Matchaful, the matcha tea shop that opened first on Canal and West Broadway in 2019, is coming to Independence Plaza at Harrison and Greenwich. (Thanks to A., A. and V. for the shots and info.)

Hannah Habes, the founder and “chief matcha officer,” said the location will open definitely before the end of the year, though they are still working through the timeline. (One neighbor noted that the space was being used as storage while the 40 Harrison residential lobby was renovated.)

I spoke to Hannah deep in the pandemic — in May 2020 — when she had just opened her first brick and mortar after first popping up at Smorgasburg in 2017. Things came together quickly after that; she now has seven locations in the city, including Soho and Brookfield.

Her story is a good one: She started working for Big Food right out of college, representing — and eating — many of the most popular brands: Pepsi, Chewy granola bars, Gatorade. But by her late 20s she was wrestling with all sorts of health issues and after visits to a half dozen doctors with no diagnosis in hand, she decided to make a radical change in her diet.

She embarked on a self-described “health journey,” trying to eat cleaner and simpler. “I wanted to feel better, and I wanted to consume things that made me feel better.” And in the midst of it, her husband came home from a trip to Japan with a little packet of matcha powder as a souvenir. She was hooked after the first brew. And the more she learned about it, the more she was convinced she was on to something.

“Matcha is a green tea, but it’s so much more than that,” she says. “It has been part of Japan’s history for centuries — it was used in battle by Samurai warriors, monks would drink it to help them concentrate during long hours of mediation. It gives you a calm, relaxed energy — a better high in a way than coffee, smoother and more relaxing.”

By 2013, she was flying to Japan to meet with farmers and look at the supply side. The leaves are grown under a certain process that allows for maximum chlorophyll and amino acid production. They are then steamed, dried and ground into a fine powder. The powder is then brewed into the tea, rather than just soaked or strained. You get more antioxidants and a little more caffeine.

After Smorgasborg in 2017, Hannah went door to door to coffee shops to convince them to carry it. Once she had matcha brewing in 30 outlets, she decided it was time for her own brick and mortar. And then the pandemic came and she made a fateful pivot: she ordered glass bottles and expanded her line to include almost everything they have on the menu in the store. She now has a line of DIY matcha for home, subscriptions, and all sorts of products online — matcha sets, whisking bowls, matcha granola, etc. (Before they moved off Canal they were a good location for the TC Shop-Local Gift Guide.)

More TK when they open.