Going green: Why some Santa Cruz cafés are suddenly obsessed with matcha

This spring, more local coffee shops are going green with menus of matcha drinks that rival coffee. 

Matcha, a concentrated powdered green tea used in hot and cold beverages, is already a familiar site on many café menus. It’s been widely available in the U.S. since at least 2015 – some attribute the rise to an Instagram post from actress-turned-wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow – but for 10 years, shamrock-green matcha lattes remained a relatively niche order at most Santa Cruz County coffee shops. 

But over the past year, matcha has experienced a sudden global surge in popularity. With higher caffeine levels than loose-leaf teas and a slew of purported health benefits, a new wave of drinkers is seeking out matcha as a healthy alternative to coffee. Between 2023 and 2028, demand for matcha is expected to double over the previous five years. Last year, there was a matcha shortage as small farms in Japan, where most matcha is grown, struggled to meet demand while adhering to traditional hand-harvesting and stone-ground milling methods. 

In Santa Cruz County, coffee shops are explicitly offering higher-quality matcha with stronger matcha flavors, and a wider range of matcha beverages, like citrus-infused iced matchas and espresso-style drinks like cappuccinos made with matcha, in addition to fun twists on the familiar matcha lattes with different kinds of milk and fruit or simple syrup infusions. 

The interest is driven again, at least in part, by social media, said Mar Perez, a project manager at Verve Coffee Roasters. Customer demand inspired the Santa Cruz-based international coffee company to release a new matcha menu at all of its cafés, increasing the number of matcha beverages from one to nine. 

“Coffee culture and social media have been around for a while, but it’s almost becoming oversaturated. Matcha is the new thing,” said Perez. Trending videos on matcha recipes, at-home matcha techniques, brands and sourcing have helped educate consumers and motivated them to seek out higher-quality matcha at their local coffee shops, she said.

Other economic factors could be driving customers and coffee shops toward matcha. The price of coffee has risen to historic heights due to the effects of climate change on growing regions, rising costs of labor and transportation, and a number of other factors. The price of Arabica coffee increased 79% between January 2024 and January 2025, according to the Wall Street Journal. For the first time, the cost of coffee is approaching the price of the traditionally more expensive matcha. 

“Coffee prices are soaring,” said Joel Estby, who co-owns Santa Cruz’s 11th Hour Coffee with his brother, Brayden Estby. In March, the prices of matcha and coffee were relatively the same. A single serving of matcha powder is $0.40, and the same amount of coffee is $0.50, he said. 

This new reality might be motivating some local coffee shops to push suddenly more affordable – or at least, more comparable – matcha drinks to the forefront of their menus, rather than raise coffee prices, said Herman Madrigal, retail manager at Cat & Cloud Coffee in Santa Cruz. “It’s the highest cost that coffee has been in history,” he said. “When some of your margins are probably better on tea and other products rather than your coffee, instead of just raising coffee prices, you can showcase items to people.” 

But matcha’s allure isn’t all about the numbers. Matcha, like coffee, is associated with certain health benefits. Like other green teas, it’s high in antioxidants and polyphenols, which may ward off a range of diseases and cancers, and may lower blood pressure. It’s also high in L-theanine, an amino acid found in tea that may improve mood. Scientific findings on matcha’s health benefits are, overall, inconsistent and inconclusive, but matcha does have slightly less caffeine than coffee – around 80 milligrams to coffee’s 100 milligrams per 8-ounce serving. 

According to Estby at 11th Hour, it can be as simple as whether a customer prefers tea over coffee. “With matcha, you get to have that frothy, milky drink as a tea drinker, versus a water-based drink. It feels similar to a latte,” he said. 

Like coffee, the breadth of flavors found in matcha can vary widely depending on the quality and how it’s made. A serving of matcha, frothed by hand with a traditional bamboo whisk, is floral and intensely grassy, like leafy greens or a freshly cut lawn – in a good way – and has a layer of crema like a well-pulled shot of espresso. 

The most popular matcha drink, and the first introduction to matcha for many, is the matcha latte. Milk – any kind, served hot or iced – tempers the grassy flavors and brings out sweetness, even if there’s no added sugar. It’s also easier to note the floral and herbaceous characteristics that make matcha a great match for baked goods and other treats. 

By and large, matcha menus in Santa Cruz County mimic familiar coffee drinks, and simply substitute matcha for espresso. Matchacinos, machados and matchacanos are made with the same recipes as cappuccinos, macchiatos and Americanos – just with matcha. 

But on the specialty menus of in-house recipes at Verve and 11th Hour, baristas play with the citrusy, herbaceous and fruity flavors of matcha with combinations that leave the realm of coffee comparisons. The iced strawberry cold foam matcha ($7.50) at Verve is topped with a thick layer of luscious strawberry cold foam flecked with bright pink sprinkles of dehydrated strawberry that slowly melts into the creamy chartreuse-colored drink. On the other end of the flavor spectrum, a chamomile matcha tonic ($7) blends dark green matcha with tonic water over ice. The assertive bitterness is tempered with chamomile simple syrup, for an vegetal gin-and-tonic-like concoction.   

At 11th Hour Coffee, matcha and lemonade ($6) come together for a refreshing citrusy cooler with a caffeinated kick. The Green Bee ($7.50), an iced latte made with almond milk and lavender-infused simple syrup, is sweet and floral. 

Based on the experiences at Verve and 11th Hour, creating matcha-centric drink menus will boost sales of matcha. Around 25% of the lattes that customers order at 11th Hour are made with matcha, said Estby. 

Verve’s matcha sales have at least tripled since the company introduced the matcha menu in late February, said Perez. “We knew it would do well, but we didn’t know it would do that well,” she said. 

At Cat & Cloud, tea beverages as a whole account for only 10% of all coffee sales. The company is focused on coffee and customer experience, said Madrigal, and has only one matcha drink on its menu – a matcha latte – although other matcha drinks can be made upon request. But the company is working on creating a matcha menu focused on fruit-infused drinks that will be released later this year. 

Based on the success of their new matcha menu, Verve aims to add more matchas with different flavor profiles to its seasonal menus. Said Perez: “We’re excited to give the opportunity for our guests to experience matcha in the same way that they experience coffee.”

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