Matcha has been a popular drink amongst the youth recently. Matcha is made from 100% premium green tea leaves that provides people with a concentrated source of antioxidants. Which gives it a naturally bitter taste.

 Influencers are becoming more influential in today’s society. Before people would see an influencer maybe be interested and then scroll away. Now, people will see it and even if it is not a necessity or something they like they will still buy it because it is trendy.

That leads to the point that influencers started calling matcha the next new drink and making it go viral on social media such as tiktok and instagram for “aesthetic photos” or on tiktok it was a trend to say if people drink matcha they are more nonchalant or intelligent. All those memes besides drinking matcha have no correlation with those things. 

In my opinion matcha has to be one of the most bitter drinks I have ever tasted. Depending on which matcha I get it’s either expensive or it isn’t made with the right sugars which most of the time it isn’t it is just completely unenjoyable.

However, I understand that matcha is  healthier than most drinks and helps people with the antioxidants. Some have reported that it has helped them study better which could be another reason why it is going viral especially right now. It also looks very good in photos to post with the aesthetic light green or foresty green color.

The taste of matcha may vary depending on the way it is made if it is pure matcha or if it has lots of added condiments like sugar or cold foam, etc. Freshman Tessa Gotuzzo said “You can drink matcha cold, hot, and add milk to make it sweet…I feel like it tastes very natural.”

Junior Swenn Ning Teoh says “ I love matcha even though people say it tastes like grass but if you make it the right way it’s really good. You have to add brown sugar and it’s made from herbal ingredients originated from China but overall I like matcha. It’s good.”

On the other hand, some  people do not like matcha and it is not a very pleasing taste . Sophomore Julianna Alonzo stated “Matcha is very overhyped. I think it tastes like the earth and there are way better alternatives such as energy drinks or Starbucks refreshers.” When talking about different alternatives.

Overall, I think matcha is a very bitter drink and not worth the money or the hype, but even though it is not my choice of drink doesn’t mean it’s not anyone else’s and just because someone likes matcha doesn’t mean they are being performative.