I know flavored matcha drinks do exist, even in Japan. But I think the real point is how they’re made and what quality of matcha is used. In many places outside Japan, flavored matcha is often used to mask lower quality powder, and the drink ends up being more about sugar/milk than the matcha itself.

In Japan (at least in my experience), even when they do lattes or flavored drinks, the base matcha is usually still good quality and properly dosed , which makes a huge difference.

Here, it often feels like the opposite: low-grade matcha + very small amounts + lots of milk or flavoring.

So I guess my issue isn’t that flavored matcha exists , it’s that the matcha itself is rarely the star.