Don’t show a hand blender to Kristen Aguilar — she doesn’t want it.
Instead, she’ll be taking her bamboo whisk and delicately moving it around in a zig-zag motion until the dark green mixture forms a creamy, slightly foamy top.
It’s a technique she’s read about and practiced diligently, ensuring she is crafting her matcha lattes like the ones in Japan. From the grams of matcha powder used to the temperature of the water, Aguilar makes sure every detail of the traditional process is the way it was intended.
That extra care and patience pays off when the matcha latte she hands you has that vibrant, emerald green color to it, signifying not only that she is skilled at her craft, but that this latte will be one of the best you’ve had in town.
Aguilar is the owner of Milk and Maple, a pop-up matcha bar where she’ll drive to you and make a fresh, delicious matcha latte at your doorstep. It’s like DoorDash, but without the fear your driver will steal a sip on the way.
For Aguilar, a Tucson native, making food for people was the way she showed her love. When she moved to Phoenix, she started her own catering business, hoping her food would make her clients bust out in a happy dance.
“I love to feed people, make people feel good, you know,” Aguilar said. “I've never had a meal and it made me sad or I've never seen someone eat a meal that makes them feel angry. You eat something good and it makes you feel good, you know, like you do your little happy dance.”
But when she moved back down to Tucson, she found that many people already have family members who can make authentic Mexican dishes for their parties. She had to get creative and think of another way she could bring joy to the community.
That joy comes in a cup filled with ice, oat milk and a splash of silky, smooth matcha.
As an avid fan of matcha herself, Aguilar decided to start her own pop-up specializing in the drink.
Kristen Aguilar, owner of Milk and Maple, makes fresh matcha lattes at your door.
“It's almost like a little part of my self-care routine, you know, like a little goodness that I take for myself,” Aguilar said. “So I studied matcha and I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on trying different powders from Japan, from China, from the US, from everywhere that I could think of, just to find the best of the best.”
Since matcha has been around for hundreds of years, originating in China and becoming central to tea culture in Japan, Aguilar wanted to make sure she was honoring its roots, studying the traditional process to ensure she was respecting that tea culture.
“Because it is a cultural thing, I didn't want to take away from that and mess it up, especially when there's so much tradition and culture behind it,” Aguilar said.
That means no shortcuts under any circumstances.
Aguilar is up early in the morning, hand-whisking every order. There’s no hand mixer in sight, just a bamboo whisk, called a chasen, and a small ceramic bowl.
“I feel like you owe that respect to the culture of where it originated from,” Aguilar said.
That unique earthy matcha taste is important to Aguilar, which is why she doesn’t include extravagant sweeteners and flavors on her menu.
The Milk and Maple menu features four drinks: the OG, which is straight matcha; Berry Haze, matcha with fresh organic strawberry puree; Sweet Peel, matcha topped with banana cold foam; and a special monthly flavor. Each of the drinks comes with oat milk and is sweetened with organic blue agave.
In order to get your hands on a Milk and Maple latte, you have to wait for Aguilar’s ordering form to open, usually on Sundays at 10 a.m. You’ll be taken to a Google Form where you can pick your day, time window and drink of choice.
Aguilar also has different delivery rates depending on where you're located. According to her order form, if you're in between 0-5 miles it'll be $3, 6-10 miles has a $5 delivery fee, 11-13 miles has a $7 delivery fee and if it's over 13 miles, then its $1 per mile.
Once you submit your request, Aguilar will approve it and you’ll have your chance to pay. The day of the order, she will text you her ETA and soon she’ll be at your doorstep.
With a smile on her face, Aguilar will craft your drink right in front of your eyes. After some friendly conversation, you’ll be handed your perfectly crafted matcha latte and left to go back to the comfort of your couch.
“I had a lot of horror stories in the beginning,” Aguilar said. “The barista style that I do, where I pour your drink in front of you, I didn't start with that the first day that I did it and I cried all my whole drive home on my first delivery because my drinks were like melted. I beat myself up probably for like six months after that, but that's how I created the barista style with my bag.”
I could barely hold in my excitement when Tuesday rolled around. I had an iced Berry Haze latte coming my way between 9-10 a.m. and had been waiting for this moment since I interviewed Aguilar.
Kristen Aguilar, owner of Milk and Maple, makes a Berry Haze matcha latte.
I received a text saying she’d arrive at 9:33 a.m. and right on the dot, she knocked on my door. I was greeted by Aguilar’s smiling face, with her Milk and Maple cooler bag hanging around her neck.
She grabbed a cup with ice and poured in the fresh strawberry puree, following it with a mixture of velvety oat milk and matcha. I could tell by the vibrant green color of my latte that this was going to be a grade-A drink.
We said our goodbyes and I ran back inside to take a sip. I was instantly in love. The earthy, subtle umami flavors of the matcha don’t get lost in the bright tartness of the strawberries. It’s the perfect balance of flavors, which is hard to master when drinking matcha.
When it comes to matcha lattes, there’s a fine line between too sweet and a little too bitter, but Aguilar has found the ideal middle ground. You can taste all the love and dedication she puts into the tedious matcha-making process.
Yes, I did break out into a happy dance as I eagerly sipped the rest of my Berry Haze latte.
For more information on Milk and Maple and to find her order form, check out her Instagram.
