Matcha still shows up

Matcha is still holding prime space on café menus in April 2026, even as spring specials built around rhubarb try to steal some of the attention. (elpueblodeceuta.es, metro.co.uk) El Pueblo de Ceuta reported on April 21 that cafés in Ceuta are adding more matcha drinks and desserts as customers ask what the bright green powder is and how it differs from coffee. The paper said matcha’s appeal there mixes taste, novelty and claims of steadier stimulation than coffee. (elpueblodeceuta.es) Metro reported on April 20 that rhubarb, a tart spring ingredient tied to British desserts, is showing up in seasonal drinks and menus as a rival to matcha’s recent dominance. The piece framed rhubarb as a nostalgic counterweight rather than a replacement for the green tea powder already embedded in cafés. (metro.co.uk) That split says more about menu strategy than a collapse in demand. Cafés are keeping matcha as a year-round fixture while using short-season ingredients like rhubarb to create limited offers and a reason for repeat visits. (elpueblodeceuta.es, metro.co.uk) Big chains are reinforcing that pattern. Starbucks said on January 26 that its 2026 spring menu, launching March 3 in the United States and Canada, would bring back lavender drinks and keep matcha in the seasonal mix, including an iced lavender cream matcha. (about.starbucks.com) Starbucks also rolled out spring merchandise “inspired by matcha and cherry blossoms” starting March 3, another sign that matcha now functions as a recognizable flavor and color cue, not just a niche tea order. (about.starbucks.com) In Ceuta, the local story is less about novelty than normalization. El Pueblo de Ceuta described matcha moving beyond specialty wellness circles and into everyday café menus, where it now sits beside coffee drinks rather than outside them. (elpueblodeceuta.es) Rhubarb’s pitch is different: seasonality, memory and a sharper fruit profile that suits spring. Matcha’s pitch is consistency, visual branding and flexibility across lattes, iced drinks and pastries. (metro.co.uk, elpueblodeceuta.es) So the current menu fight is not matcha versus the next thing so much as matcha plus the next thing. Spring can have its rhubarb moment, but matcha is still showing up when the specials board changes. (metro.co.uk, elpueblodeceuta.es)