One caffeinated creation from a Toronto cafe has been breaking the internet (locally, at least) over the past few weeks, but its owners tell me that its conception was actually a happy accident.
Toronto has had its fair share of viral food moments over the years, from ketchup and mustard-flavoured ice cream to delightfully jiggly cat-shaped pudding, but few — in recent memory, at least — have sunk their teeth into the city quite the way that Forget Me Not Cafe’s Banana Bread Matcha Latte has.
A recent explosion across the TikTok and Instagram feeds of many (if not all) Toronto residents has left many yearning to try the creamy, pastel-coloured concoction.
Pairing ceremonial-grade matcha with housemade sweet cream, a hefty dose of banana flavouring and a single banana chip for garnish, the flavours of the drink are designed to complement one another in perfect synchronicity.
Now that thousands of easily-influenced foodies have flocked to the cafe’s Ossington and Adelaide locations, almost exclusively singing the praises of the drink, it’s easy to imagine that it was a strategically-executed invention. However, mixologist Johanna Youn and owner Joolee Youn actually refer to its inception as a happy accident.
“We were looking to make a drink that felt warm and comforting for Spring, yet a bit different,” Joolee tells me. “Johanna […] had this flavor combo in her head for a little while and decided to test it out with the team.”
It wasn’t as much of a lightning-in-a-bottle moment as it may seem, though; Johanna tells me that perfecting the drink took “way longer” than expected.
“The team worked on this recipe for months — changing ingredient ratios, adjusting the texture, all of those little details took time,” she says. “The team really came together and made it work.”
While Joolee and Johanna admit that they “never thought in [their] wildest dreams that [they] could create a drink that would resonate with so many people,” that’s exactly the outcome that all of their hard work produced: a unique-yet-accessible treat that immediately appeals to the masses.
As for why, exactly, so many people have found themselves fawning over the frothy drink, Joolee and Johanna have a couple of theories.
We think part of it is the timing,” they tell me. “Matcha is everywhere right now on social media, and people are really excited for the new flavors coming out.”
They were also inspired by fellow matcha masters in the city, like Matcha Matcha, who regularly churn out creative new recipes using the green tea powder, so they decided to try their own hand at it, putting Forget Me Not’s signature heartwarming mark on it.
“The special moment in most people’s crazy days…between work, parenting, travel, and whatever else it is we do,” they add.
The weeks since launching the drink and all the traffic that it has caused have brought with them a number of learning curves, Joolee and Johanna tell me — but they aren’t necessarily unwelcome ones.
“The drink has been so popular that we have been selling out during the day and we had to figure out a way to make sure this doesn’t happen,” they tell me.
Even still, despite things being bananas at the cafe, they’re quick to note their gratitude for the whole experience.
“We’re so grateful for the support from our community and of course our Baristas and whole Forget Me Not team that’s been working really hard behind the scenes,” they say.
You can try the Banana Bread Matcha Latte for yourself — if it’s not sold out, that is — at Forget Me Not’s locations at 506 Adelaide West and 102 Ossington.
