CLEVELAND, Ohio –Matcha has come a long way from its role as a ritual beverage in Asian culture. It’s considered a health food in today’s wellness movement. Consumption is expected to grow dramatically in the next five years. Northeast Ohioans are seeing pop up in coffee shops everywhere.
Fans of the specialty green tea, Christina and Mike Boris are opening Enclave Matcha & More, a matcha café in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. While they will focus on matcha beverages and baked goods, they will also sell other caffeinated drinks. They are also working to acquire a liquor license to keep Enclave busy through the early evening.
Matcha, like green tea, comes from the Asian plant Camellia sinensis. However, it’s grown in shade to increase chlorophyll production and influence plant chemistry. This gives it a different nutrient profile from green and black tea.
That’s a good thing. According to Harvard Publishing, “Matcha contains an abundance of antioxidants and phytochemicals … These substances may have some positive effects on our health, particularly when they are consumed in foods that naturally contain them.”
The Borises appreciate its gentler caffeine delivery.
“Matcha is a nicer caffeine distribution,” said Mike. “You smoothly get the caffeine buzz and roll off, unlike the spike coffee gives you.”
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They’re not just fans of matcha. Both Mike and Christina have more than a decade of experience working in food service. She most recently worked as a bartender at Masthead Brewing in Cleveland and worked in production at Blackbird Baking Company in Lakewood. He has worked in chain restaurants.
“We’ve always had a passion to open our own place,” said Christina.
The couple wants to open Enclave in time for Halloween, if construction goes as planned. The café will have 18 seats inside and, next year, another 20 or so on an outdoor patio.
“We really want a cozy space that’s a lot of plants, art, books with good music and great service,” said Mike. “We want to connect with people and give them a good reason to come back.
“The building we’re going to be working out of is perfect,” he said. “It’s right off main strip with space for patio. It’s an old building with history.”
The building, at 2258 W. 10th Street, Cleveland, is, in fact, a pre-Civil War structure.
The Borises named the shop after Enclave Coffee House, a favorite and now-shuttered shop in downtown Willoughby.
“It was a great place to hang out with our friends,” said Christina. “It closed down 10 or 12 years ago. It’s our tribute to the place where we grew up.”
Matcha comes in several grades depending on how it’s been cultivated. Ceremonial-grade matcha, the highest grade, comes from the youngest tea leaves. This will be served at Enclave.
“We worked a lot over the summer making connections and making sure we got a high-quality product to bring to Cleveland,” said Mike.
They noted that matcha imports are more expensive because of the 25% tariffs on Japanese products but said drinks will remain affordable.
“We’re obsessed with matcha,” said Mike. “We’ve been drinking it exclusively for years now. We want to be the first matcha café in Cleveland.”
The shop will also sell cold-pressed juice and small bites of food. On the sweet side, these bites will include matcha ice cream, matcha cookies and matcha cream puffs.
