Influencer News
TikTok critic Keith Lee ranks matcha at 7 Dallas coffee and tea shops
matcha tea
TikTok food influencer Keith Lee is back on the Dallas restaurant scene, this time tackling his new favorite drink: matcha.
Matcha is the Japanese green tea powder that has experienced a surge in popularity, appearing in everything from drinks like the matcha latte to desserts like matcha mousse. The Guardian calls it "the new green giant."
Lee, who relocated to Dallas in 2024, has been on a matcha kick ever since he tried it in Chicago, which he says "led me down a rabbit hole." He has since posted a pair of videos where he tries seven matcha spots to find the best matcha in DFW. The shop with the highest rating earned $500 worth of matcha for anyone who came in that day.
These are the seven cafes Lee visited, where he ordered two drinks from each and rated the shops from 1 to 10 with 10 being best, with the highest rating first:
7th Day Coffee, Richardson: 8
Lee loved the matcha with almond milk he ordered at this Richardson indie and had lots to say: "I'm looking for a super deep green color, which more than likely uses ceremonial grade matcha, which is the good matcha. It's very earthy, there's a lot of flavor; I thought it would be grassy, it's not at all. This is very rich, it's a little savory, and it's very creamy. It also has the same notes as espresso on the back end where it's not necessarily bitter, but it hits the back of your tongue." He returned for a strawberry matcha which he also loved.
La Casita, East Dallas: 7.75
At this bakery cafe at Half Price Books, he liked the regular matcha a lot: "The matcha flavor is very strong, this is my favorite straight matcha I've had today," he said. He also ordered a salted honey matcha, and appreciated its balance of earthy, honey, sweet, and salty.
Junbi, Richardson: 7.5
Lee visited the Richardson location of this national matcha-centric chain where he ordered the Madagascar vanilla iced latte with oat milk. "The main thing I taste in here is the sweetener and the vanilla," he said. "I personally would prefer if the matcha in here was a little more pronounced, because the vanilla makes it a little bit too sweet."
Chasn Matcha Bar, Oak Cliff: 6.75
At this weekend-only matcha bar in Oak Cliff, he described the matcha itself as "very strong, a little grassy, a little earthy. It's not super bitter, but it's definitely not sweet," he said. However, he found the flavor to be more almond milk than matcha.
Merit Coffee, Deep Ellum: 6.4
At the Deep Ellum location of this Texas coffee chain, he ordered both regular matcha and cherry blossom matcha. He found the regular matcha to be a little too sweet, while the cherry blossom matcha tasted more like Fruity Pebbles cereal milk than matcha.
Cafe Duro, East Dallas: 5
At this Greenville Avenue cafe, he ordered regular matcha and banana horchata. He liked the banana horchata, but found the matcha to be too simple and straightforward: "Very milky, very grassy, and no sweetener. Just milk and grass," he said.
La La Land: 2
At this Dallas do-gooder chain, he ordered a matcha with almond milk, but he said it was not his favorite. "It's very aesthetically pleasing. I taste a lot of the almond milk way more than I taste any of the matcha. The matcha I do taste is a little bitter and a little grassy, and I'm not a huge fan."
