Explore the earthy, green, still-caffeinated world of matcha at Tacoma’s new tea cafe

Downtown Tacoma just got a whole lot greener.

Seven days a week, Jin Jin Matcha celebrates the vibrantly neon Japanese tea, hand-whisked to order with a traditional bamboo chasen, at 1019 Pacific Ave., a calming space dripping in natural light.

From an open counter, where as a guest you can view the ritual in full, order it whisked with water and poured short or tall, with sparkling water, or blended into an array of custom lattes.

A classic latte with your choice of whole or plant-based milk allows the root product to shine, but the skilled staff also concocts nuanced flavors with black sesame, organic chai and rose. Even the drink du jour of golden lattes — a spiced turmeric sipper long beloved in India that’s wriggled into third-wave coffee shops — takes a star turn here, the house recipe married with ginger, lemongrass, ginger, pink peppercorns and black pepper.

Two striking omissions at this new cafe: coffee and WiFi.

“There are so many great places in Tacoma that specialize in coffee, but very few that specialize in matcha,” said co-owner Sarah Oh, who gave up that source of caffeine years ago and got hooked on matcha living in New York City, where dedicated tea shops are more plentiful. Raised as a tea drinker, she recalls her mother batching huge vats of barley tea: “That was like the water we drank.”

Since soft-opening bright and early Monday, Feb. 27, with a grand-opening party that Saturday, the shop has been humming with an unexpected crowd of matcha enthusiasts — or perhaps a local cohort of the matcha-curious.

“I’m so pleasantly surprised how many people are down to try tea,” Oh told me at the shop that first week.

Real matcha is not exactly easy to come by. There is no regulatory body, as there is for, say, fair-trade coffee, Cognac or champagne, and an Instagram-induced obsession with brightly colored foods has fuzzied the market. At coffee shops that sell a “matcha latte,” the powder is likely cafe-grade, laced with other green tea leaves and, in some cases, sweeteners.

At Jin Jin, each matcha — including the signature from the matcha capital of Shizuoka, Japan, a Korean varietal from volcanic soil, and hojicha roasted over charcoal, lending a deeper, earthy tone — is of the ceremonial grade. The leaves are hand-picked at first gather (the industry verbiage for careful harvesting when young and delicate), then ground into a fine powder, stems and all.

Whisking the powder with water — always with bamboo and in a ceramic chawan (tea bowl) to avoid acidic reactions — aerates the tea and produces matcha’s telltale froth.

“We have the best matcha in Tacoma, if not the South Sound, if not Washington state,” said Oh.

She spent almost two years in search of the main matcha that she now sources directly from a family farm in Japan. Compared to others, she described its flavor as “grassier, really bright,” with “almost a fruity forward-ness.”

Jin Jin also features loose-leaf from Seattle’s 15-year-old Miro Tea, in blends such as Earl of lavender black, coconut oolong and dark rose.

Retail options are on the way, which will join the shelves highlighting other curated goods, including hard-to-find soy sauces and olive oil. Oh also anticipates bringing coveted matcha soft-serve on board this summer.

JIN JIN & SUNNY’S

Oh named the cafe after her father Yong Jin Oh, who moved to the Puget Sound region from South Korea in 1986, and, with his wife Sen-hi, owned a dry cleaning business in Edmonds. After attending college at the University of Washington, Sarah left for New York, where she became an art and design production consultant and met her husband Ryan McGowan.

They loved New York, but in 2020, McGowan accepted a furlough from his highly specialized job as an elevator engineer. Then Oh’s father fell ill, and they decided to move west. Though her parents now live in Seattle, the couple chose Tacoma.

“We wanted somewhere new,” said Oh, “so we could make it feel like a new place for both of us.”

They also anticipated opening their own business, and in Tacoma, it felt like they could (or perhaps afford to) take more risks, she said. Falling for the eclectic stretch of Antique Row, in 2021 they opened Sunny’s, part-plant shop (McGowan’s purview) and part-design boutique (Oh’s wheelhouse).

“We really got a taste of what it feels like to be part of the Tacoma community,” she recalled. Sunny’s, whose name honors Oh’s mother, even has regulars. “I didn’t know you could have regulars at a plant shop!”

Last year, Sunny’s was featured in Dwell magazine, a prominent design and architecture publication, as one of “America’s Best Independent Design Shops,” Tacoma glimmering alongside much bigger cities including Brooklyn, Chicago, Nashville, Portland and Philadelphia.

Jin Jin is similarly designed, with white walls and warm accents. Oh anticipates adding traditional Japanese floor seating in one corner, near a long communal table, and more cushions for the bench seating along the cafe’s tall windows.

“I really just wanted you to feel like a friend coming over to my house,” she said, adding that everyone is encouraged to accept the daily Communi-tea, a complimentary 8-ounce cup. “There’s a big ritual to tea and matcha. So there’s no WiFi. I would love if someone curled with a book for five hours.”

JIN JIN MATCHA

▪ 1019 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, no phone, jinjinmatcha.com

▪ Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

▪ Details: tea cafe and retail shop specializing in matcha, most drinks ($4-$7.50) available hot or iced; extended hours anticipated in coming months

SUNNY’S

▪ 702 Broadway, Tacoma (in process of moving to 785 Broadway)

▪ Tuesday-Wednesday 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday-Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

▪ Details: source for houseplants and artisan goods including kitchenware, tea equipment and more