Learn the Art of Matcha: Bringing Japanese Tea Knowledge Home to Palembang
Palembang, Indonesia, August 10, 2026
Sometimes, a journey that takes you far from home eventually brings you back with something to share.
For Siti Mahdaria, returning to Palembang in August 2026 was first and foremost a visit home to celebrate her birthday with her family. But being back in her hometown also created an opportunity to share something she had spent years learning abroad: the world of Japanese matcha.
On Monday, August 10, from 13:00 to 14:30 WIB, Rumah Aba Kopi on Jl. Cendrawasih III No. 28 in Palembang became the setting for Learn the Art of Matcha: Hands On Matcha Workshop, a collaboration between Rumah Aba Kopi and Matcharia led by Siti, Certified Tea Sommelier, Matcha Consultant, and Founder of Matcharia.
Six matcha enthusiasts joined the intimate workshop, which combined guided tasting, tea education, matcha preparation, and hands on practice.
For Ria, the workshop was meaningful not only because it introduced high quality Japanese matcha to tea lovers in her hometown, but also because it brought her together with an old school connection.
From High School Classmates to Business Partners
Rumah Aba Kopi is owned by Nyimas Amalia, Siti's junior from SMA Plus Negeri 17 Palembang, a high school known for bringing together academically driven young people from across South Sumatra.
Their school experience was about more than academic achievement. Students were also encouraged to develop a strong sense of togetherness and community across different grades. Years later, that spirit of connection found a new form through tea.
“I came back to Palembang to celebrate my birthday with my family, and I thought, why not make a workshop while I am here?” said Ria. “It felt even more special because Rumah Aba Kopi is owned by Nyimas, my junior from high school. So this collaboration is not only about introducing high quality matcha. It is also about reconnecting with someone from an important part of my own journey.”
The workshop also answered a request that Ria had received from people in Palembang for some time. Several local matcha enthusiasts had previously contacted her about holding a class in the city, hoping to learn more about Japanese matcha and how to distinguish quality beyond appearance.
Finally, that opportunity became possible.
Nyimas also saw the collaboration as a chance to bring Ria's online teaching into a physical setting.
“We are very excited about this collaboration, especially because we have been learning virtually from Ria, and now we can finally learn from her in person. We really appreciate her presence and her effort to introduce high quality matcha to Palembang.”
A Journey From Japan Back to Palembang
Siti is a Certified Tea Sommelier, Matcha Consultant, and Founder of Matcharia. Her international journey has taken her through Indonesia, Australia, Türkiye, and Bulgaria before she made Japan her home in 2024.
Now based in Kyoto, she teaches Matcha Mixology and Tasting at a local Tea Business School while also sharing her knowledge with students and tea enthusiasts in Indonesia and Europe through online sessions.
Her approach to matcha is deeply rooted in firsthand experience. In Japan, Siti has learned directly from tea farmers in Wazuka and Yame and continued developing her understanding under the guidance of Japanese Tea Instructors.
In 2025, she placed seventh in the amateur class of the Chakabuki competition hosted by the Nihoncha Instructor Association in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.
In 2026, she introduced her own matcha blends under Matcharia Signature Blends, including carefully selected tencha that she personally develops and has stone milled into matcha. The blends reflect her personal palate and philosophy toward tea.
Returning to Palembang therefore carried a particular significance. She was not simply bringing a product from Japan. She was bringing back knowledge and experience gathered through years of studying, working with, tasting, and teaching tea.
When a Flight Delay Became Part of the Story
The journey to Palembang did not go entirely according to plan.
Ria was flying from Jakarta and had expected to arrive around 10:00 in the morning. Multiple flight delays meant that the workshop itself had to be pushed back by a couple of hours.
Fortunately, the delay was eventually limited to around one hour, allowing Ria to arrive safely at Rumah Aba Kopi in Rajawali, Palembang, and continue with the workshop.
What could have been a stressful start became another reminder of how much anticipation surrounded the gathering. The participants were waiting, and the workshop eventually began with everyone ready to learn.
Understanding Matcha From Leaf to Bowl
The workshop went beyond simply tasting different matchas.
Ria began by explaining the journey of matcha from the tea field, including how tea is cultivated, harvested, processed, and eventually distributed before reaching the consumer.
Participants then explored different matchas based on their grades, origins, harvest seasons, cultivars, and processing methods.
The tasting included spring and summer harvests from different tea producing regions in Japan, allowing participants to experience how dramatically matcha can differ depending on where and when it is produced.
