Matchas in London That Feel Good and Not Jittery – AKA The Perfect Pre-Workout Spots

Love you, matcha. Some invisible string clearly ties us – mainly because you’re the only one that’s actually good for me, my digestion and my slightly unhinged anxiety levels.

My relationship with matcha might be the most complicated thing my nervous system has ever committed to. Back in my late teens, when I first got into working out, I was fully devoted to green tea and English breakfast. But as my training evolved into more cardio-heavy chaos – HIIT, spin, long runs – the gentle 2% caffeine situation just wasn’t cutting it anymore. My love affair with matcha began in Hong Kong, when an all-matcha café called Matchali opened right next to the spin studio where I practically lived. They had everything – collagen add-ins, milk swaps, and drinks featuring turmeric and butterfly pea. At the time, it felt revolutionary for Hong Kong to do, and it was a definite upgrade from your average roadside bubble tea (I can say that – I’m from there). That said, I’ve had my fair share of coffee flings too. I’ve bounced between orders trying to find “the one,” and I’ve landed on a cortado with regular milk. For a moment, I stuck to only drinking coffee, multiple times a day, but it always ended in me burning out by the end of the week and having a Cartoon Network-level crash-out. Matcha packs significantly more caffeine than your standard brewed green tea – around 60–80mg per 8-ounce serving, compared to 25–40mg. But beyond the numbers, matcha releases its energy slowly, meaning no dramatic crash like the one that follows a cup of coffee.  Fast forward to my spin instructor life in London, and I’ve finally nailed my routine: coffee in the morning, maybe a matcha in the afternoon before evening classes. I’ve become borderline obsessive about finding matcha that’s authentic, vibrant, and strong. Because yes, colour matters. If your matcha is giving sage, pistachio gelato, or anything vaguely dull – come to class, we need to talk.

So here are my favourite matcha places in London to visit before or after a workout class. These picks are easy to digest, will pick you up in the afternoon and are approved by a very opinionated panel of Asian women with extremely high standards. 1. Katsute 100 Brick Lane 2. Abuelo (their vanilla foam is everything) 3. Jenki (only weirdos hate this place) 4. Konveni 5. Arome 6. Omotesando Koffee 7. Matchado 8. Tsujiri