WASACHI'S FIRST INTERNATIONAL BRANCH IS NOW IN MANILA

It only took a single visit for Jaime Daez, founder and managing director of Fully Booked, to go green. “A friend of mine from Malaysia told me about Wasachi in December of 2024, and told me that this was the best matcha in Tokyo that he had tried and that I had to check it out,” he recalls. “I was in Tokyo the following month, and had to see for myself if the matcha was, indeed, that good. I left the café a believer and a converted matcha enthusiast.”

- NINO ANGELO COMSTI

He, like many others, was an immediate convert. And it’s not because of the health benefits of the roasted green tea or how it is trending globally, but because of how Wasachi does it. “I would say in terms of how good a matcha is, 90 percent of the battle depends on the quality of the ingredients. And the matcha powder that Wasachi uses is up there with the best matcha cafés in Japan. I don’t enjoy the bitter taste that many matcha cafes have, and there is no bitterness when you try out the matcha that Wasachi offers.”

Founded in 2024, the 10-seater independent Tokyo cafe instantly gained recognition and cult following because, one, founder Takuma Yamanaka does delicious justice in the manner he prepares his teas; and two, his passion to share the “happiness” of authentic Japanese matcha with the world is infectious and inspiring.