Constance Tea & Matcha Review: SF’s Only Fresh-Milled Matcha

All PostsSan Francisco Eats
Written By Amy Suto
Pure matcha prepared the traditional way, like the koicha at Constance Tea & Matcha in San Francisco

I quit coffee entirely years ago, I whisk my own matcha wherever I am in the world, and I’ve done tastings in Kyoto. I’m telling you this so you understand the register when I say: Constance is the pure matcha experience in San Francisco.

Constance Tea & Matcha, opened in 2026 on Balboa Street, is the first shop in the Bay Area to mill its matcha fresh in-house every day — on traditional granite stone mills, in small batches, like a bakery that happens to produce green gold.

What Fresh-Milled Matcha Actually Tastes Like

I’ve done their pure koicha-style matcha, and here’s the honest tasting note: smooth. Fresh-milled matcha isn’t too acidic — which tinned matcha, even good tinned matcha, can sometimes be. If you’ve only ever known the tin, this is the fresh-baked-bread version of a thing you thought you already understood.

Order it prepared straight. Save the latte craving for Maruwu Seicha — Constance is where you drink the tea as tea.

The Verdict on Constance

  • Best for: The top of the Matcha Snob Scale — purists and the matcha-curious ready to graduate
  • My order: The pure koicha-style matcha
  • Know before you go: Small daily batches can sell through — treat it like a bakery, not a café
  • Where: 3512 Balboa St, Outer Richmond (Google Maps) · constancetea.com

Constance sits at #1 on my ranking of the best matcha in San Francisco — the rest of the Snob Scale lives there.

For more of where I actually eat, start with the best restaurants in San Francisco — and subscribe to my newsletter if you want the new reviews (plus my writing life) in your inbox. I spent five years rating restaurants around the world in my travel guides — now the fork points at my own city.