This is not an advertisement nor a paid endorsement by any establishment listed. I am not a matcha expert. This is merely a matcha obsessed woman’s aimless search for amazing local matcha drinks.
Overview: UC Berkeley CA Local News Fellow and Black Voice News reporter, Alyssah Hall, shares her quest to find the best matcha in the Inland Empire. Hall visited 16 cafes and tried multiple beverages. She found seven unique matcha creations that she enjoyed, including iced banana matcha latte, iced strawberry matcha, iced lavender matcha, iced ube matcha, iced coconut matcha, iced corn matcha, and iced matcha with strawberry cold foam. Matcha is a finely ground Japanese green tea powder that contains many health benefits, including antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects.
Alyssah Hall
After spending over a month visiting different cafes and trying multiple beverages searching for the best matcha in the Inland Empire, I have completed my quest. With how large the IE is, encompassing 50 incorporated cities between Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, I quickly realized it was unrealistic for me to try so many different shops in a little over a month. But, I managed to visit 16 places throughout Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Redlands, San Bernardino, and Upland. Out of the 16 places I tried, I was intrigued by seven.
Each time I tried a place I didn’t like, I lost hope for finding the top 10 best local matchas and dare I say, I overdid it on the green drink. However, I found my current top seven matcha serving establishments in the IE throughout this process, which made it all worthwhile. I am open to any matcha suggestions as well, as the search for great matcha never truly ends.
So what is matcha?
Matcha is not green tea, but it is a subset of green tea. It is an unfermented and finely ground Japanese green tea powder, a result of grounding the entirety of green tea leaves that were harvested after growing in the shade on a tea plantation. Higher grades of matcha are typically produced by using young tea leaves, which gives matcha its signature vibrant green color, smooth texture and sweet taste.
Matcha contains many health benefits that include offering antioxidants, hindering the growth of cancer stem cells, and contains cardio protective, anti-obesity, anti-viral, anti-hypertensive, and anti-inflammatory effects, according to some studies.
Now that you have a bit of background on matcha, let’s get into seven unique matcha creations and my unsolicited opinions on them. Note these are positioned in no particular order.
My Recent Fave: Iced Banana Matcha Latte
Location: Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co. in Riverside and Rancho Cucamonga
My Order: Iced matcha latte, banana sweetener, regular sweetness, no foam, and oat milk.
This banana matcha is perfect. It is like a dream. The flavor of banana is light and sweet, and not overpowering at all. Once you drink all the banana flavor up, you are left with a ceremonial-grade matcha that isn’t too harsh but has a subtle bitterness as matcha usually has without sweetener. You can also stir the drink to mix the banana flavor in, but I prefer to drink it in its separated state (see photo above for reference) because I really love the banana sweetener. I fell in love with this banana matcha, I’m certain it’s even sweeter with a foam top if you prefer. But this drink is definitely my favorite as of now.
Surprisingly great: Iced Strawberry Matcha
Location: Teaspoon in Rancho Cucamonga
My Order: Matcha Royale – Strawberry, no boba, oat milk and no foam.
In the past, I have had issues with strawberry flavored matcha because it’s usually just an added syrup or sweetener that makes it taste like matcha mixed with a carton of strawberry milk. I decided to try strawberry matcha again at Teaspoon and to my surprise it was one of my higher rated matchas. Make sure to shake the drink up first so it can mix well. With the first couple of sips you’ll probably get a lot of sweet strawberries which I found really delicious. It wasn’t artificial in terms of being a strawberry flavored liquid added. This one seemed more refreshing than most strawberry matchas because of whatever fruit puree they use. Similar to the banana matcha, it went from really sweet to bitter. So, once the strawberries were gone, I was left with the ceremonial grade matcha and oatmilk mixture. It’s like two drinks in one. Definitely refreshing and I’d get it again, during the summer.
My go-to and ‘OG’ favorite: iced lavender matcha
Location: Nook in Rancho Cucamonga
My Order: Iced matcha, lavender syrup, oat milk
One of my friends introduced me to Nook in 2024. I tried their Lavender Matcha and the rest is history.
I became obsessed with Nook’s lavender matcha. I’ve tried a few other lavender matcha’s since then, but still haven’t found one that’s even close to Nooks. I had never had such a refreshing and uniquely tasting matcha. Whatever is in their lavender mix is so good. I know both lavender and matcha are acquired tastes but somehow blended together they tasted heavenly. It’s a subtle flavor where it’s not too sweet, but not too bitter. Their matcha also had me wired, as if I had a coffee, so I don’t recommend drinking it on an empty stomach.
Pretty in purple: Iced Ube Matcha
Location: Eden & Clay in Upland
My Order: Iced matcha, ube syrup and oat milk
I also wanted to try refreshing and creative matcha “remixes,” if you will, that I hadn’t tasted before. I am typically indifferent when it comes to ube, but this ube matcha opened me up to more ube flavored treats in the future. I didn’t expect to like the drink so much. The ube gives the matcha a sweet, vanilla and nutty flavor that complemented it well. I would label it a special occasion matcha for myself because I wouldn’t order it often, but maybe like once a month or so. It was honestly delicious, and so unique to my palate that I wouldn’t want to get tired of it by ordering it frequently.
Hidden Gem: Iced Coconut Matcha
Location: Xol Coffee in San Bernardino
My Order: Iced matcha, coconut syrup, oat milk, no cold foam
Xol Coffee in San Bernardino is a “hidden gem” to me—because its location is not obvious. I almost passed it upon arriving there for the first time. I was very hopeful that their matcha would be great and decided to choose the coconut flavor because I tried it elsewhere and liked it. At Xol, I loved it. It’s a very creamy and coconutty matcha. It’s like a matcha that transports you to a tropical vacation.
The beverage is on the sweeter side, but not overwhelmingly so. The consistency of the drink is thick, as a result of the coconut, but it blends well with the matcha. Something about it was positively nostalgic for me because the taste was slightly reminiscent of sweet cereal milk. This drink would go well with a coconut pastry on the side or maybe an almond croissant.
Fun and seasonal: iced corn matcha
Location: Monday to Sunday in Rancho Cucamonga
My Order: Iced matcha, corn, oat milk, matcha cream top
I had seen corn matcha circling social media. I was curious and had to see what the hype was. I figured I’d either like it or not be a fan, but to my surprise, I really enjoyed the drink. It’s very sweet but the matcha balances it. It reminds me of creamed corn or Thanksgiving swirled perfectly into a matcha drink. As I got to the bottom of the drink it began to taste like cheesecake. I feel like matcha and corn shouldn’t complement each other like they do but I was truly impressed. It was an unexpected fave of mine, however the richness and uniqueness of the drink would be once in a while and not a consistent choice for me. I will definitely be revisiting this drink during the fall and winter holiday seasons.
Barbie’s matcha: Iced Matcha with Strawberry Coldfoam
Location: Thirsty Girl Coffee in Montclair
My Order: Oat milk, iced sweet matcha, one pump of vanilla, strawberry cold foam
This is one for my sweet tooth. It truly looks and tastes like a matcha that Barbie would order. It tastes like Lucky Charm’s marshmallows, sugar cookies and a hint of matcha. It’s very magical and sweet. It’s like a unicorn candy matcha. This drink gave my inner child a hug, it’s such a cute drink and I really liked it. I do prefer my matchas to have that balance between sweet and bitter and so I wouldn’t drink this consistently, but I love the way it made me feel.
Thank you for coming with me on this fun matcha adventure. I hope you enjoyed learning more about matcha and were inspired to maybe even try the earthy beverage yourself.