When a booth serving homemade matcha, hojicha-flavored desserts and lattes came to Statler Hall, it immediately caught the attention of students walking past between classes. From 12 to 5 p.m. on March 23, a community of matcha lovers, beginners and experts surrounded Cornell Matcha Club’s “pop-up cafe,” bringing a sense of liveliness, warmth and flavor to a mundane Monday. In the middle of a busy semester, and just a week before spring break, it is easy for campus life to feel repetitive and overly structured. This is why Cornell Matcha Club’s pop-up felt so refreshing, as it provided a small sweet treat that really elevated my mood for the day.
Hosted as a fundraiser for Matcha Club’s future events, the pop-up featured a menu ranging from drinks to desserts. They offered two latte options: matcha and hojicha. They also offered various desserts, including Matcha Tiramisu, Matcha Crinkle Cookies, Matcha Mochi Brownies, Strawberry Matcha Cheesecake and Hojicha Crinkle Cookies. Prior to the event, there were promotions featured on the club’s Instagram, and flyers distributed across campus with a soft green-and-pink aesthetic. The pop-up was student-driven, fostering an enthusiastic, community-driven atmosphere, but displayed the professionalism of a commercial cafe.
I tried three menu items: a matcha latte, a matcha mochi brownie and a matcha tiramisu. Each one reflected slightly different flavors of matcha. The latte was traditional, with a pleasant bitterness and a slightly earthy flavor that felt perfectly balanced for me. It is hard to find matcha with that perfect balance of sweet and bitter. It was also an exciting experience to see a fellow student using a chasen, a traditional bamboo whisk for matcha drinks, to make a latte for me in just a few minutes. The mochi brownie, tinted a hue of matcha green, was rich with sweetness. Its texture stood out to me, as the chewy inside complemented the crunchy exterior. By contrast, the tiramisu was cloudy, soft and sweet, finishing my matcha rally with a memorable light and creamy richness. Among the three items I tried, my favorite was certainly the tiramisu because the green cream color was aesthetically pleasing and felt unique, as it differed from the traditional coffee or cocoa tiramisu. Next pop-up, I would love to try the hojicha menus and explore different desserts!
Yet the tasty treats are not the only appeal of the event; student-run events also create shareable, memorable moments that last. Aside from all the pre-professional club meetings and coffee chats, many students at Cornell engage in recreational clubs, and there is something especially wonderful about seeing students turn their interests, passions or hobbies into tangible realities through cooperative efforts to bring life to campus. At such a large university, it is easy to feel alone, but events like this pop-up bring an intimacy to campus, demonstrating how seemingly small acts like baking or event planning can create positive changes to someone’s Monday. A delicious and visually engaging experience, I found the event to be a wonderful escape from a busy schedule and classes. The pop-up was a thoroughly structured fundraiser, but also an expression of creativity and passion on campus.
This may be the reason why student-run events and pop-ups resonate strongly at Cornell. They offer an atmosphere to stop, chat and slow down. Matcha has been gaining growing aesthetic appeal and popularity, and so the Matcha Club at Cornell has been flourishing and supporting the Cornell student body through community building. It transformed a somewhat transactional process into a social moment. Matcha Club’s pop-up reminded me of the power of small pleasures like a handmade matcha latte, a chewy brownie or creamy tiramisu to foster campus culture.. Ultimately, in a place as busy as Cornell, it is often these moments of connection and brief pauses that matter the most.
Ines Hwang is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at ish7@cornell.edu.
