Oh Cha Matcha, TTDI, New Healthy Cafe

Oh Cha Matcha

Words: Monica Tindall
Photos: Rich Callahan

Inspired by a trip to Japan, serial cafepreneur brother team Choong Kar Wai and Choong Kar Heng “realized the world needs to drink more matcha” and decided to bring the benefits of the beverage to Malaysia. Far from newbies to the café scene (credited as key players in bringing third wave coffee culture to KL), they were quick to brew up a concept.

Oh Cha Matcha TTDI

Instead of opening a traditional matcha store, which they thought could be intimidating to many, they designed a space that is vibrant, stylish and very Instagrammable. They wanted to defy the norm, pushing the boundaries of what a café could be. The bar is sleek and clean, and the floor plan open and minimalist; it rather resembles a fashion boutique as opposed to a food and beverage outlet.

The menu too is approachable. There’s ceremonial and premium grade matcha for the hard-core enthusiasts but also a bunch of flavoured beverages resembling the popular bubble tea trend in nature. There is a significant difference between what’s on the menu at Oh Cha Matcha and popular milk tea places though; the drinks here are actually healthy!

All drinks are sugar-free and dairy-free, made on a base of soy milk and sweetened with stevia. Usually, I detest the taste of stevia but here I don’t notice it all. Kar Heng tells that’s because, just like matcha, there are different grades. They only use top quality here, which means sweetness without the unpleasant taste. All sorts of milk alternatives are available including oat, almond, coconut and even cashew.

Classics

There are three main grades of matcha – ceremonial, premium and culinary – with the most respected hailing from Uji, Kyoto. Ceremonial is the highest rated, preferred by the emperor of Japan, and is what is used in Oh Cha Matcha’s classic drinks.

Specially grown for matcha production, the green tea is covered in dark cloth three to four weeks before harvesting. This prevents chlorophyll from developing, which can cause bitterness. In the shade, it releases l-theanine that is responsible for the slow release of energy. Therefore, even though it has high caffeine content, unlike coffee which gives you a quick up, it is slow-release, building a steady buzz over around six to eight hours.

The dried green tea is ground in granite stone in a cold, dark room at a slow and steady speed with only 40 grams being produced an hour! A scoop of powder is placed in a chawan (bowl) and hot water poured over the top. It’s then hand-whisked with a bamboo instrument – chasen to create a micro-foam similar to crema in a good cup of coffee. When ordering at Oh Cha Matcha, it’s made at the bar and customers are invited to drink at the same.

Also, on the Classics menu you’ll find Hoijcha Latte (RM 12) – roasted green tea and Genmaicha (RM 12) – genmai (brown) rice with green tea.

#layeryourlatte Drink Your Colours

The most popular items at Oh Cha Matcha are from the Drink Your Colours menu. Layering matcha with local ingredients such as Bentong ginger, calamansi and so on, flavours are familiar with an added nutritional boost. We can’t resist the Beetroot, Blue Spirulina, Matcha (RM 15, 72 calories) for its attractive hues, but it also sports a nice balance of flavours alongside looking fab in the glass. And, just in time for Christmas is Cocoa Matcha (RM 18) with unsweetened 100% pure cocoa. We have it on cashew milk, which I feel gifts a fuller mouthfeel – perfect for chocolate.

#youweus Beauty Series

The Beauty Series of beverages combine matcha with marine collagen from Germany; there’s 5000mg in every drink! An elegant floral layer runs through the Rose Collagen Matcha (RM 16, 39 calories) that we try – a top-seller. It’s slightly more viscous than our previous sips; I’m sure I can feel the plumping effect in my skin already.

Desserts

With all of those healthy beverages on the menu at Oh Cha Matcha, the team thinks that you can have your cake and eat it too as the liquid nutrient boost helps to balance just a little bit of naughty.

Both the Matcha Burnt Cheese Cake (RM12) and Original Burnt Cheese Cake (RM 12) sport just the right amount of sweetness. If you wish to order one to take home, you can also request sugar-free and have one made with stevia instead. The texture is thick and dense, yet there’s a certain level of lightness to it at the same time.

Reasons to visit Oh Cha Matcha TTDI: a fun café with a happy vibe; healthy and approachable matcha drinks; very Instagrammable; loads of dairy-free choices; nutrient boost in a bottle.

Oh Cha Matcha – TTDI (Flagship Store)
130 Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+6 03 7732 0397
https://www.facebook.com/ohchamatcha.kl

Find more KL cafes here and stay up-to-date on the latest gourmet and travel happenings around Malaysia here and here.