About Yōko Matcha
Yōko Matcha is a Japanese matcha brand founded in Miami in 2016 by Chié Dambara. We bring matcha from Shizuoka, Japan, to home kitchens and café counters.
Japanese roots, Miami sunshine—and room to make your matcha your own.
The name behind the brand
Yōko Matcha is named after Chié’s grandmother, Yōko Dambara, who practiced chadō, the way of tea. Raised by her in Japan, Chié carries that legacy through the brand.
From Tokyo to Miami
What began as one woman’s personal turning point became a Miami matcha business, a café and, today, a Japanese matcha powder brand.
Before Yōko Matcha
Chié Dambara was born in Spain, raised in Tokyo and moved to the United States in 2009 to study communications at Boston University. Her work would later bring together marketing, Japanese tea and the city that became Yōko Matcha’s first home.
2015
After learning she carried a BRCA1 mutation associated with a high risk of breast cancer, Chié chose a preventive double mastectomy at age 24 and came to Miami for her surgeries and recovery. During that difficult chapter, her connection to Japan—and to the tea her grandmother loved—stayed close.
2016
Inspired by her grandmother, Chié founded Yōko Matcha and returned to Shizuoka to source Japanese matcha. In October 2016, four months after her surgery, the brand debuted at the Miami Half Ironman. Customers lined up to try it, even in a city where matcha was still unfamiliar and early tasters sometimes said it tasted like seaweed.
2017
Yōko Matcha found a home at The Wynwood Yard, a lively Miami venue where music, community events and growing curiosity about matcha helped the brand take root. While building the business, Chié also navigated several cancer scares and seven additional surgeries.
2019
A permanent Wynwood storefront followed in 2019. The café became known for its matcha pastelitos and gave more people a first taste of Japanese matcha with Miami personality.
Today
The café chapter has closed, but the story continues. Yōko Matcha is now a matcha powder brand serving home kitchens, cafés and wholesale partners with Japanese matcha from Shizuoka.
A closer look at the tea
Our Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha starts with first-harvest, single-cultivar Yabukita from Hon-Yama, Shizuoka. The shade-grown leaves are made into tencha—the tea leaves used to make matcha—then bead-milled in Japan.
Smooth umami, natural sweetness and a clean finish, with no added sugar or flavoring. Whisk it with water or add your favorite milk. A little sweet? That’s up to you.
Your cup, your way
A bowl at home, an iced latte or a whole café menu. Start with the matcha that fits what you’re making.
For your home
Our JAS Organic 30g tin and 50g pouch are made for drinking with water or milk. Find the format, preparation details and current availability on the product page.
For cafés & kitchens
Explore non-organic ceremonial matcha in 500g bags or cases of 48, plus 500g culinary matcha for baking and blended drinks. Compare the products and order directly.
A few good questions
The people, the tea and the details. Looking for something else? We’re happy to help.
Chié Dambara founded Yōko Matcha in Miami in 2016. The brand is named after her grandmother, Yōko Dambara, who raised her in Japan and practiced chadō, the way of tea.
No. Our retail Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha in the 30g tin and 50g pouch is JAS Organic. Our wholesale ceremonial matcha in 500g bags and cases is non-organic. Check each product page for its own specifications.
Our ceremonial matcha is first-harvest, single-cultivar Yabukita from Hon-Yama in Shizuoka, Japan. It is bead-milled in Japan. Learn more about our matcha.
Start with our Matcha 101 guide for preparation and storage, or ask us a question. Whether you like water, milk, hot or iced, there’s room to make it your own.
