The cult of Matcha
With celebrity fans and gushing converts preaching to its power, the green tea is inspiring religious devotion
CELEBRITY DJ Chelsea Leyland has a secret sauce to keep her energy up amid endless nights of parties: matcha. “My friends always make fun of me,” says Leyland. “They call me ‘ the matcha lady.’ I brew up a massive pot of it and dole it up with a ladle.” “Yes, in a pot, like a witch,” she adds. New Yorkers are falling under the matcha spell faster than you can say “Om.” The ultra potent, richly hued powdered green tea is quickly gaining cult- like status among the juicing generation thanks to its steady three- hour caffeine release and antioxidant power — 10 times that of your run- of- the- mill cuppa, according to Graham Fortgang, co- owner of the 7- month- old Matcha Bar in Williamsburg.
“Matcha is fueling the New York hustle,” says 23- year- old Fortgang of the potion, which is made from groundup tea leaves suspended in water ( as opposed to simply soaking the leaves and then discarding them).
Fortgang’s cafe serves more than 800 matcha- based beverages on an average weekend. His patrons include “Divergent” star Ansel Elgort, who prefers an iced- cucumber concoction ($ 5.25), and Kiernan Shipka of “Mad Men” fame, who visited Matcha Bar five times during a recent stay at the Wythe Hotel.
Jessica and Dave Mandelbaum, the 29- year- old comely couple behind Panatea, an NYC- based matcha lifestyle
company, say their business has skyrocketed since launching just over a year ago.
“Our revenue from this past February was 14 times more than any month from2014,” says Dave, who now supplies matcha to nearly 25 hip cafes and restaurants, including downtown’s the Fat Radish and David Chang’s Momofuku Ko.
To think that last year, early adopters couldn’t even find the ancient Japanese beverage in city stores.
“I went to Trader Joe’s and asked them for matcha, and they didn’t knowwhat I was talking about and asked if I mispronounced it,” recalls stylist Nneya Richards, 28, a regular matcha drinker. ( The store now stocks a matcha latte mix.)
Back in 12th- century Japan, the drink was a favorite of monks, who treasured matcha’s calming and meditative effects. Samurais got a taste for it the following century, sipping it before battles for increased endurance.
Matcha remained a relatively foreign beverage until five years ago, when specialty tea shops in NYC started carrying it, says MatchaBar’s Fortgang. In 2012, it hit the mainstream when Dr. Oz heralded the tea’s metabolic boosting qualities. Starbucks started hawking matcha lattes in 2014, and, in January, the tea got an extra posh boost when Gwyneth Paltrow Instagrammed a pic of her beloved matcha latte.
“New dreamy discovery to warm up a wintry day, matcha latte @chalaitnyc #goopapproved,” reads the caption. The photo’s racked up more than 20,000 likes.
“It’s kind of like kale, you know?” says Julie Cook, 30, who got hooked on matcha during a visit to Southeast Asia last year and had to hunt it down in the these fad ingredients or foods that aren’t readily available .. . Now it’s everywhere.” And in every incarnation. Although the traditional preparation involves whisking the unadulterated powder in a bowl with hotwater, New Yorkers are putting their own spin on the drink.
In March, Jus by Julie started offering an $ 8 matcha chia juice. The Doughnut Plant has a matcha green tea doughnut. And Cafe Clover, a scenester’s paradise in the West Village, not only boasts its own matcha tea service ( the drink description reads: “roasted almond, artichoke, pepper, grass, slightly sweet, $ 7”), it also has a best- selling $ 15 Harajuku gimlet, made with matcha, gin, yuzu- sake cordial and shiso leaves.
Amanda Zuckerman, 23, a new devotee to the brew, even uses her stash to make at- home face masks.
“It’s really good for your skin,” says Zuckerman, co- founder of decorating Web site Dormify. ( Matcha’s said to reduce redness and protect skin from UV rays.)
When publicist Sarah Uibel first tried matcha two years ago, her mind was blown.
“Iwas like, ‘ What is this magical thing?’ ” says Uibel, who now spends upward of $ 100 aweek on her matcha habit. She’s even given up her typical boozy brunches for the green stuff.
“Saturday I met my friend Todd, and instead of going out for mimosas, we went to Chalait [ in the West Village] and had avocado toast and matcha lattes. It’s a healthier start to the day,” says Uibel.
Fashionista fans of the drink include socialite- blogger Hannah Bronfman and Hilary Peltz, who works at Alexander Wang and says the downtown fashion brand has served matcha to its retail clients. “I think people are automatically interested in anything that has antioxidants or antiaging properties,” says Peltz, 26, who makes matcha ice- pops to beat the heat in the summer. “There’s almost a green blaze of drinking. Green smoothies or juices, everyone just understands it. Green is no longer bad. It’s good and healthy for you.”
And Zuckerman and her coffee free cohorts maintain that despite the hype, matcha isn’t just another passing fad.
“I wouldn’t even use the word trendy to describe it because it is such an ancient tradition,” says Zuckerman.
For Leyland, much of matcha’s appeal lies in its history.
“I love that monks drink it,” she says. “And that samurais drank it before they went off to fight.”
Plus, she says, “I read that it keeps you thin and is good for balancing your mood.”
Matcha is fueling the newyork hustle.” — Graham Fortgang, co- owner of Williamsburg’s matchabar