glutinous rice flour, powdered sugar, and water. Combine and steam, and you'll have subtly-sweet rice dough to wrap around whatever flavor of ice cream you'd like. This most delicious of Japanese treats is a must-have on New Year's and has become a popular, simple treat that many love to keep on hand in the freezer for when craving strikes.

That's where brands like My/Mochi come in. My/Mochi is an LA-based brand that wasn't content to stick to the classic mochi flavors. Instead of just offering vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, My/Mochi has 24 different flavors of mochi, ranging from basic to complex, with several non-dairy options and a few seasonal surprises. We were lucky enough to get our hands on everything we could find in stock in order to answer this question: Which My/Mochi flavor is the best?

Strawberry with boba ranked low on our list. This mochi flavor is built around a boba-flavored filling that includes brown sugar, molasses, black tea, and vanilla extract in order to approximate that feeling of biting into a boba. The boba filling is contained within the center of strawberry-flavored ice cream, and wrapped in pink rice dough.

Despite being one of the more beautiful mochi options — we loved the look of the boba core here — this mochi was very sweet for our taste. The strawberry flavor was overpowering and didn't taste like genuine fruit. This makes this strawberry unlike most of the other My/Mochi flavors, which tend to be very literal.

We were really excited to try the ube My/Mochi flavor. Ube is a naturally purple potato with a subtly-sweet taste; it originates in the Philippines, so it's a popular flavor in Filipino cooking, and it's also used in a lot of Hawaiian desserts. The best thing about ube is that it dyes everything it touches a gorgeous lilac color. My/Mochi's rendition of this snack also uses purple carrot juice and vegetable juice to further deepen the purple.

Unfortunately, this ube mochi didn't quite live up to our expectations. It tastes too much like the real thing. The flavor is very potato-y, not at all like the light, refreshing ube that most ube-flavored snacks give off. Perhaps we've just become accustomed to ube-colored food, rather than ube-flavored food. Either way, this mochi was a heavier treat than we thought we were signing up for.

The packaging of the dulce de leche mochi promises something very exciting: A mochi with caramel filling at the center of the ice cream. My/Mochi has several flavors with filling in the middle, ranging from strawberry with boba to s'mores.

Unfortunately, we ended up concluding that the My/Mochi dulce de leche mochi is an experiment in core fillings gone slightly wrong, much like the misguided attempt at creating a molten core at the center of Ben & Jerry's pints. The caramel center defrosts more quickly than the ice cream, which means that it's entirely possible for it to squirt out of your mochi mid-bite. The flavors of this mochi are also more intense than we wanted them to be, and it's definitely one of the sweeter mochi on the My/Mochi menu.

My/Mochi has four different variations of strawberry-flavored mochi: There's strawberry with boba, non-dairy strawberry, strawberry banana smoothie, and plain strawberry. This most basic strawberry flavor is made with a strawberry purée that includes sugar, water, strawberries, natural flavoring, and citric acid. The strawberries aren't enough to give it this light pink shade, so the inside and outside of the mochi are actually also dyed with beetroot juice concentrate.

With so many strawberry options to choose from, it's hard to pick just one strawberry to go with. This basic strawberry flavor paled in comparison to some of the more complicated versions. It's on the sweeter side of the My/Mochi selection, and as much as we love a sweet treat, this one is testing our limits.

Although guava is not typically grown in Japan, making guava-flavored mochi is a natural marriage. This green-skinned, pink-fleshed tropical fruit carries a rosy, floral taste. Using guava to create mochi is a strong concept: It's beautiful to look at, and its flavors should lend themselves well to the rice dough.

While this rendition of guava didn't quite tickle our tastebuds, it's obvious that the guava mochi is one of the cutest varieties offered by My/Mochi. We're obsessed with the way that you can see the rosy pink center of the ice cream through the thin rice dough layer; usually, My/Mochi seems to aim to align the color palette of the mochi with its real-life equivalent, but not in the case of this flavor, where the green skin of the fruit is replaced by a translucent white film.

The My/Mochi passionfruit flavor looks pleasantly similar to the real fruit: It has purple skin and an electric, mango-y yellow center, just like real-life passionfruit. All that this mochi is missing are those delicious seeds that are so great to stir into your sparkling water or a cocktail to make a satisfying passionfruit drink. The ice cream recipe also contains real passionfruit purée.

