Pineapple, coconut & matcha tea — Tiya SF
The piña colada is one of the most widely drunk cocktails on earth — but Tiya's zero-proof Matcha Colada transforms the template entirely with matcha. Ceremonial-grade Japanese matcha adds a profound vegetal bitterness and grassy depth that cuts through the coconut's richness in a way rum never could. The pineapple keeps the drink tropical. The coconut connects it to South Indian coastal cooking (coconut is the defining fat of Tamil Nadu and Kerala cuisine). The matcha is the unexpected link — green tea has been used in South India (Ooty, the Nilgiris, Darjeeling) for over a century. Tiya finds the connection and builds a drink from it.
Ceremonial-grade matcha (the type used for tea ceremony) has a more vibrant green colour and sweeter, less bitter flavour than culinary matcha. Ippodo, Marukyu Koyamaen, and Encha are reliable brands. Do not use boiling water for matcha — it makes it bitter. Dissolve the powder first before adding the other ingredients, or the drink will have lumps.
Tiya takes the intersecting immigrant histories of San Francisco's Japanese and Indian communities and distils them into a cocktail menu. Each drink is named after a San Francisco neighborhood, building a portrait of the city through layered flavour — yuzu meets curry leaf, matcha meets chai, Calpico meets tamarind. A genuinely original vision in American craft bartending.
Visit tiyasf.com