Matcha isn’t the issue
It’s not about the drink
We love to hate matcha. Some of us are building our entire online personality on the back of that unfiltered disdain.
But the real problem isn’t the drink. It’s mistaking stubbornness for clarity.
In specialty coffee, saying no feels like strength. We’re focused. We don’t chase trends. We know who we are.
Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes it’s just ego dressed up as principle.
A vision is a bet
A vision is not sacred. It’s a bet.
You are betting that this offer, at this price, for this audience, in this location, will generate enough revenue to justify its existence.
That’s it.
When customers repeatedly ask for something you don’t offer, they’re not challenging your identity. They’re stress testing your bet.
And how you respond to that tells you whether you’re thinking clearly or protecting a story.
You’re confusing things
Every business has a core and a format.
Core is what you stand for. Quality. Hospitality. Craft. Discipline.
Format is how you currently express that. Coffee only. Limited menu. Premium pricing. No alternative drinks.
Core is principle. Format is structure.
Core should be defended. Format should be examined.
Founders confuse the two all the time.
They start treating the structure as if it were sacred. They speak about a menu decision as if it were a moral decision.
It isn’t. It’s operational.
What actually happens
Sales stop growing. Margins tighten. The shop is less and less busy.
You explain it away. It’s the season. It’s inflation. It’s the economy.
And maybe it is.
Or maybe your format no longer fits the market the way it used to.
If your numbers are strong, good. Keep going. You’re being disciplined.
If your numbers are weak and you still refuse to question the format, you are not defending standards. You are avoiding discomfort.
The opposite mistake is just as weak
Some operators swing the other way. They see demand change and immediately add everything. New categories. New SKUs. New noise.
The menu grows. The team gets stretched. The brand blurs. That’s not good business. That’s insecurity.
Both rigidity and panic come from ego. One refuses to adapt because change feels like loss. The other adapts blindly because it never understood what mattered in the first place.
Real discipline sits in the middle.mTest properly. Measure properly. Then decide.
Without pride.
If it wasn’t yours
Here’s the real test.
If this wasn’t your café, if you were advising someone else with the same numbers and the same signals, what would you tell them?
Would you tell them to protect the current format? Or would you tell them to adjust it while keeping the core intact?
Be honest.
If your advice changes once your identity is removed, you’ve found the problem. You’re not protecting the business. You’re protecting yourself.
The point
The market wanting matcha does not mean you must serve matcha. But it is information.
Strong visions refine themselves when confronted with information. Weak visions hide behind them.
If you cannot separate core from format, you will mistake evolution for betrayal. And when that happens, you don’t lose your standards. You lose relevance.
Matcha was never the issue. Your judgement was.