Strawberry matcha is now a fixture on Brisbane cafe menus. Lola’s Coffee Bar in Tarragindi says it got there first, tracing the drink back to a family fruit haul and a TikTok post that took off overnight.
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Marie David had no barista experience when she opened the Tarragindi cafe in 2023. She has said the awareness of that inexperience drove her to work harder to compensate.
Lola’s is now a two-venue operation, with a second location at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus that opened in late 2024. Both sites draw regular queues.
The drink that has since been widely replicated across Brisbane originated from a family surplus of fruit. Ms David’s parents came home from a strawberry picking trip with kilos of fruit the family needed to use up. She began combining the excess with matcha, a Japanese green tea powder she had added to the menu after being encouraged by a friend. At the time, she says, only a few locals were familiar with the drink.
@lolascoffeebar Trying new matcha from my brother’s Japan trip 😍🍵 LOCATION: Lola’s Coffee Bar. 176 Ekibin Road East, Tarragindi, Brisbane. – #brisbanecafe #filipinocafe #brisbanetodo #cafesbrisbane #strawberrymatcha #cafeowner #mangomatcha #matcha ♬ original sound – Lola’s Coffee Bar Brisbane
She documented the process on TikTok and the post gained significant traction overnight.
Ms David has said she believes Lola’s was the first venue in Brisbane to serve strawberry matcha. Three years later, the drink is widely available across the city, and both Lola’s locations continue to attract steady custom.
The cafe’s name comes from the Tagalog word for grandmother, a tribute to Ms David’s grandmothers. The menu reflects her Filipino heritage, with ube (purple yam), pandan and mango appearing across the drinks and baked goods.
Ms David buys ceremonial-grade matcha powder from Uji, south of Kyoto, and visited her supplier in Japan last year. She has said the decision is rooted in respect for the culture and traditions associated with matcha.
Ms David has also observed competitors dropping into her cafe to watch how things are done, a dynamic she says she finds more amusing than threatening.
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The Mont Blanc, a dessert-like coffee drink, is another drink Ms David was an early adopter of in Brisbane. She brought it back from a research trip to Melbourne three years ago. It was a slow sell at first but is now finding a wider audience across Brisbane.
On making good matcha, Ms David keeps her advice straightforward: start with quality powder and follow traditional preparation methods.
Lola’s Coffee Bar operates from its original Tarragindi location at 176 Ekibin Road East and a second site at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus.
Published 2-June-2026