Hardly a new kid to Tribeca: founder Hannah Habes opened the first brick-and-mortar Matchaful on Canal in 2019, though it all started years before that, a culmination of what Hannah describes as her “health journey.” This new store, on Greenwich and Harrison in Independence Plaza, is her ninth in the city; it opened in August.

Hannah started working for Big Food right out of college (she’s 39), 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. The brief: eat cleaner and simpler. “I wanted to feel better, and I wanted to consume things that made me feel better.”

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 said. “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.”

She couldn’t stop thinking about it — and at that point there was very little distribution of matcha in the US, so she rented a test kitchen and started importing. Everything snowballed from there. “I became this little matcha missionary,” she said. By 2013, she was flying to Japan to meet with farmers and look at the supply side. In 2017, she had a pop-up at Smorgasburg.

The health benefits, she says, come from consuming the whole leaf rather than a brew. 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.

Her stores now the classis plus all sorts of hot and cold options, such as the Autumn Slice Latte, with ceremonial matcha, Hokkaido pumpkin, pumpkin purée, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, Madagascar vanilla bean, maple syrup and housemade oat milk; plus vegan soft serve made from cashews, milled oats and coconut sugar; parfaits; oatmeal; vegan pastries.

We loved the Vanilla Zen, (matcha, vanilla bean, GABA tea, cinnamon, maple syrup, housemade oat milk — $8.50) which was a bit sweeter than the Hazelnut Matcha (with matcha options plus housemade hazelnut milk & almond cream, vanilla bean, maple syrup — $10.50) but had the same good quality matcha taste. The matcha donut is delish and lighter than you expect; the zucchini loaf has rosemary and more savory than sweet.

Matchaful
350 Greenwich St (at Harrison)
Monday to Friday, 7:30a to 6p
Saturday and Sunday, 8a to 6p