Matcha Addiction: Uji Cha (Malaysia) matcha latte

This place popped up in one of Malaysia's suburbs recently. There used to be a Tsujiri matcha house there, but they seem to have been replaced by this locally-owned outlet Uji Cha. (Uji Cha is actually the name of a traditional green tea produced in the Uji region in Japan; but I can't find any reference to this cafe chain being in Japan, and Google lists it as a Malaysian company.) The  branding and imagery for this store actually looks a lot like the previous cafe, though!

It's a shame that the Tsujiri franchise shut down, but I was curious to try its replacement on a recent visit. 

Unfortunately in Malaysia - now one of the world's leaders for diabetes and obesity - it is hard to get away from ultra-sugar and chemicals in foods. (A subject for another post, I think!) And things like sugar being addictive, a vicious cycle has emerged - where shops add more of it to their products - because the addicted public now prefer to buy items which have even higher sugar / chemical content. For me (having resided in healthier places like Singapore and London) I was thus slightly suspicious of what the recipes might be in this locally-run place. Japanese desserts and drinks are famously low on sweetness - which is part of their appeal. Would this Japanese-branded store offer authenticity?

In short: no! Unlike its predecessor, this cafe offers a menu far more focused on high-sugar desserts, with Americanised additions like chocolate chips and candy toppings. And when I inquired regarding their matcha latte, the staff - a friendly duo who used to work at the Tsujiri too! - warned me that the matcha latte would be very sweet and I might not like it. So I asked if they could serve me one with minimum syrup/sugar added. And they kindly obliged! 

The matcha latte was made using the traditional bowl/whisk method, which was quite nice. Though sugar is still added. Then the hot milk is poured in. The 'regular' portion costs the same as Tsujiri's, but you get a smaller cup for the price. 

The verdict: 
The drink had a bitter edge to it, from the actual matcha powder added. This is good. But the overall experience was very much like hot water + sugar + a small amount of matcha. Not much creaminess or depth. And it was still very sweet, even though they had added only a fraction of the recipe's sugar quota. 

For the small portion for my price, this was disappointing. And the drink was not good enough to go back for. My overall advice would be to get your matcha elsewhere. (You can check my Matcha Addiction label on this blog for reviews of better places!)

It might even have to be *gasp!* Starbucks 'without syrup' packet matcha for me, if I visit that suburb again!