Matcha Match

Matcha, a type of green tea originating from Japan, has skyrocketed in popularity within the past decade. Once primarily associated with traditional tea ceremonies, matcha has become a widely consumed beverage in urban café culture, particularly in cities such as Boston and New York. Due to its rise in popularity, more and more cafés are opting to serve matcha in the form of lattes and consumers are ranking these places on food review apps such as Google Reviews, Beli, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc. Current review apps are not specific to the characteristics of matcha and just like coffee, the taste of matcha is highly personal. Matcha Match is an interactive web app that will help fill this gap by allowing users to find a matcha latte that aligns with their own preferences. The application functions through a set of interactive inputs that allow users to define their taste preferences across key variables, including taste, sweetness, milk content, and additions. These inputs are adjustable which enables users to explore a range of possible combinations as they discover their preferred matcha taste profile. Using this preference profile, the application identifies matcha lattes from cafés in Boston that correspond to the selected attributes. Recommendations are presented as a set of matches, allowing users to compare options based on how closely they align with their preferences. Each café is positioned within a broader system that reflects differences in taste, helping users understand not only which option to choose, but how each option relates to others. Matcha Match is designed to be an interactive experience for users who either: 1) know their matcha preferences and are looking to find cafés that match their interests, 2) are unsure of their matcha taste preferences and want to explore/learn more about matcha. Matcha Match is looking to fill the gap that other food review apps are lacking in and also appeal to the matcha popularity growth.