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dark cafe desk with phone, matcha latte, and book.
dark cafe desk with phone, matcha latte, and book.
Photo by Jakub Kapusnak from Foodies Feed
SBU | Life > Experiences

Matcha and Me

Stephanie Karl Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Anyone who has had a class with me has probably seen me with a matcha in hand. Sometimes it’s one I made myself before class, sometimes it is from La Verna, and sometimes it is from the Starbucks in Olean. No matter where it is from, I always have one in at least my first class of the day. Some days I have more than one matcha, but hey a girl has to get through the day somehow lol. 

I am sure many are thinking right now, how do you like something that many say tastes like grass? Personally, I do not think that it tastes like grass. I cannot explain what it tastes like but to me it is heaven. I am not a fan of coffee because I do not like the taste and view it as bitter, but somehow, I like Starbucks’ new unsweetened matcha powder and I remove the classic syrup that they add to make it sweet, because I like my matcha bitter. Weird I know. 

I make my sister try my matcha every time we go to Starbucks together (which is often) and every time she says, “You have bad taste in drinks”. Maybe I am weird for liking matcha, but I do not care. Matcha has just enough caffeine to get through a long day of classes or a long work shift, it has different health benefits, and it has gotten me through undergrad. 

Claire Fisher said to me the first week of classes that it feels right in the world when I have a matcha and she’s not wrong. Loving matcha has become part of personality, so you know it was a rough morning if I did not make time to either make or buy a matcha before class. 

Matcha has become a part of my personality, and I do not hate it. Being known for needing a matcha is not a bad thing because there are worse things to be known for. Plus, it is true. When I started writing this article, I was drinking matcha I made before class. On Monday, La Verna was out of matcha, so I asked my roommate to pick up my mobile order from Starbucks and bring it to me at work. 

There is nothing wrong with getting the same drink everyday if you know what you like. I would rather enjoy my drink then get something I do not like just to fit in with all of the coffee lovers. There is nothing wrong with loving matcha. 

Stephanie Karl

SBU '25

Stephanie is a new member of St. Bonaventure's Her Campus. She plans to write about politics, music, pop culture, college and life in general.

Stephanie is a senior political science major and a communication minor. She is also the SBU College Democrats Student Government Representative, Vice President of the SBU Fitness Club, and a member of the SBU Dance Team.

In her free time, Stephanie likes to hang with her friends, watch The West Wing, listen to her favorite artists which include Niall Horan, Taylor Swift, and Isak Danielson, and walk with her mom and dog. Stephanie can frequently be found with an Iced Matcha Latte in her hand.