The vibrant green beverage known as matcha has evolved far beyond its traditional Japanese origins to become a global design phenomenon that's fundamentally reshaping how we think about cafe spaces and coffee culture. This finely ground powder from specially shade-grown Camellia sinensis plants has not only captured the attention of Gen-Z consumers but has also inspired a new aesthetic movement in hospitality design that prioritizes mindfulness, presence, and well-being over the fast-paced energy traditionally associated with coffee shops.
According to recent data from Japan House London, one of the most authentic destinations for matcha enthusiasts, sales of matcha drinks at their in-house bar, The Stand, have surged by 36% since 2023, with younger visitors driving this remarkable spike in consumption. The Business Research Company's latest report predicts that the global matcha market will reach $6.35 billion by 2029, with an expected growth rate of 11.1% over the next several years. This meteoric rise has coincided with what staff at Japan House London describe as "the social media boom of matcha-related content," where inspirational lifestyle posts featuring the beverage's electric hue in see-through cups and matcha-infused desserts have fueled its viral spread across Instagram and TikTok.
Hugh Metcalf, editor at Livingetc, explains his personal connection to the matcha phenomenon: "I got into matcha a few years ago, a little before it became the full matchalabubudubaichocolate phenomenon it is now, and mostly, I'd say, because of design. My connection to it came from my love of Japanese ceramics and my interest in the philosophy of wabi sabi, not from pastel-painted matcha bars, wavy front logos, and takeaway cups." Metcalf appreciates the inherent slowness of well-made matcha preparation, noting that "unlike coffee, its preparation is still inherently manual and human," though he admits the main reason for purchasing his first matcha set was that it comprised "objectively stunning objects."
Home wellness writer and long-term matcha devotee Amiya Baratan shares similar style-driven motivations for consuming the drink. She explains that matcha, "unsubdued by milk, retains its punchy, statement green, turning every morning, afternoon, and evening into a design moment, which it now is." Baratan also points to the digital detoxification aspect, noting that "for many of us, matcha is where we go for a sweet, calm moment that feels like 'touching grass.' When you make it at home, you must weigh, whisk, and whip with care to pour yourself a cup that feels truly restorative: this meditative element is reflected in matcha-inspired destinations, too."
The rise of matcha culture appears to be serving as an antidote to what many describe as the "sensory fatigue" of contemporary urban life. According to Japan House London, teenagers, university students, and young professionals living in major cities – notably the generations most exposed to the negative effects of constant internet consumption – are the most loyal matcha fans. This suggests they may be embracing the beverage as a coping mechanism against the overwhelming backdrop of 24-hour crowds, noise, and visual stimuli that characterize modern metropolitan areas.
Elle Liu, founder of THEORÓ, a boutique brand dedicated to heritage Chinese tea traditions and mindful living, believes the matcha craze "is a reflection of what people are craving right now: calm, clarity, and care." She argues that "there's no denying that matcha's vivid green color and elegant preparation make it magnetic, especially in today's image-driven culture. But more than its catchy looks, it's its deeper meaning that gives it staying power."
This cultural shift has manifested dramatically in cafe design across major cities. In London, Covent Garden's new Café Kitsuné represents one of the most striking examples of matcha-influenced design. The eighth hospitality opening by founders Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki's cult lifestyle label transforms a historical red-brick building on Monmouth Street through spirited artwork by French duo Sacrée Frangine, stainless steel shelving, sculptural lighting, and prominently featured matcha green walls. The space treats guests to Uji-sourced matcha drinks, including iced strawberry matcha lattes, and freshly baked pastries infused with the tea leaf's distinctive flavor, like seasonal matcha and raspberry financiers.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn-born coffee group Blank Street's recently unveiled 110 Moorgate location in London takes a dramatically different approach, giving matcha cafe design a 1980s-infused Space Age makeover. The space features sweeping 'snake' banquette seating, checkered and glass block walling, HAY Rey bar stools, and mid-century modern pendant lights that create a poppier, more eccentric drinking experience. This whimsical vision counters the organic palette typically associated with Japanese beverages while still capturing the essential sense of escapism that defines the matcha movement.
Both approaches, despite their stylistic differences, facilitate what designers describe as a desire to break with everyday reality. Café Kitsuné allows guests to retreat into a suspended-in-time dimension where present blends with past, while Blank Street catapults visitors into a vintage club-like environment centered around nostalgia, entertainment, and fun. These contrasting interpretations demonstrate how the same matcha-inspired philosophy can lead to dramatically different but equally successful design results.
Guilherme Garcia, founder of Studio Guilherme Garcia, applied these principles when designing Florianópolis's sci-fi-esque Green Blood Matcha flagship. "When we talk about matcha, we talk about a lifestyle focused on the pursuit of a more balanced life. This is reflected in the interiors through natural materials that translate this language of well-being," Garcia explains. His approach emphasizes that "materials, shapes, and architectural design must be in dialogue with the product."
Informed by Japanese culture's visual lightness and essentialism, Green Blood Matcha was conceived as more than a cafe – it's what Garcia calls "a house of pause." Plastered almost entirely in white cement, the project creates "a clean, sensorial, and intentional experience" through "clear walls, soft curves, and the subtle presence of green" that builds "an environment of breathing space." Natural and diffused lighting enhances this atmosphere, connecting the space to the matcha ritual, which Garcia describes as "above all, an invitation to slow down."
New York City's two-story 12 Matcha shop, designed by Paris-based studio ciguë, takes a similarly transformative but more transitional approach. Located on 54 Bond Street in Manhattan's NoHo district, the space embodies what co-founder Camille Bénard describes as "a charged-with-mystery, almost alchemical understanding of the rituals associated with the coveted green powder." The team wanted "the interior to echo the qualities of matcha itself: pure, grounding, and alive."
To reference the beverage's restorative properties, ciguë opted for "a soft, green-toned clay wall finish that feels almost velvety, like the umami of tea," paired with natural woods chosen to "age gracefully" and welcome the patina of time. The space's most striking features are monumental, surreal glass vessels used to filter water with Binchotan charcoal, which "serve as a reminder that what nourishes us most is often elemental and invisible."
The design embraces duality from the start, with Bénard explaining: "We thought a lot about how filtered light in Japanese tea fields creates intimacy, and tried to bring that into a bustling Manhattan context: subtle, enveloping, but never didactic." A bright, social upstairs area anchored by a bar counter in enameled lava stone from Volvic, France, serves as "an open stage for the ritual of tea," while the lower ground shifts to walnut woodwork, a glazed tasting room, softer light, and a sense of retreat that feeds into matcha's communal feel.
Bénard concludes that contrary to its social media takeover, matcha "is less about spectacle than presence. At 12 Matcha, you feel embraced the moment you enter: the filtered light softens the noise of the city, and the air itself feels balanced. For us, it creates both alertness and serenity, like stepping into an urban sanctuary where you can taste time, craft, and care in every detail."
This comprehensive transformation of cafe culture suggests that our craving for matcha may actually conceal a deeper urge for places that help us press pause on the chaos of everyday life. As these innovative spaces demonstrate, the future of coffee culture increasingly lies in environments designed to make us feel present rather than productive – a fundamental shift that reflects our collective need for mindfulness in an increasingly connected world.
