Yame Matcha House, which has a trailer at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is opening its first brick-and-mortar cafe tomorrow in Kakaʻako.
The cafe is in the former space of Poke Stand by Shokudo on KawaiaHa‘o Street.
The business specializes in matcha sourced from Fukuoka, Japan, according to business owner Ryo Hirayama.
“I’m from Fukuoka; all the matcha on the Island is mostly coming from Shizuoka, and a lot of it is Uji matcha,” Hirayama says. “My family has a shop in Fukuoka that sells matcha utensils and chawan (the traditional Japanese vessel used to prepare matcha).
“I grew up on Yame matcha; Yame is a region in Fukuoka,” he adds. “When I came to Oʻahu, I was like, ‘How come there’s no yame?’ I did more research on it. I just wanted to spread awareness of the goodness and quality of yame matcha.”
Hirayama, who says he "always wanted to do something with matcha," explains that a double roasting process results in the matcha’s nuttier flavor.
“It’s a double roasting process that makes it unique,” he confirms. “We don’t use any artificial sugars for our regular matcha base.”
Hirayama says the menu at the Kakaʻako store is similar to the one at the business’s UH Mānoa location. However, the larger cafe space allows the business to expand its menu in the future.
“It’s (the cafe) got a freezer, so we can expand more toward shakes, we can use ice cream, too,” Hirayama says. “My soft serve machine is on the way. There are so many things I can’t do in a trailer.”
Popular drinks include Yame signature matcha or hojicha ($8), Yame Einspanner ($8.75), banana dream ($8.50), and Okinawan brown sugar hojicha ($8.50).
Hirayama notes that there’s 6 grams of matcha in each drink, with the exception of the Einspanner — known for its concentrated matcha base — which has about 10 grams of matcha.
“People love the Einspanner,” he says. “Right now, we are doing a seasonal maple cookie hojicha. It started about a month ago; the Okinawan brown sugar hojicha is also a favorite.
“People that like sweeter drinks like our salted vanilla caramel ($8.50) and salted vanilla ($8.50),” he adds.
Yame Matcha House’s Kakaʻako cafe will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays (closed Mondays).
CONTACT
Yame Matcha House – Kakaʻako
961 KawaiaHa‘o St., Honolulu
Instagram: @yamematchahouse
Open from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays (closed Mondays)
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
