When people talk about matcha these days, it's usually attached to the idea of a "lifestyle". The stereotypes connected to the drink abound: the Pilates-doing girlie, the health-conscious modern hippie, the devoted yogi.
There is at least some truth to the cliches: matcha, that unctuous and divisively savoury grass-green beverage, has a litany of health benefits, and has rapidly become synonymous with an aesthetic, the way coffee suddenly did with hipsters in the early 2010s.
The difference now, however, is that matcha fanatics are as conscious of how the drink aids their health as how well it photographs.
But when Nastya Kharytonova, the founder and creative director behind matcha brand OMMA, talks about matcha and lifestyles, she's doing so from a very specific, ancient context.
That is, monks.
"Matcha was brought to Japan from China and it was used first by monks for meditation, to prolong their actual focus and stillness", she tells me when we meet at the OMMA pop-up matcha bar in Brown Thomas's Planet Beauty shop.
On top of living in Japan with a tea farming family for a number of months in 2024, Nastya also went "to the temples and stayed with the monks to see how tea is affecting their lifestyle, their process to reach enlightenment".
"I tried to study it from so many different angles", she adds, from processing, harvesting and cultivating to brewing. She even studied sado, the traditional tea ceremony, under the guidance of the family's grandmother, who has 60 years of experience in the ceremony.
The Ukrainian entrepreneur, who has been living in Ireland for six years, fell in love with matcha during a time of upheaval: Covid-19.
"I was kind of really exhausted [by] the digital reality so I was looking for more of a sensual ritual to add to my day, and I couldn't drink coffee because it makes me really anxious. I never was a coffee drinker, actually", she says.
Matcha, made from green tea leaves, has slightly less caffeine than coffee as well as the amino acid l-theanine, which supports mental calmness. This means that the boost of energy is slower and tempered by the l-theanine.
This is one reason for the matcha boom in recent years. "Except for the health benefits, I think it's also the colour that makes it really attractive through the social media. Even the 'brat summer' last summer, or things like this, just those trends which pop up", Nastya says.
"For me especially, it's the effect on how it makes me feel. It has caffeine, it has quite a lot of it, a bit less than in coffee, but it also has the amino acid L-theanine which calms you down. For me this was revolutionary I would say."
After trying some "okay" matchas around Dublin, she wondered what the "authentic" version would taste like and took matters into her own hands. "I just shot a few emails to farmers back then, in Japan. I don't know why I immediately thought I want to go to the origins. I couldn't because it was closed [due to travel restrictions], so I just thought I will try."
Soon, a mini supply chain of one was established, with farmers sending samples of matcha for Nastya to try and to develop her palate with. She was attracted to the flavours, she says, but also the practice. "It really drew me into this moving meditation feeling, which was really, really special."
She started running tea ceremony workshops to introduce customers to the matcha, educating them in the same way the Japanese farmers educated her. "That was where those ah-ha moments of people [happened] when they tried a really good matcha and they were like, oh wow, so that's how it's supposed to taste like actually."
Now, Nastya sources her matcha from one family, the one that she stayed with for months and learned from. OMMA uses okumidori matcha which has a naturally sweet flavour, but they also offer samidori, "pure matcha" which has a more savoury umami flavour - perfect for seasoned matcha lovers who want to explore more.
Beverages include a matcha and yuzu tonic, hojicha latte and matcha with blood orange.
The focus on ceremonial grade matcha - sourced from the farms in the first harvest and premium quality - extends to their dessert offering, a mouth-watering assortment of emerald green delights including matcha brownies, matcha chocolate and matcha-filled mochi, alongside Japanese-inspired treats like fruit sandos, Swiss rolls and canneles - which, I can attest, are extremely decadent.
Just like those French-Japanese treats, OMMA is a mix of influences: the sweet treats are supplied by Kasuteira, a Ukrainian brand, Offcuts Bakery and Gopan, an authentic Japanese bakery.
Keeping an authentic and respectful connection to Japan was a focus for Nastya, with two Japanese women joining the team "to bring the full authenticity as they are from the country and they know all of the rituals. They studied sado, the tea ceremony", Nastya says. They join many more Ukrainian employees and "one Irish guy, Adam".
It's clear Nastya is as proud to work with so many of her fellow Ukrainians in her brand: "For me it's about, through this project, giving a voice to the Ukrainian community in a really meaningful way, so show actually the Ukrainian talents and show how special and how great they are. Especially in those times when it's so difficult for us."
