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It’s a matcha lover’s paradise at Palo Alto’s newest drink and dessert spot, Maruwu Seicha.
From matcha lattes adorned with fluffy “snow top” to gelato made with ceremonial grade matcha, Maruwu Seicha’s menu boasts a variety of tea-forward treats. The Kyoto-based company has been producing matcha out of its tea farm in Uji, Japan, since 2011 and operates a dozen retail locations throughout the country. Maruwu Seicha opened its first international outpost in San Francisco’s Japantown last year, and on Oct. 20, it soft opened a new cafe in downtown Palo Alto.
“The brand is really focused on quality tea and spreading the (Japanese) culture,” said Peng Chen, who is part of the operation management team for Maruwu Seicha USA.
Uji, the birthplace of the Japanese tea ceremony, produces the highest grade of matcha in Japan due to the region’s geographic location and climate. Maruwu Seicha, located in the former Peninsula Beauty along University Avenue, plans to host Japanese tea masters for its grand opening, likely in a month or two, according to Chen.
Drink offerings at Maruwu Seicha includes matcha lattes with strawberry, fresh taro and mango, as well as matcha lemon soda, lychee matcha, matcha smoothies, hojicha (roasted green tea) lattes and other teas. Add-ons include snow top (a creamy foam made from cream cheese, organic milk, condensed milk and whipping cream) and Okinawa boba (made from Okinawa brown sugar).
“Okinawa brown sugar, or ‘kokuto,’ is a specialty product from Okinawa, Japan, made from sugarcane that is minimally processed to retain more minerals and molasses,” Chen wrote in an email. “This gives the sugar a dark color and a complex, caramel-like taste that’s less sweet and more earthy than standard sugars.”
For dessert, find soft serve in flavors like matcha, Hokkaido milk and ube; cheese tarts in flavors like Hokkaido milk, hojicha and Uji matcha; and gelato – exclusive to the Palo Alto location. Gelato comes in four flavors: Hokkaido milk, hojicha rich chocolate (with a roasted tea concentration of 7.9%), matcha pistachio (with a matcha concentration of 5.9%) and matcha no. 3 made with ceremonial grade matcha (with a matcha concentration of 11.5%).
Chen said Maruwu Seicha’s goal is to give customers the “feeling they’re actually in Kyoto having a matcha, but at the same time, they could be studying, they could be talking to friends, they could be talking about business … to become a place where people can just relax.”
Maruwu Seicha, 250 University Ave., Unit 101, Palo Alto; Instagram: @maruwuseichausa. Open Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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