Kyo Matcha Review: ‘Let The Tea Return to the Forest,’ or at Least to Boston

As spring reaches its peak, Kyo Matcha’s Brookline location is full of energy. Families sit outside enjoying matcha soft serve and bites of mochi, while college students inside sip boba lattes. Kyo Matcha is a bright cafe with a clean and refined interior — a peaceful, yet vibrant oasis from the chaos of the city.

Kyo Matcha is a cafe and dessert chain with locations across the United States focusing on high-quality, matcha-based, innovative drinks and sweet treats. And now, as of last April, Boston residents and visitors to the Brookline area can enjoy its Instagram-worthy sweets.

Kyo Matcha ​​proudly sources its matcha powder from the Uji Matcha Supply Factory in Japan. With its motto being “Let the Tea Return to the Forest,” the cafe promotes traditional matcha culture with a twist. But does it succeed?

To begin to answer that question, one must start with Kyo Matcha’s most-loved speciality offering: the matcha parfait. The parfait includes the cafe’s signature matcha ice cream layered with sweet corn flakes, red beans, and rice mochi. The parfait can also be customized to replace the matcha with another ice cream flavor, such as vanilla or hojicha (roasted green tea). Overall, the parfait is solid. The corn flakes are a fabulous textural addition to the creamy coldness of the matcha soft serve. The red beans are an excellent, slightly savory contrast to the sweet, gooey rice mochi. However, the core element of the parfait, the matcha soft serve, is far too sweet — almost saccharine. If the sweetness was toned down a few more levels, the matcha parfait would be a home-run.

The Ube Towel Cake, while visually stunning — a bright fuchsia cake filled with light pink cream wrapped in delicate paper — unfortunately was lackluster and boring in taste. If you don’t know what ube tastes like prior to the first bite, you certainly won’t know afterward. Although it is delicious, it could easily be mistaken for a regular vanilla cake and is nothing special.

The Matcha Crepe Layer Cake, on the other hand, is a showstopper. The light layers of sage green matcha cream and delicate crepes are perfection itself. The side of red bean complements the dish perfectly.

The hot Black Sesame Latte, though a tad bit too sweet, is rich and decadent, and the sesame flavor feels authentic and high quality. Likewise, the iced Hojicha Latte has a wonderful, earthy flavor that pairs quite well with the matcha cake.

Although there’s undoubtedly room for improvement, Kyo Matcha is a lovely place to grab a sweet treat on a warm day. The beautiful store and ideal location certainly add to its appeal, making it an exciting — if imperfect — new spot for matcha lovers.

—Staff writer Caroline J. Rubin can be reached at caroline.rubin@thecrimson.com.