What *is* Matcha and why is it so popular? And other trends you just don't get?

[SeptemberOctober25]

The only one I've ever had honestly tasted like a odd mix of grass and soya sauce. I'll admit I've only tried it once and it was from a free pret promotion in Leeds but it was absolutely foul and thrown away after a couple of sips. Maybe basing my opinion on this is wrong but I just can't get myself to try it again.
Matcha seems everywhere at the moment and my teenage nieces love it.
I know each to their own and everybody has different tastes but I'd be interested to know why it's so popular?
I follow a dance YouTuber who seems to have about four a day and includes matcha powder in everything.
What other 'trends' confuses people?

💯

Yes, in Japan.

Not in the west.

Never had matcha. I suppose if someone offered me a sip I would try it, wouldn’t fork out for it in the stead of buying something I know I like though.

I don’t like warm milk so the thought of latte makes me feel sick, as does bubble tea with the lumps in eeewww!

Agree with the pp about the trend for adding chorizo to dishes, also pancetta or any other pork product as I don’t eat it. Don’t like pea shoots on top of my dinner either.

I do like salted caramel, biscoff and hot honey though. And for some reason I can have warm milk if it’s in a hot chocolate or a cheese sauce.

Wait until you find out what other countries think of mushy peas.

😂

I know i am being unreasonable on this one but

Sweet pastries! They make my mouth feel weird 😄

I don't mind a puff pastry steak pie but the coffee shops selling huge pain au chocolats, and the influencers photographing them for their instagrams just don't appeal to me

I can't remember where or who said it but I was told Matcha can cause cancer so from the look of it and people saying it tastes like grass you must be insane to drink it if all that is true

That’s not true. There was talk that matcha might work as an anti-carcinogen, but that’s also not really evidenced. Never heard about it causing cancer, but there was some nonsense about it preventing or helping to fight cancer. I think it’s fairly safe to say it neither causes nor cures cancer.

My 16 year old can and will slam an espresso like a sailor with his vodka.
She also enjoys matcha. 🤷‍♀️

At last ! Tried matcha - once was enough. Mochi ice cream, bubble tea, everything having to be salted caramel, barrel leg jeans - no thank you. But, top of the list - sticking coriander herb on everything - apparently I have the ‘hate gene’

I have to admit that I've never heard of this and hadn't a clue what it was until I read your post.

You don't like it. I don't see why that makes it 'confusing' that other people do. It's very normal to have different taste in food and drink from other people.

Emperor's very old clothes, in fact.

I like green tea. I've only had pure matcha a couple of times and quite liked it. I've had a couple of iced matcha lattes (with almond milk, as I'm dairy intolerant). The one from Costa/Starbucks (can't remember which) was gritty, savoury and horrible. The other was from an independent café and was sweet and unbelievably delicious. The almond milk gave it a slight marzipan taste. I need to try and replicate it!

I was persuaded by DD to have a matcha latte at Starbucks. Apparently it was “nice”. I managed 2 sips. The girl behind the counter took pity on me and replaced it free of charge with a cappuccino. Absolutely vile.

Matcha is the 2025 version of the emperors new clothes.
it tastes vile-which is why it ends up getting mixed with as many sweet syrupy added flavours as possible.. to disguise the fact that the shops selling it are charging in excess of £5 for a cup of dried, stale grass and water🤷🏼‍♀️

Chai is another one… what’s that about?! I definitely don’t like it.

My DD is at college in London and appears to have acquired a ‘matcha’ habit. I have no clue what it is … it’s green and it costs me quite a lot! 🙄

Everyone has different tastes but I tried Macha latte once and never bothered again. Had Dubai chocolate ice cream on holiday and loved it, but I would never eat such a thing at home!

I just want to appreciate this post.

Everyone is talking about it - I must have very different taste buds because I do not understand the hype around it.

I had it from Blank Street as my friend said “I’ll love it” - it could grow on me, but it wasn’t all that at the first taste.

I keep seeing sooo many young women drinking these green matcha cold drinks from cafes.

I always think, oooh, pistachio. That looks lush. Then catch myself and remember it's some weird vegetal grass soil tasting stuff that is really weird and horrible.

I tried it once and it was just like grass clippings. It tasted like wheatgrass juice. And sweet with milk or in cakes? Blueeergghh!

I now know that, having never tasted matcha, I’m not missing out. But can I bring your attention to sourdough. Like, it’s sour bread. It’s not nice. It breaks your teeth and attempts to regurgitate itself when you swallow it, and it’s bloody sour bread!

It’s helpful to weed out the idiots who put a photo of their steaming mug of green shit on social media. Matcha 🤣 fucking hell

Well that’s telling the Japanese

Acai bowls are a massive thing in my area.Filling stations are providing them in a similar way to how they sell ice cream and with the same sort of attention to detail.I watched one being made yesterday and it was a soft serve sort of acai pulp scooped from a freezer section,blue berries and banana on top.
They're hugely expensive, around £8.99 and seems to sail out of the shops.

I like green tea. So perhaps one day I will try a matcha. I once tried chai which was nice but I don't want it again. I just wanted a hot drink, not an experience.

Forgot. Poke bowls. Looks like leftovers to me.