The first was M°19 Okumidori Blend from Shizuoka, a spring first flush machine milled matcha made primarily from Okumidori, with Saemidori, Yutakamidori, and Tsuyuhikari also included. It offered creamy milk notes, hints of sweetness, and rich umami that became particularly reminiscent of cream cheese when prepared as a latte.
For Ria, M°19 also represented an important part of her approach to matcha curation.
Shizuoka is often associated with matcha that can show more pronounced astringency, but Ria wanted to demonstrate that this does not define every matcha from the region.
Through exploration and careful curation, she found a Shizuoka matcha with a rich umami character that performs beautifully as a latte.
The second was M°08 Saemidori from Wazuka, Kyoto, a spring first flush, stone milled matcha with notes reminiscent of cashew and the sweet aroma of a brown rice cookie. Its mellow flavour made it particularly approachable for people who were newer to matcha. It could be enjoyed both as usucha and as a ceremonial style latte.
Participants then tasted M°16 Summer Blend, made from Saemidori and Yabukita from Kagoshima and manufactured in Yame. Its smooth character, light nuttiness, and friendly bitterness made it especially compatible with milk. The blend can also be used for frappes, mocktails, and baking.
As a bonus, participants also had the opportunity to taste M°02 Matcharia Signature Blend, a spring first flush blend from Wazuka made from Okumidori, Yamatomidori, and Gokou.
Stone milled and cultivated without pesticides using jikakake cultivation, M°02 has a creamy and smooth character with gentle umami, delicate nutty notes, and subtle chocolate undertones. It is designed to be enjoyed as both usucha and koicha.
Discovering Your Own Matcha Preference
One of the most interesting outcomes of the session was that there was no single matcha that everyone preferred.
Participants developed different favourites depending on their experience and personal palate.
Those who were newer to matcha tended to enjoy M°16 Summer Blend, particularly because its gentle bitterness and compatibility with milk made it approachable.
Participants with more experience and knowledge of matcha tended to gravitate toward M°02 Matcharia Signature Blend, appreciating its more layered character and depth.
Others had different preferences among the remaining matchas.
For Ria, this diversity was exactly what a tasting workshop should encourage.
The goal was not to tell participants which matcha they should like. Instead, it was to give them the vocabulary and experience to understand what they personally enjoy.
From Watching to Whisking
After tasting the different matchas, participants had the opportunity to put their learning into practice.
Representatives from the group demonstrated matcha whisking using the techniques Siti had taught, before everyone moved on to preparing their own matcha latte.
The session transformed from a lecture into an interactive experience. Participants could taste, ask questions, whisk, compare, and ultimately make something themselves.
For Ria, this hands on element is an important part of tea education.
“I am not only interested in letting people taste matcha. I want them to understand the story from the very beginning, from how the tea is cultivated and processed to how it reaches their bowl. Once people understand that journey, I hope they can taste matcha with a different kind of appreciation.”
Sharing Matcha With Her Hometown
For Ria, being able to conduct a matcha workshop in Palembang carried a meaning that went beyond business. She has spent years travelling and learning about tea, eventually making Japan her second home. Bringing that knowledge back to the city where she grew up felt like completing a small circle.
“I am so happy to be able to introduce high quality matcha to tea lovers in my hometown. I hope the participants from my session can become matcha advocates within their own communities, so that more people in Palembang can become aware of the quality of the matcha they consume.”
The hope is not simply to create more matcha drinkers, but more informed ones.
People who understand that matcha can come from different regions, cultivars, harvest seasons, and processing methods. People who can taste the difference and make their own choices based on knowledge rather than simply following a trend.
The six participants each received an authentic matcha bowl to take home, along with a IDR 50,000 Matcharia shopping voucher and a discount voucher for Rumah Aba Kopi. Selected participants also received an M°19 Okumidori Shizuoka souvenir.
These benefits were part of the collaboration format between Matcharia and Rumah Aba Kopi, with participant offerings varying depending on the nature of each Matcharia workshop partnership.
More Than a Workshop
The collaboration between Rumah Aba Kopi and Matcharia brought together several parts of Ria's journey at once.
It connected her current life in Japan with her hometown in Palembang. It connected years of tea education with a community that had been asking for an opportunity to learn. And it turned an old high school connection with Nyimas into a new partnership built around something they both care about.
The workshop may have welcomed only six participants, but each person left with more than a cup of matcha. They left with a better understanding of where matcha comes from, how it develops its character, and how to recognize the qualities that make each matcha different. Most importantly, they were encouraged to develop their own palate and their own relationship with tea.