Speaking with Someone at a Tea Restaurant in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Area
Host: A tea restaurant owner in Sukhumvit, BangkokGuest: Matcha Maya — A solo travel girl who blogs about matcha around the world
Location: A small tea house sits on Sukhumvit Soi 5555, Bangkok. There are wooden tables inside. In the afternoon, light comes in through bamboo blinds. You can smell whisked matcha and steamed rice in the air.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: I want to begin with the question that all the people who come into this shop ask me when they see you here with your notebook and camera. Who is Matcha Maya?
Matcha Maya: Laughs. That's a hard one to explain without telling a long story. Matcha Maya is the name I use for myself when I go into a tea house by myself. I order a bowl of matcha and talk to the person at the counter. She's not a persona I made for the internet. She is who I became when I stopped waiting for someone else to travel with me.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: That's honest. So the blog — MATCHA MAYA — started because of solo travel, not because of matcha?
Matcha Maya: Both. But the order of things is important. I did not just wake up one day and feel crazy about matcha, then want to build a brand around it. I had already been traveling by myself. I already knew how it felt to walk into a café alone and order for just one. There is a bit of awkwardness when you sit with your own thoughts like that. I saw that matcha is what helped people start talking to each other.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: How so?
Matcha Maya: In Tokyo, I was at a counter. The barista saw me taking a photo of the whisk. He told me about the grade between the matcha used for making drinks and the matcha used for special events. In Uji, the wife of a tea farmer let me into her kitchen. I asked her about where the leaves come from. In Bali, I spent an hour with a café owner. We talked about how matcha helped her stomach feel better. Each time I tried matcha, it helped me connect with people. Some people care about matcha a lot. You can find it in Tokyo, Bangkok, London, Nairobi, and São Paulo. One cup is all it takes for a good story.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: That’s a nice way to say it. But I run a tea house. I have to think about real things. When did you know this could be more than just a simple travel diary? When did it become a blog with a clear goal?
Matcha Maya: About six months in, I was sitting in a small tea room in Kyoto. The owner came from a long line of tea shop owners. He was the sixteenth person in his family to run the place. Sixteen generations. I started to think about what I do with my time. I post Instagram stories that go away after a day. I type notes in my phone that nobody ever sees. I wanted to make something that stays. Something that brings together the people who grow matcha, the people who serve it, and the people who travel to find it. That was the moment I stopped seeing it as "my travel blog." I began to see it as a project whereI keep records. One bowl. One local story. Every continent.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: Every continent. That’s a big goal.
Matcha Maya: Yes, it is. But I do not see it like a list I need to finish. I see it as a promise I make to myself and to the people I talk to. When I sit with a café owner in Warsaw or meet a tea master in Seoul, I do not just gather stories. I am showing them that what they say is important. I want to share their story with people who should know it. The plan, going from one continent to the next, is just the shape we use. The heart of this work is in the talks we have.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: You talked about interviews. It looks like this is the main thing you do. Why do you choose interviews? Why not just tell about your own time and what you feel?
Matcha Maya: Because my experience is only one side. The café owner's experience is like a full library. When I talk with someone, I learn things I could never get by just reading about matcha online. A chef in Paris learned to mix matcha with dark chocolate from trying different ways for years. A tea farmer in Nairobi talks about Kenyan purple tea and how it is not the same as Japanese matcha—you won’t get that from a quick online search. Talking to people like this lets me and you hear stories that are new and real. That’s what the blog is all about. It’s not just me at Matcha Maya telling you who is right or what is best. It’s Matcha Maya bringing you the people who really know.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: That shows why every post has the same feel. You meet the person. You learn about their city. You read about their first memory of matcha. You read about a local order you can try. There is advice for solo travellers. It feels like something you know but it does not feel like a set pattern.
Matcha Maya: It took me some time to figure out how to set things up. The posts at the start were a bit messy. Sometimes, I shared too much about myself. Other times, I only listed facts. I saw that the people who read and returned wanted both. They liked the real story and helpful advice. They wanted to feel part of it, like they were with us at the table. They wanted to know what to get if they went to that city. So now, I include both in every post.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: You said you plan to make a 12-week content calendar. That has an SEO guide every week and an interview every week. It is a lot to do for one person who travels alone.
Matcha Maya: Nods. Yes, that’s true. The hobby SEO approach I talk about with my SEO Hobby Expert friends is about showing up again and again, not trying to make things perfect. You do not need to write the best guide to matcha in every city all at once. You share what you know now, then link it to the next part later. As time passes, your group of posts gets bigger. The AI search tools people use today like this style. They give points for clear and focused writing, plus tying the topics together well. A person going alone with a blog that's set up well can do as well as a big company if she stays with it over the years.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: I want to ask you something I ask each creative person who comes in. What is the hardest part? I don’t mean things like planning or paperwork. Not writing either. I mean the feeling part.
