Izumi Matcha — Restaurant in Cupertino

The wait is egregious unless you get there before they open, even better if you can go on a weekday. I'm not sure why the Cupertino location is so much more popular than the San Jose one. I've tried both and they taste the same. I suppose it's a nicer area..? But it's not really a sit-down place so I feel that it doesn't really matter. The matcha is of course very good, but the lychee always has a funny aftertaste. My experience was always average until one day I went there to buy a can of matcha and a whisk as a gift. The line was expectedly long, but I figured it wouldn't really matter since I was just buying the powder... right? Wrong. I went inside to ask if I could buy the matcha powder, and she told me I would have to wait. That was fine, but she didn't tell me anything else. How long would it take, where should I wait, nothing. I asked if she wanted me to wait in line and she said I didn't have to, but that it was busy. Obviously I could see that, it's always busy. I waited by the display case with the matcha powder, waiting to see if anyone would assist me. I waited for about 20 minutes just standing there confused. She wouldn't even look at me. I decided to wait in line because the way it operates is once you get to the kiosk, you wait at the counter for your drink, and that's when they acknowledge you. While I was waiting in line, I watched as others went up to the counter to ask about the powder, and she immediately helped them out??? I was so confused as to why I was treated differently. Once I waited in the entire line, not even to get a drink, it was my turn at the counter, and I asked again. She told me I had to not only follow their Instagram just to qualify to buy the matcha powder, but that they also only took cash. Literally EVERYTHING else is card only. I don't know why there's this matcha elitism going on these days, but they wanted to make it as difficult as possible to obtain their sacred matcha powder. So instead, I asked if I could buy a whisk (which you can pay for using card). She said there was a blue one and yellow one, and when I asked what the difference was, she said the price. You can't even tell me what the difference in the product is??? I asked how much one was and she said $48. You cannot convince me that is a reasonable price. In shock, I asked about the matcha bowls instead. I went to take a look at the different ones, and asked if I could buy one that was labeled as $39 on display. She said it actually wasn't that price, even though that was what it was labeled as, and instead, more around $60-$70. I bought a bowl that was actually $39 after over an hour and left without the matcha powder or whisk that I...

Matcha lovers rejoice! For those of you who are obsessed with matcha and looking for something new to try, Izumi Matcha is the newest matcha shop on the block!

Izumi Matcha strives to bring the highest quality authentic Japanese matcha to America, providing patrons with not only matcha drinks and desserts for purchase, but also a variety of matcha good available in-store. I would go out on a limb and guess that majority of those visiting Izumi Matcha are wanting to sample their drinks or taiyaki treats, so keep in mind the lines can be quite long. Ordering is all done in-store on a self-serve kiosk and then you wait for your matcha treat to be ready and retrieve it when your number is called. Naturally, the store is busier on the weekend, but I've noticed that the 5-6pm window might be a sweet spot where the line does die down a bit (don't quote me on this as I've only been there twice).

Now onto what we tried! We ordered their matcha yuzu tea and the honey hojicha latte. The matcha yuzu pairing was a match made in heaven as the tart yuzu perfectly balances the earthy matcha for a smooth, yet refreshing drink. For those of you who want some extra matcha oomph you can also add a free extra matcha shot to your drinks! The hojicha on the other hand was a delicious not-too-sweet cup of roasted goodness. With the honey and dairy providing a smooth accompaniment for the deep roasted notes of the hojicha. I could go on and on about how good the drinks here, but honestly you should try it for yourself to really understand why so many people are flocking to Izumi Matcha. I only tried the drinks when I've been, but the taiyaki and soft serves are also extremely popular, so those will have to be on my list to try in the future!

If you're looking for the next best matcha place to try out in the Bay Area, the I highly recommend giving Izumi Matcha a try (as long as you can bear the long lines and wait, it'll be...

Update 3/1/25 it has gotten even worse with the line… so had to remove some Service stars. I truly wish they added another kiosk to order, allowed orders online or in person to speed up the process. I would go much more often if the line wasn’t as insane. Just don’t want to spend 30-45 mins or more just to order a drink. They have so many baristas making drinks and they are certainly not stressed making them…. You can often see them not doing much- waiting for orders to come in while people scroll through the menu. Business owner is certainly loosing $$ by allowing such a huge line to form. It attracts some but likely turns off even more… 🤷‍♀️ I already know it will take 30-40 minutes if the line goes til the table that’s close by, 20 mins if it’s til the door. Can’t even imagine how long it takes if the line goes til the tree.

Update- it has been promoted so much on IG and TikTok - the lines are ridiculous. I hope they add more ways to order as it takes forever for people to order on the one and only kiosk 😔 don’t want to wait an 30 mins to an hour to get a drink….

So excited to have a matcha cafe close by. Good matcha is difficult to come by, often it is too milky and one can barely taste the matcha. This place seems super authentic and they offer an extra matcha shot for free if you like a strong matcha! You order by the kiosk. Had the cream cheese matcha tea and cannot wait to try their latte and their soft serve! They also have some...