At Maverick & Farmer Coffee, a Bengaluru-based cafe, perfectly swirly matcha lattes provide Instagram fodder to many diners. Co-founder Ashish D’abreo knows his audience: “Our Gen Z customer base is very visually driven, and platforms like Instagram play a huge role in shaping their choices. They are keen to try what they see shared online, and matcha fits right into that space,” he says. In fact, Maverick & Farmer recently launched an entire matcha-inspired menu for the summer after noticing how consistently the drink was trending. One standout? The Matcha-Aam Panna—chargrilled mango, rock salt, smoked paprika with a cloud of matcha foam. “It was popping up everywhere,” D’abreo adds, “We had to respond.”
Try telling a Gen Z that matcha tastes like grass, and you’ll hear it’s not just about the beverage; it’s about the ritual. This is a generation that’s increasingly sober-curious, and the proponents of coffee raves are embracing wellness with serious commitment.
“I first came across matcha on an influencer’s blog,” says Rhea Singh, a Delhi-based business analyst. “It looked so visually striking that I fell into a rabbit hole of tutorials and recipes.” What started as curiosity is now a daily ritual. “It’s kind of like journaling,” she adds. “I look forward to waking up, whisking my ceremonial-grade matcha. It feels like therapy and it’s good for my body too.”
No fancy equipment needed, this slow, intentional vibe is exactly what makes matcha feel more like a ritual. It’s hands-on and meditative. Whisk the powder, pour the water, watch the froth form. “There’s something very calm and mindful about matcha,” says Zonu Reddy, co-founder of Spago Foods, which runs Magnolia Bakery in India. “It’s not just about the end product—it’s about the process. Whether you’re sipping it or baking with it, it encourages you to slow down.” For a generation craving balance and clarity, that moment of stillness matters.
For 24-year-old Delhi-based management consultant Muskan Arya, matcha became a way to reclaim calm amid the chaos of corporate life. “It was pretty bad. I was anxious all the time, and therapy and exercise weren’t helping,” she says. After experimenting with her diet, she realised coffee might be the culprit. “I took it out, and my anxiety dropped. That’s when I started looking for caffeine alternatives and discovered matcha,” says Arya about the pulverised green tea, which has caffeine, but also amino acid L-theanine, meaning it gives you a shot of energy without the jitters or spiking cortisol.
What began as a personal experiment for her turned into a full-blown passion project. Last October, Arya started a matcha-focused Instagram page and has since hosted pop-ups at farmers’ markets and taste-tested products from local and international brands.
Celebrities and creators peddling the magic green powder have only made us crave it more. YouTuber Ashley, for instance, transformed her online following of matcha-loving fans into a thriving business with Nami Matcha, creating a brand rooted in community input and shared rituals. In India, creators like Veronica Bahl and Isha Ibrampurkar are doing something similar, hosting hands-on workshops, collaborating with cafes, and introducing people to matcha in ways that feel interactive and meaningful. For many adults, making friends gets harder over time, but these creators are using matcha as a bridge, turning niche interests into social circles and making it easier for people to connect over a shared vibe.
For many adults, making friends gets harder over time, but many creators are using matcha as a bridge, turning niche interests into social circles and making it easier for people to connect over a shared vibe.
Sherlyn Varghese, a Bengaluru-based engineer, wasn’t an easy prey to the drink of the moment. “I just didn’t think it was for me,” she says. “The only reason I gave it a shot was because a friend dragged me to one of these workshops. It was a book club meets matcha-tasting hangout, and just seeing a room full of people with similar aesthetics and interests piqued my curiosity.” Since then, Varghese has started genuinely exploring matcha and finding flavours that suit her taste.
The way Gen Z orders a matcha latte also signals a generational shift: “Millennials had coffee, our parents had chai… I think we’re also just trying to find something new,” Arya puts it simply.
But let’s not ignore the colour psychology here. Green has been everywhere lately. It’s the colour of our cultural palette: from matcha packaging to the promo palettes of Charli XCX’s BRAT and Wicked, neon green has replaced Barbie pink as Gen Z’s moody and offbeat favourite.
Little Treat Culture, which happiness gurus had been dispensing before it became a trending catchphrase, is all about finding joy in small splurges when bigger luxuries feel out of reach. With recession chatter and tight budgets, matcha, like Labubu, is that affordable indulgence. In fact, reports suggest the food and drink industry is thriving because people are spending more on snacks and feel-good beverages—mini mood boosters in uncertain times.
Call it acquired taste or passing fad, the craze is undeniable. “There are so many debates: does matcha actually taste good or are we all just pretending?” laughs Varghese, for whom the biggest draw is the community she’s found. “For me, it’s more about the process than the drink. The ritual, the aesthetic, the sense of identity. It tricks you into feeling like you’ve got your life together. Plus, it’s brownie points for your feed.” Arya has been pointing sceptics to ceremonial-grade versions: “I was able to switch a lot of people over to matcha. They’d tell me they didn’t like it but they had just had it from a bad place or a bad brand.”
And while matcha continues to dominate mood boards and menus around the world, its soaring popularity is also putting pressure on the very place that made it famous. In Uji, the historic tea-growing region of Japan, the green gold rush is starting to show its strain. With global hype growing, The Japan Times warns of a possible matcha shortage this year leaving even temples and tea schools scrambling for supply.
But like every overexposed trend, matcha too might be heading toward a saturation point. Its impending global shortage is a reminder that even the most aesthetic rituals come with real-world consequences. And yet, if history is anything to go by, this won’t be the last we see of it. Whether you love the taste or secretly think it’s just fancy grass water, there’s no denying the visual joy of it all. Especially after years of #beigecore, it’s nice to see a splash of green back on our feeds.