Matcha Maya: Pauses. The hard part of the first year is how alone you feel. When you start a blog about matcha and solo travel, there is nobody waiting to read it. You put out your first post — for me, it was "Why I Created MATCHA MAYA" — and you feel the quiet. You see no comments, shares, or emails. You wonder if anyone at all will read it. But you have to keep going, since you promised yourself. Being alone, before anyone is looking at what you do, is tough. But this is what shows who is truly going to stick with it.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: What kept you going?
Matcha Maya: The best part was talking with people. Every time I met someone—a baker in Lisbon, a barista in Melbourne, or a tea teacher in Kyoto—I saw that what I made was important to them. They let me tell their story. I knew I could not just leave that trust unused. I needed to put the work out, shape it, and show it to others. The people I talked with helped me stay on track, even if they did not know it.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: You are here with me at my tea house in Sukhumvit, in Bangkok. Why did you pick this spot to talk about this? Why did you want to share with me the story of why you made this?
Matcha Maya: Bangkok is where I first understood that matcha could bring people together all over the world. I came here thinking I would drink Thai iced tea, which I really like, but I saw a matcha scene that I did not expect. There are small cafes owned by Thai baristas who got trained in Japan. There is a tea house in Sukhumvit that gets its matcha right from Uji and gives it to people with Thai coconut sweets. That mix — old Japanese way of tea with the feel of Southeast Asia — is what MATCHA MAYA wants to share. This shop, your own shop, was the first one in Bangkok where I sat down alone, asked for a bowl of matcha prepared with care, and talked with the owner for two hours. That is what the whole blog is about, all in one afternoon.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: Smiles. I still think about that afternoon. You asked me about the water I use. Most people do not ask about water temperature.
Matcha Maya: A lot of people drink matcha lattes with oat milk and vanilla syrup. This drink tastes good, and I stand by that. But using a matcha bowl is a whole other thing. That is what I want to show with MATCHA MAYA. I am not saying there is only one way to drink matcha or telling people not to do it their way. I want people to feel like they can talk more about matcha and ask real questions. For some, it is about the water, and that is when the talk goes deeper.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: So here's what I think your readers would want to know if they were here with us. Where does MATCHA MAYA go from here? You already have the 12-week calendar. You have the map of different continents. But what is the main goal now?
Matcha Maya: The north star is the tagline. The idea is simple—one bowl of matcha, one local story from every continent. I plan to put out the best matcha guide in the world, and it will be made up of interviews. When people search "matcha in Warsaw," "matcha in Nairobi," or "matcha in Lima," I want them to find something real. They will read a chat with a person who lives there and makes matcha. They won't read some list written by a tourist who stayed for two days. It will be a real chat. A real name. A real face. A real tip from someone who has been doing this for years.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: What will you do when you have been to all seven continents?
Matcha Maya: Laughs. Antarctica is the hard part. I will see what to do when I get there. Maybe there will be a research station worker who brings matcha in his or her bag. There is always a story.
Bangkok Tea House Owner: One last question, Maya. If there is someone who is thinking about starting a blog — not only about matcha, but any topic — what do you want them to get from your story?
Matcha Maya: Start with the thing that you always feel pulled to do. It should not be what people say is popular or what you think will get you money. Focus on what you feel like doing over and over, even if no one else can see you do it. For me, it was going into a tea house by myself. I felt bold enough to talk with the person who worked there. That is not a business idea. That is just something I liked to do. I made the blog because of what I did, not the other way around. Find what you do. Build a place for it after.
Matcha Maya's Travel Notes — Bangkok, Thailand
Tea house featured: This is a Japanese-style tea room on Sukhumvit Soi 31 in Bangkok. It is on a quiet street, has bamboo blinds, and they serve Uji matcha they buy straight from the farm with Thai coconut sweets.
Neighbourhood: Sukhumvit is in the middle of Bangkok. You can get there by BTS Thong Lo or Phrom Phong stations. The soi (small street) system is easy, but the best tea houses are hidden. Try to find the ones that do not have English words on the sign out front.
Best time to visit: Go in the late afternoon, from 3pm to 5pm. The weather is not too hot then, and the sunlight glows on the bamboo screens. If you want to have a good talk, skip weekends.
Safety for solo travellers: Bangkok is one of the cities in Southeast Asia where solo female travellers feel safe. Sukhumvit is bright at night, busy until late, and has many cafés for you to sit in alone without being bothered.
Matcha order to try: Try the high-quality usucha (thin matcha) with a Thai sweet made from coconut instead of the usual wagashi. The coconut sweet matches the grassy taste of the Uji matcha. It is the best mix in Bangkok.
Cost: A good bowl of matcha with a sweet costs about ¥150–250 THB ($4–7 USD)
Why I Created MATCHA MAYA is the story of how this blog started. It is the first post you need to read if you are new here. Next week: Matcha Around the World: A Solo Traveller's Global Guide — the main post that covers every continent and every story that is coming soon.
Comments
Post a Comment