Editorial note: This is a fictional interview-style story from the MATCHA MAYA AI travel series. The guest, studio and recipes are created for storytelling.
Host: Matcha Maya is a solo traveller who follows matcha culture around the world, one city and one conversation at a time.
Guest: Luiza Tanaka, fictional Brazilian-Japanese pastry creator and founder of Verde Doce Studio in São Paulo.
Location: A small pastry studio near Liberdade, São Paulo. The counter is covered with green cream, cocoa powder, toasted sesame and a tray of tiny matcha brigadeiros.
Matcha Maya Meets Luiza Tanaka
The first dessert I see is almost too beautiful to eat.
It is a small brigadeiro rolled in bright green matcha powder, placed in a white paper cup. Next to it sits a slice of cheesecake with a pale green centre, a dark biscuit base and a spoonful of passionfruit on top.
Luiza Tanaka smiles when she sees me looking at the tray.
Luiza: People always take photos first. Then they ask if the green one is pistachio.
Matcha Maya: And what do you tell them?
Luiza: I tell them it is matcha. Then I give them one to try before they can ask another question.
Luiza is part of a new generation of Brazilian pastry creators using matcha in desserts that feel connected to both Japan and Brazil. Her work is not about copying a Tokyo dessert menu. It is about asking a simple question: what happens when Japanese green tea meets Brazilian sweetness, fruit and celebration?
Matcha Maya: Luiza, why matcha? São Paulo has coffee, chocolate, tropical fruit and so many famous desserts already.
Luiza: Exactly. That is why I love it. Matcha brings bitterness, colour and a little mystery. Brazilian desserts can be rich and sweet. Matcha gives them contrast. It makes people stop after the first bite and think, “What is that flavour?”
From Japanese Tea to Brazilian Celebration
Luiza explains that her grandmother grew up in a Japanese-Brazilian family, where tea was part of everyday life. But the desserts at family parties were Brazilian: brigadeiros, cakes, fruit sweets and trays of things made to share.
Luiza: At home, Japan and Brazil were never separate boxes. We had rice, miso soup and Japanese pickles. We also had pão de queijo, guava paste and birthday parties with brigadeiros. So when I started making desserts, mixing those memories felt natural.
Matcha Maya: Some people can be very strict about traditional food. Do you ever worry that matcha brigadeiro is too much of a fusion idea?
Luiza: No, because I am honest about what it is. I do not say it is an old Japanese recipe. It is a Brazilian brigadeiro inspired by Japanese tea. Respecting tradition does not mean freezing it forever. It means learning where something comes from before you create with it.
That is an important distinction for food travellers. A matcha brigadeiro does not need to be traditional to be meaningful. It becomes interesting because it tells a true story about place, migration and imagination.
In Matcha Maya’s São Paulo guide, the city’s Japanese-Brazilian culture appears through tea, neighbourhood life and conversation. Luiza’s desserts add another chapter: what happens when that history reaches the pastry counter.
The Matcha Brigadeiro Interview
Luiza picks up a wooden spoon and begins stirring condensed milk, cocoa butter and matcha in a small pan.
Matcha Maya: Tell me about the matcha brigadeiro. What makes it work?
Luiza: The balance. A normal brigadeiro is sweet, creamy and chocolatey. With matcha, you need to respect the bitterness. If you use too little matcha, nobody tastes it. If you use too much, the dessert becomes dry and aggressive.
Matcha Maya: So how do you find the balance?
Luiza: I use good-quality matcha, not a sugary green drink mix. I add a little white chocolate for softness, but I do not want it to hide the tea. Then I roll the brigadeiro in matcha powder and toasted sesame. The sesame gives it a nutty finish.
The result is small but memorable. First comes the creamy sweetness of a Brazilian party sweet. Then the matcha arrives: grassy, slightly bitter and almost savoury. Finally, the sesame stays on the tongue.
Luiza: It is a dessert for people who think they do not like matcha. They try one because it is cute. Then they ask for another because it is surprising.
Three Brazilian Ingredients That Love Matcha
Matcha Maya: If I gave you one bag of matcha and sent you to a Brazilian market, what would you buy?
Luiza: Passionfruit first. Then coconut. Then cupuaçu.
Matcha Maya: Why those three?
Luiza: Passionfruit is sharp and bright. It cuts through creamy matcha desserts. Coconut makes matcha softer and more tropical. Cupuaçu is more unusual. It is fruity but also deep, almost like chocolate and pineapple at the same time. It gives matcha a different direction.
Her favourite creation is a matcha cheesecake topped with passionfruit curd. The matcha creates an earthy base; the fruit adds acidity and colour. It looks dramatic on a plate, but Luiza says the flavour matters more than the photograph.
Luiza: Social media is useful, but a dessert should still taste good after the photo. I do not want people to say, “It was very green.” I want them to say, “I want to come back.”
She also makes a coconut-matcha cake with a light sponge, coconut cream and a dusting of matcha. It is inspired by Brazilian celebration cakes, but the green tea keeps the dessert from becoming too heavy.
How to Taste Matcha Desserts Properly
Matcha Maya: I have a serious question. How should somebody eat a matcha dessert without missing the matcha?
Luiza: Do not eat it while drinking a very sweet drink. That is my first rule. If you have a sweet iced coffee or soda, you will lose the tea flavour. Have water, sparkling water or plain tea with it.
Matcha Maya: And what about a matcha latte with a matcha dessert?
Luiza: You can, but choose one simple item. If the dessert is rich, have a plain hot matcha or a less-sweet latte. If the drink is sweet, choose a smaller dessert. Everything needs balance.
This is useful advice for travellers building a café day. Matcha is not only a drink; it can be part of a full tasting experience. In Matcha Maya’s guide to ordering matcha in Japan, the focus is on the tea itself. In São Paulo, matcha often becomes a bridge between tea culture and pastry culture.
A Dessert Creator’s Advice for New Matcha Fans
Matcha Maya: What do you say to someone who tries matcha once and says, “It tastes like grass”?
Luiza laughs.
Luiza: I say, “Yes, a little. That is part of the point.” Matcha comes from tea leaves. It should taste alive. But there are many ways to meet that flavour. You can try it in a latte, in a dessert, in soft serve or in a simple bowl.
Matcha Maya: So people should not force themselves to love the strongest version first?
Luiza: Never. Start where you are comfortable. Food is not an exam.
That is a good rule for travel too. You do not need to understand every tradition immediately. You only need to arrive respectfully and stay curious long enough to learn something.
For more Matcha Maya travel storytelling, explore matcha photography tips for solo travellers. São Paulo’s pastries, street life and vivid green desserts make the city especially rewarding for visual creators.
Matcha Maya’s Final Bite
Before I leave, Luiza hands me a small box of matcha brigadeiros tied with a green ribbon.
Luiza: Take these with you. But do not eat them on the metro. You need a quiet minute for the second one.
Outside, Liberdade is busy again. The pavement is wet from a short rain shower. People hurry past with umbrellas, shopping bags and snacks in paper wrappers. São Paulo feels like a hundred cities speaking at once.
I open the box, take one matcha brigadeiro and understand what Luiza means. The dessert is small, but it carries a whole conversation: Japanese tea, Brazilian celebration, family memory, creative risk and one city’s endless appetite for new ideas.
That is the sweetest lesson from São Paulo. Matcha does not lose its identity when it travels. It finds new flavours to talk to.
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