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Matcha Croissants Are Having Their LA Moment
A matcha croissant being made at Pitchoun Bakery in downtown Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Pitchoun Bakery)
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It's not easy being green -- especially when you're a matcha croissant. The powder oxidizes and turns brown as it's cooked or baked, explains pastry goddess Cecilia Leung.
As the head baker at Little Flower Candy Co., the Pasadena bakery with the to-die-for caramels, Leung developed matcha mochi cakes for Little Flower and matcha snickerdoodle cookies for Lincoln. She says they ended up a camouflage green.
That hasn't stopped local bakers from taking up the challenge, combining the grassy, earthy green tea powder with the traditional French croissant. Which is why matcha croissants are popping up all over Los Angeles.
So far, our favorite is probably the one from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, a regular butter croissant dipped in matcha icing. You'll find these wonders at the company's two shops -- in Highland Park and Larchmont -- and at other cafes around town including Super Domestic Coffee in Culver City.
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A matcha croissant from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in Los Angeles. (Whitney Friedlander for LAist)
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Pitchoun Bakery, in downtown Los Angeles, incorporates matcha powder into the croissant dough for their version of the pastry. You can also pick up Pitchoun's matcha croissants at Chitchat, a matcha-centric cafe that just opened on Sawtelle in West L.A. Bonus points to Chitchat for taking their coffee as seriously as their tea and for being one of the only local spots to use beans from Brooklyn roastery Devoción.
UPDATE: Pitchoun will be opening a second location at the Beverly Center in August.
A matcha croissant and two other croissants from Pitchoun Bakery in downtown Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Pitchoun Bakery)
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At Paradocs on Fairfax, Yumi Hirano, wife of owner Taka Hirano, whips up a housemade version of the pastry. It's dusted with a sugary green powder that looks good enough to snort. Don't do that. The sugar forms a crystalline layer with a delicious crunch when you bite into it.
A matcha croissant from Paradocs in Los Angeles. (Anthony Miller for LAist)
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Midori Matcha Cafe in Little Tokyo makes a super cream filled matcha eclair. Close enough to a croissant because we're not sticklers for type, only for deliciousness.
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NYC import MatchaBar, which opened in Silver Lake earlier this year, makes all sorts of highly Instagrammable matcha desserts, including croissants.
If those aren't enough options, head to Matcha LA Fest, where you're bound to see all sorts of green pastries. The city's first official matcha festival, comes to town the weekend of August 25-26.
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