Matcha bar, Kaimukī, Honolulu

Whisked slow. Served bright.

Stone-ground matcha from two family farms in Uji and Yame, whisked to order in a real bowl. Come sit for ten minutes. Or take an iced latte to the beach.

Order for pickup See the menu
2farms we buy from
40 secwhisk per bowl
0added sugar by default
A bowl of frothy whisked matcha
Usucha, ceremonial gradeWhisked in a Mashiko bowl, $7
Our matcha

Three grades. One rule: it has to taste green.

Matcha turns dull and bitter when it sits. We buy small tins every three weeks and keep them cold. If it isn't bright green, we don't serve it.

Uji, Kyoto

Ceremonial

First-flush leaves, shaded 30 days. Sweet, creamy, a little like fresh peas. Used for bowls and koicha.

Bowls & koicha
Yame, Fukuoka

Daily

Rounder and nuttier. Stands up to milk without going flat. Every latte and tonic starts here.

Lattes & tonics
Uji, Kyoto

Kitchen

Later harvest with more grip. Goes into soft serve, cookies, and the weekend matcha tiramisu.

Sweets
Bamboo whisk and sieve over a patterned bowlMatcha tasting set on a wooden table
Our story

A surf shop, a whisk, and a lot of practice.

Keani Akana spent two years in Kyoto teaching English and learning tea on weekends. Back home, she started whisking bowls out of the back of her cousin's surf shop on Waialae Ave. People came for wax and stayed for the matcha.

In 2022 the surf shop moved and Tidepool took over the space. The board racks are now shelves for bowls, each one made by a potter we know by name.

— Keani, owner & whisker-in-chief
Visit

On Waialae, across from the bakery.

Twelve seats inside, a bench out front. Street parking on 12th Ave and a lot behind the building after 5pm.

Plate of mochi with matcha filling
3611 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 555-0173, aloha@tidepoolmatcha.example

Hours

MondayClosed
Tuesday8am – 4pm
Wednesday8am – 4pm
Thursday8am – 4pm
Friday8am – 6pm
Saturday7am – 6pm
Sunday7am – 3pm
Order ahead

Your bowl, whisked when you walk in.

Order online and pick a time. We start whisking when you check in, so the foam is still standing when you take your first sip.

Start an order