The Best Matcha in the Twin Cities, From a Very Picky Matcha Girl 🍵

If you take matcha seriously, start here. Northeast Tea House mills its own matcha from tencha leaves, on one of only a handful of matcha mills in the country. That's about as fresh as it gets. It's served in beautiful pottery, and the whole place is built for slowing down.

Heads up: it's a laptop free zone, so this isn't your study spot. Come to sit, sip, and actually enjoy it.

Want that Northeast Tea House quality in a latte? SK Coffee in Whittier uses their matcha. Get the iced honey matcha. The Whittier spot is tiny and fills up fast, so it's more of a grab and go. They also have a St. Paul coffee bar and roastery, where reviewers say the baristas really know their matcha.

Matcha soft serve! Okome House in Longfellow is a Japanese spot just a few blocks from Minnehaha Falls, and its matcha soft serve isn't overly sweet, which I love. Get the matcha and vanilla twist if you want it a little sweeter. Pair it with a walk to the falls.

If you love a fun flavor:

• Unwind Corner Café, Lowry Hill East. The strawberry matcha is their house special.
• 8 Street Nourish, Powderhorn. Peach matcha and a pomegranate cold foam latte.
• Càphin, Southwest Minneapolis. Ube matcha, which you don't see often.
• Disco Death Records & Coffee, Lowry Hill East. Ask for the off menu passionfruit matcha.
• Crema Coffee + Cream. A matcha affogato and a spiced vanilla matcha latte.
• Treats Cereal Bar & Boba. Caramel matcha and strawberry matcha with boba.
• Ichigo Tokyo Crepes, Powderhorn. Strawberry matcha in crepe form. Yes, really.

If you want it clean and simple:

• Gray Fox Coffee & Wine, downtown. Has an unsweetened option, plus a great lavender matcha.
• Moona Moono, Calhoun Isles. You can customize the sweetness and temperature.
• Spyhouse Downtown. Organic matcha served unsweetened, so you control it.
• Fawkes Alley Coffee, downtown. Reviewers call it smooth and perfectly balanced.

If you need to get work done:

• Sip of Silk Café, Prospect Park. Big tables and free garage parking. Get the banana matcha.
• Corner Coffee, Camden or downtown. Lots of seating and outlets, and an orange matcha in Camden.
• SunBean Coffee. Smooth matcha latte and free Wi Fi.

More solid picks: Misfit Coffee, Qahwah House Coffee (lavender and mango matcha), Shortwave Coffee, Five Watt Coffee Lyndale, Fairgrounds Craft Coffee and Tea, and C.R.E.A.M Cafe.

St. Paul has some gems too:

• ZAO Bakery + Café. Get the coconut matcha cloud. Trust me.
• SK Coffee: Coffee Bar & Roastery. Authentic matcha lattes and baristas who know their stuff.
• Luminary Coffeehouse. A matcha topped with marshmallow, for when you want something cozy.
• Cafe Astoria, Grand Ave. Possibly the prettiest matcha latte in Minnesota, and the perfect excuse to grab a crepe cake too.

• Happy Monday & Co, Roseville. Their dirty matcha (matcha with a shot of espresso) is a fan favorite.
• Mochinut, Maplewood. Brown sugar boba matcha latte, plus mochi donuts.
• GIOT Cream Coffee, Richfield. Earthy and creamy with jasmine notes, and they'll give you a sample.
• Great Tea Road Co, Edina. A skilled barista and a huge loose leaf tea selection.

• Ask for it less sweet. Most cafes will happily cut the syrup, and you'll actually taste the matcha.
• Try different milk types; different people like different kinds. I know oat milk supposedly tastes really good with matcha, but I'm a die-hard fresh milk fan. 
• If you see a matcha that's clumpy or dull, don't give up on matcha. Try one of the spots above instead!

Save the collection so you're never stuck with a sad matcha again. And if you have a matcha spot I need to try, send it my way. You know I'll be picky about it.

Till next time :)