Seven Stops in Sydney: Matcha Made in Heaven
Where to get your matcha fix in Sydney
Centuries ago, green tea powder (or as we all belovedly know as matcha) formed the centrepiece of stately tea ceremonies. Zen Buddhist monks in Japan would spend hours meticulously preparing and serving the specialty tea to ensure the ratios were all in perfect balance. The ritual was steeped in significance as it presented one of the few opportunities the locals could truly connect with one another, mindfully appreciate the experience of the tea and peacefully enjoy the present moment.
These days, matcha is no longer enjoyed exclusively in Japan. It is now a ubiquitous superfood that commonly finds its way into quintessentially Western creations such as lattes and smoothies. More daring cafes have been experimenting with the powder in strange and unexpected ways. By adding matcha to traditional European, American and Australian desserts — chefs have discovered that the blend possesses the unique ability to elevate plain dishes to new and different dimensions. Not only does the powder enhance flavour, but it’s also got a whole list of health benefits to its name. It has been said that matcha is rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and that one cup contains about the same amount of caffeine as one standard cup of coffee.
“…the blend possesses the unique ability to elevate plain dishes to new and different dimensions.”
Sydney has certainly caught on this trend with matcha infused desserts and matcha-dedicated cafes springing up in the city left, right and centre. Here’s a list of seven cafes/restaurants where you can get your matcha fix.
1. Top Impression Bakery Café
Located in Wolli Creek, this bakery modernises the croissant. We have all seen variations of the French classic before — the Pain Du Chocolate case in point. But the folks at Top Impression Bakery take it one step further by filling the buttery pastry with matcha custard. Upon breaking apart the flaky shell, I was stunned to see how much custard was injected into the Matcha Croissant. The incorporation of cream and sugar mutes the bitterness of the matcha and instead enhances the subtle sweetness of the tea. It’s a decadent pastry so it’s best to be shared with friends!
2. Shortstop Coffee and Donuts
Shortshop offers a doughnut dense with matcha — from a matcha cake donut base topped with a white chocolate and matcha glaze finished with matcha icing stripes. Aptly named the Triple Matcha Donut, this delight will be sure to satisfy your matcha cravings. If that won’t, I honestly don’t know what will! Priced at $5.00, this doughnut is on the pricier end but it’s well worth the extra buck. If you don’t live/work near Barangaroo, you can pre-order these babies on Shortstop’s dedicated website.
3. Passion Tree
First opening up in Brisbane in 2013, this Korean café has consistently delivered indulgent desserts with an Asian influence. This sweet spot has recently introduced a whole new round of desserts: pancake stacks! Along with salted caramel and blueberry cheesecake pancake stacks, Passion Tree has invented the glorious Matcha Mochi Pancake Stack. Drenched in white chocolate and green tea sauce, these pancakes are soaked in matcha goodness. If that’s not enough, the stacks are topped with a generous scoop of green tea ice cream and a green tea waffle cone. The matcha is surprisingly not that overpowering and the white mochi balls give the decadent dessert that much-needed bit of airiness and chewiness.
4. Chanoma Café
Chanoma Cafe is one of the most well-known matcha-dedicated cafes in Sydney and conveniently located in Regent Place. Always busy on Friday and Saturday nights, Sydneysiders love frequenting this café for its no-nonsense matcha creations. The Matcha Parfait is a crowd pleaser and Japan’s take on America’s favourite ice cream sundae. Along with swirls of matcha soft serve, the parfait is layered with cornflakes, red bean, fruit, wafer, pocky and whipped cream. The Matcha Anmitsu is another crowd favourite and more authentically Japanese in taste and design. The matcha soft serve is combined with agar jelly, sweet red bean and rice cake and served in a ceramic bowl. And… if you want the flavours of the green tea to reign supreme, then grab the simple Matcha Soft Serve. The flavours are robust and the deep green colour of each serving certainly exemplifies how much matcha flavour is in every bite.
5. Café Oratnek
Another matcha-dedicated café has opened up in Sydney, this time it’s inside a little unassuming terrace house close to Prince Alfred Park, Redfern. The owner, Kenny Takayama, is the former Head Chef of Bills and the café is reputed for making everything in-house. Some house-made specialties include the Matcha Crème Puff, Matcha Doughnut, Matcha French Toast and the Matcha Lamington. The lamington is one of the most widely celebrated Oratnek inventions as it unexpectedly fuses bitter matcha to this traditional Aussie delight. The most visually stunning of the green tea offerings is the crème puff and has a potent bitter finish that satisfyingly lingers in the mouth.
6. Café Cre Asion
This is a matcha made in heaven for all the green tea lovers out there! Café Cre Asion is a hole in the wall café that’s small in size but in no way small on flavour. The signature Matcha Fondant is one of the richest green tea creations in Sydney with both a full bodied taste and a striking bold colour. The warm, liquid-centred molten cake looks pretty innocent. It is only when one digs into the rich lava cake where one sees the depth of matcha concentrate. The decadent cake oozes bittersweet and earthy green tea sauce and you can pour more matcha molten chocolate from a miniature jug if you’re still not satisfied with the flavours of the gooey interior. Along with the fondant cake, there’s also Matcha Macarons, Matcha Muffins and Matcha Tarts. Not to mention — they make a mean Matcha Latte served in a traditional Japanese cup.
7. One Tea Lounge
The final matcha-dedicated joint is not a café, but instead features as a restaurant and bar. One Tea Lounge typifies the innovativeness and boldness of the restaurants of today — infusing matcha with a whole host of traditionally savoury dishes. Some of the weird and wacky creations appearing on the menu include Matcha Sliders, Matcha Fries, Wagyu Beef with matcha sea salt dipping sauce as well as Matcha Yuzu duck. To top it all off, patrons can order a side of Green Tea Cocktails and/or green tea ice cream sandwiches (amusingly called Baogers) to finish. The owner and mastermind behind this inventive menu is David Yip and he grew up in a family pioneering matcha and Japanese green tea in Australia. To augment his family’s love of all things green tea, David opened up this eatery to showcase the versatility of this Japanese powder and his creations certainly do not disappoint!
Comment below if you have any other suggestions! We’d love to hear from you.
