Raw Matcha wasn't born in a boardroom or a business plan. It was born from a genuine obsession.

Soph discovered matcha over 12 years ago — long before it appeared on cafe menus or filled anyone's Instagram feed. She fell for it immediately. The calm, focused energy it gave her. The ritual of preparing it. The way it made her feel grounded and clear-headed in a way that coffee never quite managed. For Soph, matcha wasn't a trend to follow. It was something she'd already been living.

While studying Nutritional Medicine at university, the idea of building a matcha brand was never far from her mind. Lectures competed with logo sketches. Assignments competed with hours spent researching tea farms in Japan. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that this was where she was headed.

In 2021, she and her then boyfriend Mat, just one year into their relationship — went halves on their first bulk matcha order. It was equal parts romantic and ridiculous. Neither of them had run a product business before. But they believed in the product completely, and that was enough to start.

The early days were humbling and wonderful in equal measure. Mat and Soph spent weekends at local markets, setting up their little operation and making matcha lattes on the spot for anyone who would try one. Most people had no idea what matcha was. They explained it again and again, patiently and enthusiastically, to anyone who would listen.

At the time, Soph was working at The Kiosk on Newcastle Beach and even there, she was the only one drinking matcha. She'd bring her own to work and sip on what her colleagues affectionately called "that weird green stuff." The laughs were plentiful. But Soph was convinced matcha was going to take off, and eventually she convinced her boss to put it on the menu.

He took the risk. The Kiosk became Raw Matcha's very first cafe stockist and it still holds a very special place in their hearts.

The word spread from there.

Today, Raw Matcha is stocked in over 40 cafes across NSW and supported by a community of online customers who care deeply about quality, wellness, and knowing where their food comes from. Soph and Mat, now engaged, run the business together, with the same values they started with: source only the best, be completely transparent about what's in the tin, and share the beauty of matcha with as many people as possible.

Every batch is first harvest, ceremonial grade matcha from a small, family-run farm in Uji, Japan. No fillers. No added flavours. No shortcuts. Just pure, stone-ground green tea leaves, prepared the way they've been prepared in Japan for centuries.

One cup at a time, that's the mission — and it still feels like it's just getting started.