MATCHA BYRON
The cornerstone of traditional Japanese tea ceremonies for centuries, matcha is enjoying a
burst of popularity for its health benefits. It’s finely ground green tea whose vibrant colour
is due to the leaves’ high chlorophyll levels, and it’s super-charged with anti-oxidants.
At the farmers’ markets you can now find Ayumu Kishimoto, smiling from behind his Matcha
Byron stall. Some six years in the Byron region, Ayumu started his business in late 2022. ‘I
initially arrived in the Gold Coast,’ he tells me, ‘but couldn’t forget this place after visiting
once. So I came back.’
Ayumu sources his matcha from Uji, a region on the south-east border of Kyoto which is
renowned for its tea and is the birthplace of the Japanese tea ceremony. Its matcha powder
is considered the highest grade in Japan, prepared using the youngest leaves.
It’s typically whisked into either water or milk and offered as a beverage, and at Ayumu’s
stall there’s a variety of ways you can enjoy it: matcha latte (the most popular, according to
Ayumu), roasted green tea, toasted green tea latte, iced latte and bubble (or boba) tea –
with tapioca pearls. You can select what type of milk you prefer – cow, almond, oat or soy –
the sweetness level, and the topping, be it whipped cream or boba. ‘It’s truly enchanting,’
Ayumu tells me, ‘to have the people in Byron Bay, whom I love, appreciate and enjoy the
matcha from Kyoto that I also love.’ He says that the response so far has been positive, with
most people coming back each week, ‘drawn by the rich aroma and deep flavour of matcha,
appreciating the unique balance of bitterness and sweetness.’ In addition, he has customers
who come ‘specifically for the potential health benefits of matcha, and they report
experiencing positive effects after consuming it.’
Ayumu’s past experience as a chef in Japan means there’ll often be his beautiful green
muffins, examples being the Bush Macha ones, studded with white chocolate and pecans, or
the vegan ones with adzuki beans, gluten- and sugar-free. Once it cools down there’ll be
soba noodle soup with matcha incorporated.
I have to ask Ayumu if he himself consumes matcha, in some form, regularly. His reply? ‘To
be honest, I’ve fallen in love with coffee ever since I came to Australia, and since I drink
coffee every morning I only drink about one matcha latte a week. Haha!’
Matcha Byron is at Mullumbimby every Friday from 7 – 11am
Victoria Cosford
Victoria Cosford
