👎 Matcha Cita: The Sweetest Disappointment in Chicago

Listen up, matcha lovers! 🍵 ❤️  If you’re in Chicago and looking for a spot to satisfy your green tea cravings, steer clear of Matcha Cita. This place is trying way too hard to be trendy, 👩‍🎤 and it’s leaving a sour taste in my mouth. 🤢

First of all, let’s talk about the matcha drinks. Oh wait, we can’t, because they all taste like sugar water with a hint of matcha flavoring. If you’re looking for a true matcha experience, you won’t find it here.

Okay, seriously, about the drinks. Yes, the “Bluetiful” matcha has collagen and a cutesy name, and if that speaks to your soul, you should absolutely order it!  There’s also the “Purple Haze” which is an honestly delicious sugar bomb with a side of matcha. And the “Pink Señorita” literally has “instaworty” in its description. (Even their website admits, “We basically do it for the gram” — quite the mission statement.)

On the upside, the staff is sometimes friendly and occasionally knowledgeable about matcha (or what Ube is). Without a doubt, that heavily influences our opinion of the place. (Also a side note, folks living in Lincoln Park have told us that the juice bar which turned into Buzzed Bakery used to be a Matcha Cita run by a couple of dudes. This doesn’t really square up with the “About” page on the Matcha Cita website. Maybe the dudes sold the business, or maybe they were working for Bianca Pearson the whole time? 🤷 )

HEAR THIS! 👉 A genuine “kudos” 👏 to whomever started and/or owns Matcha Cita for finally getting trendy matcha to work in Chicago. More matcha shops means more matcha awareness, which informs more people about what matcha is, which hopefully raises the quality of matcha available. Matcha Cita helps with the first part of that equation.

I think they’re really trying. Some shops have nailed this (like the Cha Cha chain of NYC). But overall, Matcha Cita is a prime example of trying too hard to be cool and comes off feeling a little gimmicky… which undoubtedly serves a sugar in our society!… I mean purpose… serves a purpose in our society.

So, we would rate this as a solid: “Do not buy.” For genuine matcha lovers.

If we were installing a vibey wall with fake grass, the neon sign would read: Step up your matcha game if you’re gonna have “matcha” in the name.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve been to Matcha Cita several times and I will go back… but I go as a sugar lover. Using higher quality matcha and less sugar would be a great first step. Until then, I’ll be taking them my sugar business, but taking my matcha business elsewhere. So, if you really love and want actually good matcha, save yourself the disappointment and seek out one of the best matcha places in Chicago instead.