Quarter zips and matcha: in recent months, performative males have taken over the internet, causing sales at both coffee shops and J Crew to skyrocket.

     Matcha, a caffeinated drink made from ground green tea leaves, has benefitted from this social media trend to an overwhelming extent. Though the drink has been popular among indie (read: wannabe N.Y.) women for almost 10 years, matcha is finally becoming popular among men — in a way that doesn’t threaten their egos.  

     In St. Pete, there is an abundance of coffee shops, and I have tried most of them. Given that I have been drinking the green stuff since it first made its way to the United States, I consider myself qualified to praise — or ridicule — the local offerings. Out of all the matcha I’ve had in St. Pete, I chose to review four of my favorite coffee shops.

     But I did not go through this intense, exhausting process of evaluating matcha alone. The Chronicle Sports Editor, self-proclaimed performative male (and my partner in crime) senior Luke Lavoie came along with me to try every single cup. Keep in mind, however, that the matcha he reviewed was the first he ever tasted, so take the thoughts from his newly-adjusted performative palette with a grain of salt.

Blush: 

     Blush Tea and Coffee St. Pete is located away from all the trendy coffee shops downtown but may have the best vibe of this whole list. Inside, there are a variety of seating options for both studying and hanging out. It’s warm, cozy and the music feels nostalgic. 

     Yet, the best aspect of Blush is their reliability. Blush is open six days a week starting at seven and closing most days at five. I recognize that this sounds like the bare minimum, but as you will see later in the review, sadly, it’s not. 

     Blush also consistently has new specials every first of the month. On its own, the matcha at Blush isn’t great. The quality of the powder is subpar, which is evident in its weird aftertaste. Blush also uses a frother, as opposed to a classical chasen to stir the matcha, causing the beverage to lack frothiness. 

     But, the syrups and specials partly make up for it. In January, they had a raspberry and cream matcha, which Luke and I highly enjoyed. In fact, when I informed him that this special would be gone by the end of January, he actually began to weep.

Luke: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ana: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paradeco: 

     Wait, I thought this was supposed to be a matcha review…

     Look, when I took on this challenge, I made the crucial decision to choose to review the best matcha at each coffee shop, meaning I chose to stray away from the scientific method where I would get the same drink every time. So, at Paradeco, I got what I think is the best and maybe only thing that is good: the chai-matcha latte. 

     The matcha at Paradeco, on its own, doesn’t resemble anything close to bright green. It more closely resembles a light green with a grayish tint – a testament to the fact that it’s not high-quality. However, the chai and matcha combination is rare and extremely good, even if it’s because the chai completely obscures the flavor of the matcha. 

Luke: ⭐️

Ana: ⭐️⭐️

Daycation:

     If you can get past the pretentiousness of Daycation, which you will immediately feel upon walking into the 6 by 15 space, you may just have the best matcha of your life. Daycation, without any room for discussion, has the best quality of matcha; however, the drink as a whole could be better. 

     Luke thinks that the strawberry syrup could use some work. “It’s almost as if the strawberries were too ripe. It needs some kind of acid to break up the richness,” he said. 

     I could continue to wax poetic on the minute things Daycation could do to make their drink even better, but they genuinely have the only matcha on this list that I would drink on its own without any fancy syrups. That being said, it comes with a price. 

     With the high-quality of matcha comes the awful hours. Daycation is open from eight to three and only opens at nine on the weekends. In what world can a coffee shop open at nine in the morning? While you can certainly get the greenest and creamiest matcha at Daycation, the drink is inaccessible to anyone who is actually employed.

Luke: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ana: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Coffee Concrete:

     Motors, music and matcha — that’s how Coffee Concrete rolls. Bringing Luke into Coffee Concrete was one of the most bizarre things I have ever done. The morning we made it, there happened to be a car show, so on top of the usual DJ, countless Porsches surrounded us. Despite this, it still managed to be his favorite. 

     The Coffee Concrete drink is actually a work of art. From bottom to top lies their homemade strawberry syrup (which Luke claims had the acidity Daycation’s was lacking), plus there’s milk, their matcha, strawberry coldfoam and two dried strawberry pieces. This combination, when mixed up, makes the matcha divinely creamy with the perfect amount of strawberry. 

     I think it’s important to add that the actual matcha isn’t the greatest, however. Luke thought it was a little grainy, and I’ve tried their matcha without strawberry — it’s simply not good. Overall, if you get the strawberry matcha, which covers up the bad taste, some days, Coffee Concrete trumps Daycation.

Luke: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ana: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My own homemade matcha:

    On a recent trip to Japan, Website Editor junior Rishi Patel brought Luke and me authentic Japanese matcha. This is the homemade matcha I had the pleasure of using for this review. 

     I have been making matcha after school every day for years, so I think I’m fit to put myself up against these coffee shops. Recently, I’ve switched from using a frother to a traditional chasen, and I make mine with maple syrup. This addition not only makes it super healthy, but also, the maple pairs very nicely with the matcha. 

     Luke said he thinks that my matcha had more depth, and that he can taste it more than any other matcha. I believe the only thing that differentiates my matcha from Daycation’s is that I don’t have any of the fancy syrups or inclusions.  I would probably speak more highly of my matcha if not for the fact that I drink it almost every day, and it serves, at this point, less for enjoyment, and more to give me enough energy to begin the daunting task that is my homework. 

Luke: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ana: ⭐️⭐️⭐️