The 5 Best Matcha Cafés in Chicago (2026)

World-champion barista Hiroshi Sawada's first U.S. café sits in the heart of the West Loop food corridor, adjacent to Green Street Smoked Meats. Sawada is one of the rare Chicago cafés where matcha receives equal billing with espresso, and the Military Latte — his invented hybrid of matcha, vanilla, espresso, and cocoa powder — has become a Chicago café landmark in its own right. The matcha cortado, which balances matcha and espresso in equal measure, is the more austere option for purists. The space is intimate and Japanese in sensibility: clean lines, no fuss, serious craft.

A Black woman-owned matcha café with a vivid tropical-colour interior that stands apart from the minimalist matcha-bar aesthetic found elsewhere in the city. Owner Bianca Pearson sources ceremonial-grade matcha from Japan and applies it across an inventive menu of flavoured lattes — ube, lavender, and seasonal fruit specials — that regularly sell out before close. The ube matcha latte is the house signature; the layered visual presentation of purple ube and green matcha over oat milk has made it one of the most photographed drinks in Chicago. A River North second location has since opened, confirming the brand's rapid rise.

Opened in 2019, Gathers Tea Bar brought a new-school approach to matcha to the Taylor Street strip, using Yame Fukuoka matcha — the same prized Kyushu growing region used by Bonsai in Barcelona — in its 16oz lattes. Each drink uses a full two teaspoons of matcha powder, making them notably stronger and more flavourful than most competitors. The menu is inventive without being gimmicky: a black sesame swirl and a brown sugar drizzle version are the creative standouts. WTTW Chicago has profiled the shop as a standout independent in the city's café landscape.

A boutique home décor shop and café in one, Altar uses Then & Now matcha from Shogyokuen — a small-batch Kyoto producer — and hand-whisks it to order over your choice of milk. The space is unhurried and aesthetically curated, attracting a design-minded neighbourhood crowd to Chicago Avenue's quieter stretch. Drinks run $6–7; the quality is several levels above the price point. A cold brew with matcha float is the most distinctive seasonal option. One of the most under-the-radar finds in Chicago for matcha enthusiasts who have already done the West Loop circuit.

Chicago's most dessert-focused matcha destination occupies a small but beloved space in the Chinatown arcade. The matcha mille crepe cake — paper-thin crêpe layers with matcha pastry cream — is the dish that launched the café's reputation, and the soft serve with gold leaf is the most theatrical order. Japanese-imported matcha appears in every format on the menu: ice cream, soft serve, crepe cake, soufflé pancake, and cheese mousse cake. For visitors who want to eat their matcha rather than drink it, no other place in Chicago comes close. Open daily from 11:30am.