To us, this flavor tasted like a candied version of passionfruit. Usually, passionfruit has a tart, citrusy taste, but that characteristic tanginess was lost in the puréed nature of this fruit. The flavor is actually great, but this mochi lost points with us for moving away from the flavor we expected. If you have a sweet tooth, though, this candy-esque flavor will suit your tastes.

The strawberry banana smoothie flavor is a relatively new addition to the My/Mochi cohort: It was added to the roster, along with the mixed berry smoothie, in March 2022. Originally, the company opted to call these mochi flavors "Incredibites," but nowadays they are just labeled as smoothies.

The strawberry banana smoothie flavor just didn't really hit for us. Interestingly, the banana-colored rice dough struck us as tasting synthetic, while the inside of the smoothie mochi tasted very much like an actual smoothie. It's made with skim milk, apple juice concentrate, and banana and strawberry purees, which contain sugar; but overall, these mochi taste less sugary and more healthy. Not our thing, necessarily, but they're definitely someone's.

Dairy-free My/Mochi is made from oat milk in order to appeal to vegans and lactose intolerant alike. Frozen oat milk has a different texture than frozen milk — it's significantly harder to bite through. If you want a soft mochi that you can bite into, take your non-dairy mochi out of the freezer a few minutes earlier.

The non-dairy version of My/Mochi's strawberry flavor is, surprisingly, the best of this company's four variations of strawberry mochi. The strawberry flavor is much more subtle here, perhaps because it's in competition with the flavor of the oat milk. This mochi is still super sweet, and it still doesn't taste like genuine strawberries; however, it's more palatable than the normal strawberry mochi, and the outer casing has no distracting flavors. It's definitely our pick for the best strawberry My/Mochi.

Going into this test, we had an inkling that the My/Mochi mango flavor was going to be number one. Mango is such a perfect mochi flavor that the combination seemed almost meant to be. Add that to the fact that the mochi itself approximated the gorgeous golden color of mango well, and our hopes were very high. Yet when we bit into the mango mochi, we were saddened to discover that the mango within was just... fine.

This is not to say that the mango mochi is bad by any means. In fact, this is certainly a delicious mochi, but we found that we wanted more from it — the flavor is subtle in comparison with other flavors like guava and ube, and we didn't think it needed to be. Give us more sweet mango.

Similar to the strawberry banana smoothie, the My/Mochi mixed berry smoothie is a frozen smoothie bulb wrapped in a layer of rice dough. This smoothie flavor contains a mixed berry blend that includes strawberries, blueberry juice, and blackberry and banana purées, among other ingredients. The smoothie interior is a pleasant pink color, and the rice dough is a complementary purple, dyed with purple carrot juice and caramel.

The smoothie sphere reminded us of some flavor from the long-forgotten past — after a second, we realized it was highly reminiscent of the berry-flavored variety of Go-Gurt. It's both a new product and, paradoxically, a blast from the past. We didn't need to have a second helping of mixed berries, but we definitely enjoyed it.

The non-dairy chocolate is the second-best of the three non-dairy flavors offered by My/Mochi. As with the other non-dairy flavors, you need to let this mochi defrost for a couple of extra minutes when you take it out of the freezer so that you can actually bite through the frozen oat ice cream without hurting your teeth.

The chocolate flavor of the mochi isn't as strong as it could be, which means that you can really taste the oat milk used in this recipe. The result is a chalkier version of mochi, reminiscent of a frozen vegan hot chocolate. Overall, this plant-based chocolate mochi option doesn't compare to its dairy-filled counterpart. Of course, even if it's a little tame, it's still a yummy treat.

Horchata, a Mexican drink made with cinnamon and rice milk, actually relies on the same base ingredient as the mochi dough — rice flour. This mochi recipe includes sweetened condensed whole milk to create a creamier texture, in addition to the rice flour that is at the core of both horchata and mochi dough. It's a very clever inclusion in the flavor list.

In addition to being clever, the My/Mochi horchata flavor is exciting. It's a little bit like biting into a Bath and Body Works candle, which feels forbidden and satisfying in a sneaky way. Cinnamon is the predominant flavor, and the mochi becomes almost aromatic as the ice cream inside melts down. In general, the My/Mochi flavors excel when they are at their most simple, and the horchata mochi is one of the best pieces of evidence to support that claim.

