Drink your greens!

If you haven’t tried matcha yet, you may be the only one. Kidding! But it has cropped up a little more at coffee shops and breakfast nooks around the Kansas City metro in recent years, and we are so pleased by this. Matcha is a tea that is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibers that our bodies need to thrive. This tea is also caffeinated, so many people turn to matcha and matcha latte drinks to get their energy, either in place of or alongside coffee drinks.

Matcha’s origin can be found in Chinese tradition, when steamed tea leaves were formed into clumps or bricks and ground into powder. If you have witnessed your matcha being made, you may have seen your barista whisking green powder into liquid with a bamboo brush. It has been made this way for centuries, so consider it part of the art in your day.

There are so many crazy delicious matchas to try. I had the pleasure of trying different flavors masked in bright green across the metro, and these are some of my favs.

Headrush Roasters

What could be more springy than a Sweet Foam Strawberry Matcha? Topped with cold foam, it’s juicy and indulgent while natural tasting. The blueberry matcha is another year-round favorite and has been for years. Try either, you won’t be disappointed!

Friendly Bean Coffee (Woodneath Library)

If you want a fresh flavor of matcha that you (probably) won’t find elsewhere, Friendly Bean Coffee’s Woodneath Library locatios carries a raspberry infused matcha. The flavor is a nod to a literary moment, of course— ceated in honor of Marcellus the octopus from Remarkably Bright Creatures. A bright flavor idea, indeed!

This was one of the creamier matcha lattes I tried in Kansas City, though the consistency does, as always, depend on what types of milks or sweeteners you are interested in.

Opera House Coffee & Food Emporium

Opera House Coffee & Food Emporium – conveniently located at the corner of 5th and Walnut in the River Mart – is an actual opera house-turned-all day food and beverage provider. The bar at the front of the space is spectacular, boasting a unique and expansive menu of coffee, smoothies, pressed juices, teas, pastries, and lattes.

I asked the barista which drink was their most matcha item, and she immediately got excited to make me an iced lavender matcha. A little bit gritty, it was not too sweet, which is often the issue I have with this particular drink. I was incredibly pleased with it as an afternoon “walk around the city” companion.

Chambre Coffee

My favorite matcha-based drink in the Kansas City area is – hands down – the Caramel Banana Matcha Latte at Westports’ new(ish) Chambre Coffee. The shop’s legacy began with a coffee truck less than two years ago, and expanded into the old Westport Coffeehouse space on Pennsylvania in spring 2025.

The menu at Chambre includes a curated selection of pastries, tiramisu, horchata and chai drinks alongside coffee and matcha. The space is minimalist, bringing maximum energy to the flavor of the well-received beverages. The strawberry and mango matcha beverages are menu staples and very well balanced. I am so smitten with the Caramel Banana flavor that I tried, that I have been working to craft a comparable at-home version without just adding banana pudding directly into the drink.

Front Range Cafe

Front Range Cafe served up an incredible iced matcha option all summer, a palate cleanser of sorts when compared with other fun flavors across the metro. Their new Girl Scout Lemon Cookie matcha was is a cold, bright and balanced matcha topped with fluffy lemon-y foam. The experience of watching the foam dissolve into the vibrant green tea is beautiful, if you let yourself enjoy it. Whoever combined Girl Scout Cookies and matcha is a genius! Both Front Range storefronts also tout a “Wildflower” signature drink year-round, which is a layered lavender matcha with oat milk.

Origin Coi Nguon Coffeehouse

Origin Coi Nguon Coffeehouse opened up just off of North Oak Trafficway last summer, and I have yet to try a beverage there that isn’t absolutely delightful. This was exactly how I felt about the strawberry matcha they served to me recently. The team there takes time to chat with you – and spell your name correctly to keep track of your drink when they’re busy – and the space is super cozy.

But the strawberry matcha was made with a puree that you get to mix in at your leisure, which means I had some big pops of flavor every once in a while. The matcha was blended so well, there was absolutely no grittiness to the team concentration. This is how matchas should be made.

Dear Society Matcha Bar

Inside a little shop gaining nation-wide notoriety (hello, New York Times!), an unassuming matcha bar is serving up some of the highest quality tea in town. Their flavors are inventive and provide rich tasting notes to compliment the earthiness of the matcha– like maple sea salt and persimmon. Go see what they’re whipping up, and shop around while you wait!