Cafés Serving Up Matcha With Latinx Flavor
At a café in North East Los Angeles, Holy Grounds, a cultural haven where Latinidad and community collide, I watched the barista pour a green swirl of matcha into a creamy horchata base. The result? A two-toned drink that tasted like arroz con leche got a wellness upgrade. It was delicious and nostalgic.
Beyond the cute aesthetics and café vibes, matcha actually packs some powerful health potential. From fresas con leche matcha to café de olla matcha lattes, Latinx cafés are putting a cultural twist on the trendy green drink. It’s not just aesthetic, it’s ancestral-meets-innovative.
Matcha dates back nearly a thousand years to a time when dynasties ruled China and Shogun clans ruled Japan. It’s a powdered form of green tea that’s been sipped for centuries in Japanese culture and is now making waves everywhere else including your local panadería collab.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), studies show that matcha is rich in catechins like EGCG, a powerful antioxidant linked to heart health, metabolism, and reduced inflammation.
Unlike coffee, matcha contains L-theanine, which promotes calm focus, reducing anxiety and stress, those buzzy feelings that sometimes come with caffeine. The same research shows that matcha is rich in catechins like EGCG, a powerful antioxidant linked to heart health, metabolism, and reduced inflammation. Matcha might also support memory and cognitive function in humans. But like many wellness trends, more research is needed before we call it a miracle powder.
Still, for many, sipping matcha feels like a small act of cariño, a way to care for our bodies and when you blend it with horchata, fresas or even café de olla spices like sweet piloncillo (an unrefined Mexican sugar made from cane juice), that’s wellness con sazón.
Across Latinx owned and operated cafes in Los Angeles, matcha is being remixed in ways that feel deeply familiar:
Horchata Matcha from Holy Grounds:
Classic canela and vanilla vibes meet matcha’s calm energy. Like arroz con leche, but energizing.
Strawberry Matcha from Acurrucame Cafe:
Inspired by fresas con crema, this drink blends matcha with strawberry purée and oat milk for a sweet, earthy blend that’s part snack, part self-care (it’s also my personal favorite).
Café de Olla Matcha labeled “Evergreen” from Picaresca Barra de Cafe:
All the cozy spices of your traditional café de olla-piloncillo, canela, anís but with a green tea glow-up.
Chocolate Matcha Latte from La Monarca Bakery (locations throughout Los Angeles County):
This drink that tastes like childhood nostalgia with a grown-up upgrade.
I’ve personally swapped my morning brew for all of the lattes above over the past month, and it’s been such a vibe. Each one feels like a photograph that takes me back to my roots, with a gentle nudge toward where I want to go: making healthier choices, more grounded, and still full of sabor. These cafés are more than just spots to grab a drink. They’re community hubs, they’re cultural affirmations. They’re proof that wellness doesn’t have to mean letting go of who we are, it can mean deepening the connection.
If you don’t have time to go to a café, below is a simple strawberry matcha recipe you can make at home:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup horchata (store-bought or homemade)
- 3 strawberries, blended with 1 tsp sweetener of your choice
- 1 tsp ceremonial-grade matcha
- 2 tbsp warm water
Instructions:
- Blend strawberries and sweetener. Pour into glass. Best over ice.
- Add horchata over the purée and ice.
Whisk matcha with warm water until smooth. Pour over the top.
Sip and enjoy the niña fresa feeling.
