Most people usually confuse matcha drinks with green tea drinks, which is a crime for a food enthusiast like me. Before moving forward with today’s article I would like to point out the difference.

Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea. Matcha Latte drinks are made by dissolving this powder with water then add milk, while Milk Green Tea drinks are made by soaking green tea leaves in water and add milk.

Yes, matcha is made from green tea; however, matcha powder has a distinct aroma that makes matcha lovers crave for it. So if your love for matcha is strong, here are 9 places where you can find matcha drinks.

#1 Gloria Jean’s Coffee

This place sells matcha drinks in hot, iced and blended. But my favorite is their iced matcha which they called “Green Tea over Ice”. If you’re not really into sweet beverage like myself, then this is the place! Their matcha drinks are moderately sweet and full of matcha aroma that makes you crave for another cup! There’s also a hint of salt which makes it even better, well at least for me.

Available at all branches. 

#2 Beard Papa’s

Want to try the authentic matcha taste from Japan? Grab Green Tea Shake at Beard Papa’s, I guarantee you it’s the original taste. Beard Papa’s only serves their matcha drink in shake, but one option is just enough for us to go back for more. It’s really good not only because it’s full of richness, sweetness and aroma, but also because its unique texture that comes from the blended ice. However, one problem for me is that it is a bit too sweet.

Location: TK Avenue and Aeon Mall

#3 Brown Coffee and Bakery

Brown also offers matcha drinks known as Green Tea Latte, they come in hot, iced and blended. Brown’s matcha has strong aroma and a touch of bitterness, just very slight which makes it even nicer. However, I find their matcha drink to be a bit lacking in richness--something is quite missing in the taste I just can’t really pin point.

Available at all branches. 

#4 Starbucks Coffee

When I crave for hot matcha drink, my go-to place is Starbucks coffee. They also serve matcha drinks in iced and blended. But I personally like their Hot Green Tea Latte because there’s a good balance of sweetness, milk and aroma. Their Matcha Cream is very nice as well for its smoothness, but their Iced Green Tea tastes a bit like it’s been water-downed.

Available at all branches. 

#5 The Matchart café

Like the name suggested, this café is all about matcha! From matcha drink to matcha dessert and soft-served ice cream, you name it! It also preserves a very authentic Japanese taste, their matcha drink is rich and has extremely strong matcha aroma, but one major downfall is that it’s way too sweet!

Location: #38E0, Street 178, Phnom Penh

#6 True Coffee

“Nishio Matcha” is what this place named their matcha drinks. They come in hot, iced and blended, but I recommend the blended one called “Green Tea Twist Cream”. It’s not the most authentic matcha you would ever taste, but I like it for its creaminess and smoothness. However, the aroma is lacking in this one, but still a good alternative.

Available at all branches. 

#7 Chatime

As you already know, Chatime is a milk tea place. As you may expect, it’s literally matcha powder mixed with tea and milk, so the drink itself comes out tasting more like tea than the other matcha drinks I listed. The good part is you can adjust the sugar level to your preference.

Available at all branches. 

#8 Kyoto Milk Tea

Like Chatime, Kyoto Milk Tea serves “milk tea” so their matcha drinks also taste like tea. However, they have variety of matcha drinks on the menu for you to choose, and they also allow you to adjust the sugar level. But to me, even their lowest level of sweetness is sweet, which is pretty much a letdown.

Location: Ground Floor AEON Mall

#9 Dakasi

Another milk tea place for you to try out which has quite a lot of matcha drinks listed in their menu which all look very promising. I’ve only tried their Matcha Brown Rice which is matcha milk tea mixed with roasted brown rice. For a milk tea, I can say they still manage to keep the matcha aroma, but once again there’s something missing in the taste.

Available at all branches.

Well I guess this is all just my opinion and personal preference, and without a doubt, we all have different taste buds. So how about all you matcha lovers out there try out these 10 places and see for yourself, you may prove me wrong or agree with me, let me know in the comment!