Interior of a minimalist cafe with curved concrete seating and counters, rough-hewn stone tables, and framed artwork on the walls.
The face of the counter is also modified cement and lime. Photography by Brad Dickson.

October 13, 2026

Words: Diana Budds

This Brooklyn Café Is Dedicated To The Art Of Matcha

firm: Michael Tower Architecture 
site: Brooklyn, New York

Matcha, the electric-green powder mixed into hot or cold beverages, appeals to sight, sound, smell, and taste. It gets scooped into a ceramic chawan, then is vigorously (and audibly) mixed with a bamboo whisk and water or milk to create a frothy, flavorful drink. So when Kettl, a Japanese tea brand, invited Michael Tower to formulate a café dedicated to the leaf, he conceived of a clean-lined yet tactile interior that heightens the senses without overwhelming them. “A direct physical engagement with the environment sets the tone,” the architect says of Sen Mon Ten, the resulting establishment that’s located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Kettl’s third U.S. outpost, all by Michael Tower Architecture. “Over the course of the projects, we’ve developed an idea about textures and touch,” he continues, and Sen Mon Ten, Japanese for specialty store, “hits it in a very strong way.”

The 1,000-square-foot spot, previously home to an auto mechanic, is divided into two areas—an open retail counter area and an adjoining, more sequestered room—and an exercise in contrasts. “It’s like an exterior scene inside, to create a threshold for the adjoining private space,” Tower explains of the front portion, which is warm, bright, and where customers can purchase and enjoy their drinks. He painted the original wood-beam ceiling charcoal gray, clad walls in hand-troweled stucco, commissioned a built-in banquette and service counter finished in cement lime, their edges curved for comfort, and selected two rough-hewn limestone blocks for tables—a solution that’s not only beckoning but also seamless in terms of circulation.

  • Modern cafe interior with a large framed photograph of tea harvesting, two oval wall-mounted shelves, a long concrete bench, and two matching rough-hewn stone coffee tables.
    In the front portion of Kettl Matcha Sen Mon Ten café, a photograph of the namesake tea leaves overlooks a custom banquette of modified cement and lime and limestone blocks that serve as tables, all standing on poured, self-leveling concrete. Photography by Brad Dickson.
  • A tea preparation station with ceramic bowls, bamboo whisks, metal canisters, and two water faucets on a dark counter.
    Teamaking tools rest on the service counter’s engineered-quartz top, which resembles soapstone but is more durable. Photography by Brad Dickson.
  • Modern coffee shop interior with stone benches, a curved service counter, and two framed prints on the walls.
    The face of the counter is also modified cement and lime. Photography by Brad Dickson.
  • A bright coffee shop interior with two customers at a curved concrete counter and two large, rough-hewn stone blocks used as tables in the seating area.
    Insulated glass units form the storefront. Photography by Brad Dickson.
  • A tea preparation counter with a dark stone surface and various teaware, set beneath a stepped wooden ceiling.
    Ribbon windows fitted with of washi paper–laminated glass separate the front from the appointment-only tasting room in back. Photography by Brad Dickson.

The back, which hosts matcha tastings by appointment, is more scenographic, almost spiritual—a setting inspired by Eero Saarinen’s nondenominational MIT chapel. The spare, gray-walled room has a U-shape counter lined with wood-framed stools and capped by a ceiling fixture composed of nested LED-lit white-oak boxes, casting a glow on the host preparing tea. The only color comes from the matcha itself—the star player that every detail in Sen Mon Ten supports.

  • A barista prepares a drink behind a U-shaped counter with four wooden stools in a modern shop.
    The linear LEDs in the tasting room’s custom ceiling fixture are tuned to 3000K, to shine warmer against the nested boxes of white oak–veneered plywood. Photography by Brad Dickson.
  • The interior of a cafe seen through a large glass-paned storefront, with a person standing at a counter and another sitting at a table inside.
    Stucco faces the facade of the café, formerly an auto-mechanic shop. Photography by Brad Dickson.

SOURCES FROM FRONT abc stone: tables (café). art in construction: custom banquette. ferm living: shelf units. bendheim: glass (storefront). dals: linear leds (tasting room). rove concepts: stools. THROUGHOUT ardex: flooring. nora: spotlights. caesarstone: countertop material. glidden; benjamin moore & co.; portola paints: paint. primary arc design: lighting design. seth heeres construction: general contractor.

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