TL;DR… Go to Sugoi Sweets. Map/Directions
Attention matcha lovers in the Windy City! If you’re tired of sipping green tea lattes at the coffee shop, it’s time to upgrade your matcha game at home. We’ve scoured the city for the best places to buy matcha powder, so you can start whisking up some Instagram-worthy drinks. From trendy cafés to Japanese supermarkets, we’ve got you covered. So put down that sad tea bag and let’s get matcha-fied, Chicago-style!
Yes, Chicago has plenty of places to find a good matcha latte, but sometimes you’re in the mood to drink at home. You could order online from the best tea fields in Japan. (Or order from us! We always have leftover stock straight from the farms.) It’s even easy to order great matcha online and have it shipped in a couple of days. But sometimes you run out and NEED IT NOW! In Chicago! RIGHT NOW!
🤩 The Very Best – Trust me, just go here…
- Sugoi Sweets – 👍 The Best. And to my knowledge, the only place in town to reliably find top notch matcha (at the best price, too!), plus they have lots of other great treats, including absolutely delicious vegan matcha soft serve ice cream made with the same top notch matcha!!
👍 The Good Enough – You won’t go wrong here…
- Spirit Tea – 👍 Good matcha, but you still have to order online until they get their Chicago storefront opened.
- PERMANENTLY CLOSED! Easthill/Hugo 👍 – A little pricey for the quality, but still worth it when you need it.
✋ The “Only If You Must” – Proceed with Caution here…
- Epic Spices ✋ – Decent matcha from Nishio, but it is definitely culinary, but for baking or a sugar latte, it can work.
- PERMANENTLY CLOSED! David’s Tea ✋ – Only if you must, but don’t buy their cheapest. And avoid the flavored matchas.
- TeaGschwendner ✋ – They do have some good matcha, but check the expiration dates.
- Gangnam Market ✋ – Sometimes you can get okay matcha, probably Rishi brand, but everything else will be very meh.
- Whole Foods ✋ – Sometimes you can get okay matcha, probably Rishi brand, but everything else will be very meh.
👎 NO. STOP. 🛑 AVOID IT – DO NOT BUY FROM here…
- Sawada Coffee 👎 – Do not buy. It’s just not very good and it’s weirdly gritty.
- Mariano’s 👎 – Nope. Do not buy matcha from Mariano’s in Chicago.
- Jewel Osco 👎 – Nope. Do not buy matcha from Jewel-Osco in Chicago.
- Pete’s Fresh Market 👎 – Nope. Do not buy matcha from Pete’s in Chicago.
We’ll try to add more complete reviews of each place soon. Until then…