astoria, queens · matcha latte
Matcha showed up on Nova's chalkboard the same way it shows up everywhere now — as a latte. But the powder in the tin has a longer story than the drink does, one that starts about 1,200 years before Astoria did.
Where Matcha Comes From
Powdered tea started in China, where Tang and Song dynasty tea-drinkers steamed and dried tea leaves, then ground them into powder and whisked it with hot water. The practice traveled to Japan with Zen Buddhist monks — most famously the monk Eisai, who brought tea seeds and the whisking method back from China in the late 12th century. In Japan, it evolved into something more formal: chanoyu, the tea ceremony, where matcha became the centerpiece of a whole philosophy of hospitality and attention.
True matcha still starts as shade-grown tea leaves (tencha), deveined and stone-ground into a fine, bright green powder — a slower, more deliberate process than regular loose-leaf tea, which is part of why good matcha costs more than a tea bag. The matcha latte — matcha whisked or blended with steamed milk — is a modern, mostly Western invention, but the powder itself is carrying thirteen centuries of history into the cup.
On the café side, matcha shows up as a straightforward Matcha Latte, hot or iced, sized S/M/L. On the juice bar side, it gets blended into Matcha Me Happy — kale, spinach, green apple, matcha and almond milk — for anyone who wants their matcha with breakfast built in.
Both live right on Nova's regular boards, no separate ceremony required — just order at whichever counter you're standing at.
If you're searching for matcha near the N/W train in Astoria, Nova's at 41-02 30th Ave — a couple of blocks from the Astoria Blvd station, with both a hot and an iced version on the board every day. More on the neighborhood →
We use a quality culinary-grade matcha suited for lattes and smoothies, where it's whisked or blended with milk rather than prepared traditionally with just water.
Yes — ask for your matcha latte with a non-dairy milk; most of our juice and smoothie menu is already dairy-free-friendly on request.
Grassy, slightly vegetal and a little bitter on its own, which is why it's usually balanced with steamed milk in a latte, or with fruit in a smoothie like our Matcha Me Happy.
41-02 30th Ave, Astoria, Queens — two blocks from the N/W train.
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