The s'mores My/Mochi flavor is another of those mochi that have a sneaky hidden filling inside. Here, the classic s'more is disassembled and put back together in a new way. The outer layer of the mochi acts as the chocolate, while the ice cream inside is graham cracker flavored; then, at the center, there's a small pocket of marshmallow filling.

Although we didn't love the other varieties of My/Mochi with filling, the s'mores version works very well — the marshmallow filling has a stickier, lighter texture than the ice cream, which creates a nice contrast. The mochi itself isn't overly sweet because the ice cream is graham cracker flavored — a choice we appreciated, especially since most s'mores-flavored ice creams use a chocolate base. We definitely recommend eating your s'mores mochi on top of an actual s'more, if you can pull it off.

The non-dairy salted caramel mochi flavor is My/Mochi's third oat milk-based mochi variety and our favorite of the three. There are natural caramel flavors in this mochi, along with real sea salt. Just like with the other non-dairy flavors, you're going to want to leave this mochi box out of the freezer for a few extra minutes to let your oat milk ice cream melt a little.

The non-dairy salted caramel is similar in flavor to the dulce de leche mochi, but the added salt makes a difference — this mochi is more savory and becomes a more interesting bite. This has its pros and its cons — sure, it's delicious, but you might slip and fall and end up eating a whole box.

This Cereal & Milk mochi flavor isn't just made with the milk that's left behind at the bottom of your cereal bowl — it has cereal in it, too. Well, okay, maybe cereal is the wrong word. Actually, this mochi contains graham cracker crumbs, ground finely enough that they mix easily into the ice cream. The mochi dough on the outside is white, with no additional flavor added.

Despite the fact that this recipe doesn't technically use cereal, the end result tastes very much like that classic cereal milk flavor — the sugary finish to the childhood breakfast that you had almost forgotten. The flavor is further enhanced by the natural rice dough wrapper, making it an updated version of a dish that intends to push all your nostalgia buttons.

We weren't sure what to expect from My/Mochi's apple pie à la mode flavor. This seasonal offering hits shelves in the fall and is meant to approximate the taste of an apple pie, with an apple filling at the center of the vanilla ice cream ball. Real apple pies are a dessert so perfect that it seems silly to try to replicate them in another form, which is probably why you so rarely see apple pie-flavored goods; but we figured that My/Mochi had good reason for including this special seasonal flavor.

Turns out, the apple pie à la mode tastes chillingly like a true pie. The filling includes apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg, which combine to create the perfect pie filling reference, and the vanilla ice cream is made with ground vanilla beans. The ratio is different than your usual Thanksgiving serving — there's much more ice cream here than pie filling — but in all other respects, this mochi is a surprisingly suitable substitute for apple pie.

You can't really go wrong with cookies and cream; My/Mochi certainly hasn't. This mochi flavor is on point, filled with vanilla ice cream and ground-up pieces of chocolate crème cookies. You can just barely taste the rice dough in this recipe, which blends into the background in contrast with the flavor of the cookies — here, the mochi wrapper really just becomes the gift wrapping on a little present of ice cream.

The cookies and cream mochi are very kid-friendly, while not being too sweet for adult tastebuds. It's perfect to eat by the side of the pool to keep yourself cool during those hot summer months, or to snack on right when you get home from a hot day walking around in the sun. It would also be a great flavor to have in the freezer for after-school playdates.

Did you know that matcha and green tea are made from the same plant, but they're brewed using entirely different processes? Matcha is a stone-ground, powdered version of tea leaves that can also be brewed whole to create green tea. The My/Mochi green tea flavor is somewhat confusingly named because it's actually made using a matcha mix. That means that if you're someone who goes crazy for matcha, you should definitely try out My/Mochi's green tea.

This mochi feels more mature than the rest of the My/Mochi selection, probably just because the matcha flavor is more savory and complex than, say, cookies and cream. It's grassy, with a hint of bitterness that lets you know that My/Mochi is using real matcha to create these mochis. It's hard to limit yourself to just one piece.

