Starbucks 'Trenta': How The New Size Compares To Your Stomach
Famous Death Row Last Meals
After having successfully brought the coffee shop chain Tully's to Japan and helped to make coffee tremendously popular there, Kouta Matsuda is returning to the United States with the hopes of returning the favor with a different beverage. He has a chain of successful cafes in Japan that specialize in matcha. With his drinks, he is hoping to do for green tea what Starbucks did for coffee.
His company, Foodx Globe, recently opened its first US Koots Green Tea cafe in Bellevue, Washington, just outside of Seattle. Decorated in bamboo and Asian prints, the cafe specializes in a variety of drinks all made with matcha, a powdered green tea, and other Asian drinks. The menu includes offerings such as matcha Americanos and white chocolate matcha lattes, in addition to black sesame smoothies and tapioca pearl teas.
While specialty teas are growing in popularity, matcha is a fairly new player in the US tea scene. It has been helped along by Starbucks green tea lattes and frappuccinos, but bringing a coffee drinker over to the "green side" might be an uphill battle. Matsuda is planning his expansion slowly, with a few choice west coast locations to open over the next year or two.
[Image Seattle Times]
Jane Seymour's Modest And Modern Style
Broke Stars: 11 Celebrities Who Went Bankrupt
LOOK: Amazing Underwater Photos Of Dogs
Adele Five-Year Break? Singer Plans to Focus on Relationship, Write 'Happy Record'
Social Security Is Failing Even Faster Than We Thought
PHOTOS: How You Can Get The 'Miracle' Dress
Man Says Starbucks Discriminated Against Him Because He Has Half An Arm
Chris Brown, Grammys 2012: Embattled Singer Slams Critics
Janice Dickinson's Outrageous Style
Ford's clever Sports Illustrated Swimsuit ad features phantom model
3 Economic Misconceptions That Need to Die
Photos Of Dead Lacrosse Player's Injured Body Shown To Jury
Trace Adkins Reunites With College Crush, 30 Years Later
Van Gogh's Starry Night modded into beautiful interactive light and sound show (video)
PHOTOS: Model Falls At Dennis Basso Show
'Hooker Teacher' Forced To Resign, Now Can't Find Work
Lauren Scruggs Goes On Ski Vacation
WATCH AND LAUGH: Cops In 2-Hour Standoff With Empty Car
New Clues, Details Emerge In Powell Case
Woman's Dead Fiance Is Behind Her Disappearance: Cops
Stephen Wiltshire Draws Cities From Memory
PHOTOS: Remembering The People's Ballerina
We Meant There WERE Nukes In The Fire
5-24-2006 @7:34AM panasianbiz said... I agree that it will be an "uphill battle" to convert coffee drinkers over to green tea. Even though I lived in Japan for a number of years, I never felt that matcha was a coffee substitute or replacement. I simply viewed it as a different kind of drink altogether.
Reply
5-24-2006 @8:21AM Kevin Heller said... I tried the starbucks green tea powder frap and it was horrible.
Reply
5-24-2006 @12:18PM mimsie said... Ditto on the Starbuck's one being crap. I love hot matcha tea from asian tea houses, but the SB one was really gross, IMO. I have tasted a cold blend that was really good but it was at a very small coffeeshop in San Diego.
Reply