Matcha Fest is set for Saturday at SeatGeek Stadium for its first Chicago edition — giving the shade-grown green tea powder gets its biggest regional stage yet.
The event marks a milestone for the festival, which has held green tea-loving gatherings in Orlando, Atlanta, and Tampa. Organizers said they expect the Saturday afternoon affair to be the largest so far, drawing thousands of attendees to sample matcha vendors, food offerings and, get this, cuddle puppies while lounging on the stadium’s lush soccer pitch.
Gavin Blatch, a Miami artist, promoter and event founder, sees Matcha Fest as more than just a marketplace.
“Community and third space is why matcha grows at this rate outside of the amazing products and the support it brings to local businesses,” Blatch said.
“We travel from state to state with our main goal to bring thousands of people there, but what that does is allow local businesses to retain and gain new customers who never got a chance to try their matcha. We’ve seen it in Miami. We’ve seen it in Tampa. We’ve seen it in Atlanta — people have gathered lifetime customers through this one event.”
Matcha Fest runs from noon to 6 p.m. Tickets range from $20.83 to $62.48, depending on parking and tote bag add-ons, with a limited-edition tote bag included in higher-tier packages.
A variety of local matcha food and beverage brands — from pop-ups to a Kazakh café — are bringing their flavors to the event, including:
• MatchaCita Chi — A full matcha café in Fulton Market serving Japanese matcha drinks, creative flavored lattes, catering and events.
• Hawa Hospitality — Chicago-based specialty café pop-ups offering matcha, coffee, mocktails and event beverage setups, sourcing ceremonial-grade matcha and house-made syrups like pandan vanilla and ube.
• TARY Chicago — Kazakh café and restaurant brand featuring baursak, qattama, cottage cheese pancakes, porridge and espresso drinks.
• Chibi Bloom Cafe — Pop-up café serving Japanese matcha, Vietnamese robusta coffee and custom desserts, sourcing Uji and Yame matcha.
• Matcha Moo Tea — Chicago matcha pop-up bar offering pickup, delivery, markets and event pop-ups.
A large photo booth sponsored by matcha.com — the wellness platform founded by integrative medicine pioneer Dr. Andrew Weil — will anchor interactive experiences throughout the day. A DJ will set the vibe from noon to close.
So what exactly is matcha?
It’s a finely ground powder made from shade-grown green tea leaves. Unlike regular tea, you consume the whole leaf — delivering a concentrated dose of L-theanine, an amino acid linked to calm, focused energy without the jitters.
It’s also loaded with antioxidants tied to reduced inflammation and faster metabolism. For the wellness crowd, matcha has become a cultural shorthand for intentional living. Its versatility only adds to the appeal: matcha works in lattes, baked goods, smoothies, and cocktails.
That vivid green color doesn’t hurt on Instagram either.
“Chicago is going to be the biggest Matcha Fest yet,” Blatch said. “We’re ready.”
Matcha-holics can find each other on instagram, @thematchafest.