I think I’ve officially found my kind of Monday.
Give me a cute coffee shop, a good matcha, a room full of interesting people and a microphone, and I’m probably exactly where I’m supposed to be.
There is an entire culture growing around this little green drink, and the girls are definitely helping move it along. Matcha has gone from something you might order because it looks cute in your cup to something that has become part of how women socialize, connect, discover new places and create little rituals for themselves. We’re meeting for matcha, talking over matcha, trying new matcha spots and, apparently, building entire experiences around it, and honestly, I love it.
Maybe it’s because matcha feels like one of those little luxuries that doesn’t require a special occasion. You can make an ordinary Monday feel a little more intentional just by grabbing your favorite cup, putting on a cute outfit and meeting a friend for a conversation.
What I love even more is that I get to take something I genuinely enjoy and combine it with something I’ve spent years doing: journalism.
That’s where Matcha Mondays comes in.
The third installment brought national R&B artist J. Holiday to Birmingham.
J. Holiday is the voice behind songs like “Bed” and “Suffocate,” records that have lived on R&B playlists and in the memories of anyone who came of age during that era of grown-and-sexy music, but instead of simply bringing him to Birmingham for a performance, we got to sit down and actually talk.
Before our interview, J. Holiday toured Birmingham’s historic Fourth Avenue Historic District. By the time we sat down together, he shared that he was feeling heavy after experiencing the district and taking in the history surrounding it.
That immediately became one of those moments that reminded me why I love interviewing people.
The obvious questions are easy. What are you working on? What’s your favorite song? What’s next?
But I’m always more interested in the questions that make somebody pause.
What did you feel?
What surprised you?
What stayed with you after you left?
Those are the answers that give you a story.
Oh and for this Matcha Monday, we did something that you probably don’t see every day: we had J. Holiday making matcha.
He joined Alicia, the owner of Alicia’s Coffee, and Commissioner Shelia Tyson for a matcha demonstration, and somehow it all made perfect sense. Music, Birmingham, community, a little girliness and, of course, matcha.
It was also Teacher Appreciation Week, so the evening had an especially intimate feel. There was something nice about creating a space where educators and community members could relax, connect and enjoy themselves while celebrating the people who spend so much of their time pouring into others.
Then came the part that reminded everyone exactly why we had a national recording artist in the room.
After our conversation and the matcha demonstration, J. Holiday performed “Bed” and “Suffocate,” giving the room a little taste of the R&B nostalgia we all came for. The night wrapped with a meet-and-greet, giving fans the chance to meet him, take pictures and have their own moment with the artist.
I walked away from that night thinking about how much I enjoy this little world we’re creating around Matcha Mondays.
Because for me, it isn’t just about matcha, it’s about storytelling.
It’s about getting to sit across from someone whose career I’ve watched and ask the questions I’m genuinely curious about. It’s about introducing people to artists, entrepreneurs and community leaders in a setting that feels less formal and a lot more personal.
Maybe that’s why it feels so natural.
I don’t have to choose between being the journalist, the host or the lifestyle girl.
I get to be all three.
I can talk about music and Birmingham history, interview a national artist, watch him make matcha, enjoy a cute little drink and still go home thinking about the story I want to write afterward.
That sounds like a pretty good Monday to me.
The girls may be making matcha a movement.
I’m just happy I have a microphone for it.
