Meeting your matcha: Hong Kong's best and coolest green tea cafes
Hong Kong's obsession with all things matcha shows no sign of subsiding. Here's our pick of the spots to climb aboard the green-tea-powder bandwagon
The matcha trail
1. Nakamura Tokichi Hong Kong Ten
This 161-year-old family-owned brand has been the talking point of green tea lovers since it arrived in the city last month. The food doesn't disappoint and is well worth the long wait.
With cream whipped up from Hokkaido milk, matcha cake, rice crispies, red bean paste, green tea jelly, mochi, and matcha soft ice cream, the maruto matcha parfait (HK$98) is the store's bestseller and one of our favourites.
Another must-try is the kyo no fukiyose (HK$98), which features four pieces of matcha and chocolate flavoured angel cakes, a scoop of full flavoured matcha ice cream, a piece of sweetened chestnut, some mochis, red bean paste, and cream made with Hokkaido milk. The angel cakes are delightfully soft, and especially nice when eaten with the cream.
The current owner, 63-year-old Nakamura, is the sixth generation of the Nakamura family and to ensure the quality of the output of the Hong Kong store, two of Nakamura's sons and six staff from the main Kyoto outlet run the Tsim Sha Tsui store. According to family tradition, it is only when the father passes away that the son can become the brand's owner and change his name to Nakamura Tokichi.
See also: How Nakamuras spun gold from matcha tea
Besides serving tea-related food and drinks, the store will also hold irregular workshops (HK$50) in which masters flown in from Kyoto teach the art of grinding tea the Nakamura way.