Whenever we're feeling beachy, we tend to gravitate toward tropical flavors like pineapple, açaí, and, of course, coconut. With the warmth of summer in mind, we were excited to sample coconut mochi — after all, a chewy coconut-flavored treat is one of the best ways to beat the heat and keep yourself feeling refreshed.

Just as we predicted before biting in, we're happy to report that this coconut mochi from My/Mochi is easily the most refreshing of the bunch. Unlike some other flavors, the coconut mochi recipe creates a mochi that is light and airy — it's just hinting at coconut, with a lot of the flavor depending on intense creaminess and a splash of sugar. Next time we head to the beach, we'll find some way to pack these coconut mochis with us for the ride.

My/Mochi's double chocolate flavor is one of very few My/Mochi flavors that experiment with incorporating a more crunchy texture within the ice cream itself. Here, that texture comes from small flakes of chocolate folded into the ice cream center that is made from cane sugar, coconut oil, cocoa processed with alkali, cocoa, corn starch, and salt.

The double chocolate mochi delivers on every promise it makes. The chocolate ice cream is luxuriously smooth once you bite into the mochi, and the chocolate flakes offer a satisfyingly crisp textural contrast. This is the chocolatiest My/Mochi flavor by far, but it's not dark chocolate; rather, it's much more like a big old glass of chocolate milk that you might have on special occasions as a child. It was delightful and felt like decadence.

Perhaps it seems foolish to put a simple flavor like a vanilla bean so high in the rankings. Our answer to that is that if that seems silly to you, then you're betraying the fact that you haven't had this vanilla bean mochi yet.

The My/Mochi vanilla bean flavor is gorgeous in its simplicity. It's made with ground vanilla beans, to lock in that delicious vanilla flavor; you can see the evidence of these vanilla beans throughout the ice cream, manifesting as tiny black specks. In this mochi, the taste of the rice dough is actually able to shine through, where usually it's overwhelmed by stronger flavors. Combined, the ice cream and the mochi dough create something familiar yet new, a twist that's far more exciting than eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream, and not overcomplicated.

Are you ready for the shock of a century? This pumpkin spice mochi tastes like... wait for it... actual pumpkin.

As silly as it sounds, we were certainly not expecting to taste real pumpkin flavoring when we bit into something labeled "pumpkin spice." This pumpkin spice is a different one than the classic Starbucks collaboration of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In fact, the inspiration for this flavor comes straight from real pumpkin pies — the ingredients include real pumpkin purée and graham cracker crumbs, an ingenious innovation that more would-be pumpkin spice makers should consider adopting.

We were very pleased with the robust flavor of this mochi. The bright orange wrapper, the depth of the palate, and the surprise of the graham cracker crumbs all combined to rocket this mochi almost all the way to the top.

Our second favorite My/Mochi option was the coffee mochi. This recipe uses actual coffee, and you can tell at the first bite. (To children and the caffeine-sensitive, we must say: beware).

We found that the rice dough on this mochi actually contrasts pretty beautifully with the coffee flavor. Rice and coffee aren't a typical combination, but maybe they should be: They work in perfect harmony together here to create an incredible bite of chewy espresso goodness. The combination of coffee and ice cream tastes just like a perfectly-sweetened latte, made with good, fatty milk. If given the chance, we would eat one of these every morning — after all, it's coffee, breakfast, and a dessert, all rolled up into one sweet and efficient little ball.

Ah, the pièce de resistance. This mochi was far and away our favorite on the list; once we had a bite of this flavor, we realized there wasn't much competition for the top slot.

My/Mochi's mint chocolate chip mochi contains natural flavors, but not mint. It also includes a fair number of chocolatey flakes, but they're pretty subtle and you might not get that many in your mochi bite. Still, it's always refreshing to see a white-colored mint-flavored food — more evidence of this brand's commitment to natural dye — and to get a mint chocolate chip ice cream that relies on the quality of its cream rather than the chocolate chips to mask the natural flavors. This mochi bravely presents as a plain vanilla mochi, but it offers so much more — the chewy exterior, the creamy mint, and the shock (and subsequent pleasure) of biting through a stray flake of chocolate. We plan on stocking our freezers with mint chocolate My/Mochi for many months to come. Long live mint chocolate.