Why I Chose Ceremonial-Grade Matcha

As someone who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and spent years writing laboratory reports, I want to commit to writing regularly and share my thoughts eloquently on this platform. This space allows me to dive deeper and be more personal — to talk about what really happens behind the scenes of running FedwithMatcha, including the challenges and moments that don’t get shared on Instagram.

So much has happened over the past year, and I still find it hard to believe that I’ve been baking full-time for almost a year now. Looking back, it feels only right to start from the beginning.

How It All Started

The early days of baking, long before FedwithMatcha existed

It all started in my mother’s kitchen.

My love for baking began when I was nine years old, simply watching my mother move around the kitchen with ease. She was always baking and cooking, and the kitchen never failed to smell amazing. Some of my fondest memories are of her holding my hands as we baked brownies and cookies together. Brownies and cookies were the very first bakes I ever made, and they’ve been part of my baking journey ever since.

I used to bake every day during my secondary school years. No one taught me how to bake professionally, so I turned to YouTube — searching endlessly for “fail-proof” recipes. I remember so clearly how many of my early bakes turned out rock hard, kueh-like, and completely inedible. But somehow, I kept going. Practice and perseverance carried me through, and I believe it was the Lord’s unmerited favour.

Baking slowly became a huge part of my identity. When I wasn’t baking, I was watching baking videos or anything food related. I loved watching Cupcake Jemma, MasterChef Australia, and MasterChef Asia. Food was always at the centre of my world.

From Healthcare to Home Bakery

Learning when to pause and listen — a turning point

For a long time, it never occurred to me that baking could be anything more than a hobby.

Family expectations played a role, and so did my other strength: science. It was a subject I enjoyed and did well in, and I went on to pursue both a diploma and a degree in biotechnology, with the aim of working in healthcare or in the medical field.

I eventually worked in the healthcare field — demanding, exhausting, but extremely fulfilling in its own way. Even then, I was still baking for family and friends, occasionally taking small preorders on the side. Juggling both was tough, but baking always gave me a kind of joy and excitement that somehow made the tiredness fade.

Around the same time, my health took a turn, and my relationship with food wasn’t in a good place, even with the desserts I loved making. That season forced me to slow down and reflect. I began wondering what it would be like to pause, and to do something I truly loved for a living.

That was when I took a leap of faith and resigned from my healthcare job to bake full-time. I held my first pop-up event at Joo Chiat in April 2025, officially launching the brand.

The Birth of FedwithMatcha

Matcha brownies and cookies — the first bakes behind FedwithMatcha

I created an Instagram account and posted for the first time in September 2024, without much expectation, just to kickstart this journey.

Brownies and cookies were non-negotiable for me. They were the bakes I loved most, and the ones I had been baking since I was nine years old. What may sound crazy is that it took me almost two years of trial and error before I officially sold my matcha brownies and cookies.

I practised these recipes over and over again — after work, on weekends, whenever I could. It became a personal mission for me to nail those two recipes. It definitely burned a hole in my wallet, especially when I could have easily made or purchased regular brownies or bakes in more conventional flavours like many others on the market. But I didn’t want to take that route.

The Meaning Behind the Bakery

Naming the bakery, Why ceremonial-grade matcha and tea bakes

When thinking about the name of the bakery, I knew one thing for sure: it had to be centred around matcha. I had always wanted to do something matcha and tea-related, long before it became a trend.

Choosing matcha was deeply personal. I’ve always loved consuming matcha, long before the craze, for its health and skin benefits. Inspired by the food scenes in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, I wanted to bring that same depth and respect for tea flavours back to Singapore, especially at a time when the matcha scene here was still relatively small.

For a long time, I felt that many matcha desserts leaned too sweet or too gentle on the palate. The matcha was present, but it was rarely the focus. I wanted to create bakes where matcha led every bite — and the same goes for all of my tea bakes. That belief stayed with me, and it was what led me to name the bakery, FedwithMatcha.

That same belief is also what led me to choose ceremonial matcha and quality tea powders. It comes down to a simple philosophy: I’ve always believed that food tastes better when it’s made with intention and care — using quality ingredients rather than shortcuts. That, to me, is what premium truly means. Many components are made from scratch, which takes more time and effort, but allows me to bake what I truly believe tastes best in my matcha and tea bakes. Because much of this is made from scratch and run by one person, questions around scaling and production are things I still think about often — but perhaps that’s a conversation for another post.

Moving Forward

I’ve always loved journalling and writing my thoughts down, which is why this space feels like a natural extension of that habit. There’s so much more I want to share — from the challenges and frustrations to the moments that have been incredibly rewarding and fulfilling in ways words sometimes can’t describe, along with bits and pieces of my personal life and the thoughts that shape how I move through this journey.

Janka
Founder of FedwithMatcha