Two young New Yorkers who import matcha tea from Japan for their Brooklyn café and store are exporting it back with a Brooklyn twist.
Graham Fortgang, 23, and his brother Max, 25, launched MatchaBar in Williamsburg in September.
The café, where they sell matcha green tea ($3.25 for small, and $5 and up for signature flavors such as a Matcha chai latte), appeals to a younger audience in the area, which includes “Mad Men” actress Kiernan Shipka and the DJ Chelsea Leyland.
Recently the brothers did a pop-up in Tokyo, where the lines stretched for blocks to try their iced matcha latte, Fuji apple ginger iced matcha and vanilla almond matcha lattes.
The duo have been approached to set up a permanent store in Tokyo selling their “Brooklyn style” matcha, Julie Earle Levine reports.


