By: Aliya Koshalieva
Media-Production Editor
On Feb. 16, two Los Gatos High School seniors threw an unforgettable pop-up. Students Anthony Nguyen and Everett Wang partnered with a fellow senior from Saratoga to host Monkeys4Matcha.
In this pop-up event, Nguyen made four different types of matcha, and Wang baked three different kinds of pastries. Nguyen credited the success to his previous experience working as a barista at Starbucks, saying, “I mean, two years as a Starbucks barista definitely helped. I learned how to make drinks quickly and consistently, especially during rush hour. I learned how to work with different flavors, and I even got time to experiment with them, which is how we birthed the idea of Monkeys4Matcha.” Nguyen handcrafted a variety of matcha drinks including honey matcha, strawberry matcha, sea salt cheese foam matcha lattes, and matcha lemonade. “At first, I would make the occasional matcha for a customer at work, and I decided to invest in the tools I need to make matcha at home. I would invite my friends over and make matcha for them. I had Everett over once and he suggested we make matcha for people, and I guess the idea stuck,” Nguyen explained. Wang, who recently started working at a boba shop also credited his work experience. “Like Anthony, working with different ingredients and recipes was the lightbulb in terms of creating recipes.” Wang, a passionate cook, incorporated his favorite recipes into the pastries menu for the pop-up, serving black sesame mini cakes, coffee toffee chocolate cookies, and mochi puff pastry.
Many teens from various high schools flocked to the event, with 50 students from San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Gatos, and Saratoga arriving for matcha and pastries. Wang hosted the pop-up at his house, serving drinks and food alongside Nguyen from his window while event goers congregated in his driveway. Senior Isabella Argonza attended the event, praising the chefs for their drinks. “The matcha was phenomenal, especially given the price.” Monkeys4Matcha sold matchas for three dollars and pastries for two dollars. Argonza continued on explaining that “most matcha places will charge six or seven or even eight dollars for some mediocre matcha that tastes like water, but Anthony and Everett gave me a deal I couldn’t resist.” Boden Ruvane, another senior who attended the event, raved about the matcha and the pastries: “I know Anthony makes amazing matchas, but I was blown away by Everett’s pastries. I had the cookie, and I swear it melted in my mouth.”
After serving matcha and pastries for almost five hours, Monkeys4Matchas closed up shop. “I was so scared that we would make too much food or no one would show up, but everything went swimmingly,” Nguyen said. Later that night, Wang and Nguyen sent out a text, telling attendees to stay tuned for a second pop-up.