Ceré Tea has soft-opened a new shop at 2106 Shattuck Ave. in Downtown Berkeley, marking the specialty matcha chain's fifth Bay Area outpost. The address was home to Happy Lemon in 2019 and was included among Berkeley's top cheap bubble tea picks by Hoodline.
The Berkeley location is currently in a soft-opening phase, with opening specials on the menu while the shop settles in, according to the East Bay Times. Ceré Tea now has outlets in Burlingame, Milpitas, San Francisco and Saratoga, in addition to the new Berkeley shop, per the same report. The chain specializes in ceremonial-grade matcha, described as the highest tier of Japanese green tea powder, made from the youngest tea leaves harvested in the earliest days of spring.
What's Actually on the Menu
Beyond straightforward matcha lattes, the shop's offerings lean into elaborate, photogenic builds: the menu includes house-made fruit purées, whipped cream toppings, USA Grade A tapioca pearls, and espresso drinks alongside matcha, the station's report notes. Standout specialty items include the Banana Pudding Matcha Einspänner, Strawberry Cloud Matcha, Snowy Ube Matcha, and Black Sesame Hōjicha Einspänner, according to DoorDash. The shop also serves hojicha, a roasted green tea with lower caffeine content than matcha.
Ceré Tea's growing regional profile earned it a spot among 11 Bay Area matcha cafes highlighted by KQED in August, which pointed to the chain's viral popularity and preparations like guava-infused matcha. Before landing in Berkeley, the company opened its San Francisco Mission District shop at 1186 Valencia St. in March, KQED reported.
A Shattuck Avenue Storefront Built for Foot Traffic
The Berkeley space is on Shattuck Avenue in Downtown Berkeley. That location gives Ceré Tea a storefront in the city.
The expansion arrives amid a broader surge in specialty matcha retail. The global matcha market was valued at $5.1 billion in 2025 and is projected to hit $5.5 billion in 2026, climbing toward $8.9 billion by 2033 at a 7.1% annual growth rate, per Grand View Research. North America alone captured 28.5% of global matcha market revenue in 2025, as green tea beverages gain traction as wellness alternatives to coffee, according to a separate Grand View Research release.
Hiring Baristas Across Most Locations
Ceré Tea is hiring baristas at most of its locations, per the East Bay Times, seeking reliable, detail-oriented team members who value hospitality, enjoy working with people, and take pride in creating beautiful drinks and welcoming experiences. Matcha or café experience is considered a plus but is not described as required. Applicants can apply by emailing a résumé or inquiring in person, the outlet reports.
Berkeley's local minimum wage was updated in July 2026, according to the City of Berkeley. Berkeley employers are also governed by the city's Fair Workweek Ordinance, which mandates predictable work schedules with two weeks' advance notice and requires predictability pay when shifts are changed at the last minute, per the same city agency.
Those labor costs sit alongside steep ingredient prices driving the ceremonial-grade matcha trend. Ceremonial-grade matcha commands a wholesale price of $80 to $120 per kilogram, compared to just $20 to $40 per kilogram for culinary-grade matcha, according to Alibaba.com, reflecting the early spring harvesting and labor-intensive processing behind the premium leaves. The Berkeley shop joins other matcha concepts in Northern California.
