Forbes’ recent profile of PerfectTed makes one thing clear: matcha is no longer the quiet green drink hiding in wellness cafés. It is becoming a serious coffee alternative, pulled forward by people who still want caffeine, just not the sharp edges that often come with it.
The numbers are hard to ignore. According to Forbes, PerfectTed co-founder Marisa Poster helped build the matcha brand to roughly £50M, or about $67M, in annual recurring revenue within five years. The company has moved from a single matcha SKU into ceremonial-grade powders, ready-to-drink lattes, and even matcha Nespresso pods, with distribution across more than 30,000 retail and café locations in over 50 countries.
Impressive, yes. But the more interesting story is not one company’s retail sprint. It is what the rise says about caffeine culture. People are tired. Not just sleepy tired. Nervous-system tired.
Why is matcha suddenly becoming a coffee alternative?
Coffee is not going away. Nor should it. But the daily double espresso as a personality trait has started to feel a little dated, especially for wellness-focused drinkers who are paying closer attention to anxiety, sleep, blood sugar swings, and that familiar 3 p.m. crash.
Matcha answers a different craving. It still contains caffeine, but its naturally occurring L-theanine gives the experience a softer contour. Many drinkers describe it as calm energy: alert, but not rattled. Focused, but not clenched. That distinction matters in a culture where productivity has too often meant overstimulation with better branding.
Forbes frames matcha’s growth through coffee fatigue, functional drinks, and a consumer shift toward steadier energy. That feels right. The refrigerated beverage aisle is now crowded with cans promising focus, mood, protein, adaptogens, electrolytes, and sometimes what appears to be an entire supplement cabinet in sparkling form. Some of it is useful. Some of it is theater.
Matcha has an advantage because it does not need much theater. At its best, it is simply shade-grown Japanese green tea, stone-ground into a fine powder, whisked with water. Whole leaf. Vivid. A little grassy, a little umami, sometimes creamy and sweet if the quality is there.
What did Forbes get right about matcha quality?
The most important point in the Forbes story may be the least glamorous one: quality and preparation are still the gatekeepers.
A bad first matcha is memorable for all the wrong reasons. Dull khaki powder. Boiling water. Clumps floating like tiny green islands. A taste somewhere between scorched spinach and regret. People try that once and decide matcha is not for them, when really they have met the worst possible version of it.
This is where mainstream growth can become messy. As demand rises, the market fills with shortcuts: sweetened mixes, stale powder, vague sourcing, drinks that are more syrup than tea. Convenience is not the enemy, but pretending all matcha is the same absolutely is.
Good matcha starts with the leaf. Shade-growing encourages a deeper green color and a richer amino acid profile. Careful stone-grinding protects texture. Freshness matters more than most people think. So does water temperature. You do not need a ceremony room in Kyoto, but you do need some respect for the material.
For newcomers, the difference between poor matcha and well-prepared matcha can be immediate. One cup pushes people away. One balanced latte can make them quietly reorganize their morning routine.
What does the next wave of mindful caffeine look like?
The next wave will not be defined by matcha becoming louder, sweeter, or more engineered. That is the predictable Western arc: discover something old, make it faster, add a subscription model, then wonder why the soul went missing.
The more interesting path is slower and better. Authentic matcha, prepared with intention, but flexible enough for real life. A bowl in the morning before emails. An iced latte after a walk. A small whisking ritual that marks a boundary between sleep and the day, or between work and whatever remains of your attention.
For tea lovers who want an approachable starting point, Isshiki’s Signature Ceremonial Matcha Starter Kit: Yabukita Matcha & Whisk keeps things grounded: a classic Japanese cultivar, balanced flavor, and the bamboo chasen needed for proper froth. It is the kind of entry point that helps avoid the sad clumpy cup problem.
If you already know you prefer a more traditional, umami-rich profile, Samidori Single Cultivar Matcha is closer to the quiet end of the spectrum: ceremonial-grade, first flush, from Uji, with the creamy depth that makes plain usucha feel complete without milk or sugar.
Is matcha replacing coffee?
Not exactly. The better question is whether more people are becoming selective about the kind of energy they invite into their day.
Coffee often arrives like a command. Matcha feels more like a suggestion. Sit down. Whisk. Notice the color. Drink before it gets cold. This may sound small, almost too delicate to matter, but rituals become architecture. They shape how the morning begins.
That is why the Forbes story matters beyond the revenue headline. It signals a wider appetite for caffeine that does not bully the body. Matcha’s mainstream moment is here, but the brands that will matter most are not the ones that merely make it more convenient. They are the ones that protect what made it worth drinking in the first place.
Calm energy is not a trend if your nervous system has been asking for it all along.
