Entrepreneur Cindy Jiang’s passion is matcha. She’s turned her passion into a vibrant and trendy cafe that’s drawing customers from both sides of the Ohio River.

“The minute I was introduced to it, I was like, I freaking love this,” she said.

Her love for it dates back at least ten years, as she shared with LINK nky that she was introduced to the grounded tea while baking green tea cake rolls with her mother’s friend during her teenage years.

“I started to love matcha whenever my mom’s best friend wanted to bake Green Tea Cake rolls or matcha cake rolls, so I was introduced to matcha around 14, 15 years old, and I just fell in love with it at that point,” Jiang said. “Not everybody knew what it was.”

Matcha is a powdered green tea ground from shade-grown tea leaves. The tea originated from Japan but traces its roots back to China. Jiang, who is Chinese American, said a Japanese monk brought the powdered tea back to the island nation after studying in China. Over time, the Japanese refined the cultivation and preparation methods.

Matcha is gaining popularity across the United States, with the powdered tea becoming well known for its prevalence in New York City and along the West Coast. Market research firm NIQ discovered that matcha sales within the US are up 86% over the past three years.

However, one area that seemingly lagged behind the trend was Greater Cincinnati. Jiang, who moved to the area two-and-a-half years ago, was peppered with questions by locals about what matcha was and where they could find it.

“They were like, ‘oh, this drink is green. What’s going on? But I’ve always loved it, so I don’t really care what they say,” she laughed. “We moved here about two and a half years ago, and the very first question that I asked the locals here was, ‘is there a nice matcha cafe that I can go to? ‘”

Seeing a gap in the market and the opportunity to share her passion with the broader community, Jiang and her fiancé, Derek Ung, self-funded their first matcha cafe, Little Matcha, located inside the former Haven and OTV Coffee storefront at 332 Scott St. in Covington’s Roebling Point neighborhood.

Admittedly, Jiang said she did not travel to Covington much before opening the shop, but after two leases fell through north of the river, the Scott Street space became too appealing to pass up.

Since opening in early October, Little Matcha has become a magnet for matcha fans and curiosity seekers. The cafe has gained traction within Greater Cincinnati’s social media and mainstream media ecosystems. Jiang said the cafe attracts a diverse crowd, from teenagers and young parents to older adults.

Barista Cathryn Schehr noted that Little Matcha offers the community a chance to learn, connect with others and experience a different culture.

“It’s a great learning experience, for us that we’re here, but also the people that come in, because it can also spark conversations with other people that work in the restaurant business, or people you know that might be able to culturally relate to that,” she said.

With time, Jiang mentioned that her next goal is to open another cafe in Cincinnati, as she has already received some inquiries. Prior to opening the brick-and-mortar cafe, Jiang was attending Cincinnati area small business pop-ups where she caught the eye of large corporate brands like Procter & Gamble, Anthropologie and MedPace.

For now, Jiang and Ung are relishing the experience of running a new business, with customers frequently entering and leaving even late in the afternoon.

Little Matcha is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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