Gotcha Matcha & Espresso | 200 S Tryon

Description: One of two Gotcha Matcha & Espresso locations in Uptown Charlotte, this one is tucked inside the lobby of the 200 South Tryon office building at Suite 120. Look for the entrance on S Tryon Street between W 2nd and W 3rd Streets. It is a compact matcha and espresso bar with a focused menu of handcrafted matcha lattes, espresso drinks, refresher teas, and pastries, including their signature Ube cinnamon rolls. The space is small and caters to the Uptown office crowd passing through the building lobby. Their other location is about two blocks south at Three Wells Fargo Center near The Green.

Comments: Small spot inside a larger building that houses other businesses as well. In the heart of Uptown, so paid parking, but plenty to explore. They have two locations in Uptown, both within walking distance of one another, this is one of them. There’s a small amount of seating in the store, then some more in the larger building, so not a ton but it’s there.

Let me get to what's most important though. If there were an award for the most creative cinnamon roll in Charlotte, this spot would win. Magnificent. Extraordinary. Sublime. Transcendent. A revelation. Per this TikTok post, as well as their menu, and my own first-person account, they have what are called "Ube cinnamon rolls." I'm something of a cinnamon roll connoisseur, yet my visit here was my first time hearing of such a thing. So, I asked the staff, and did some research of my own, and discovered that Ube cinnamon rolls are "a Filipino-inspired twist on the classic American cinnamon roll, characterized by its vibrant purple color and a unique earthy, sweet flavor."

I can attest to their brilliance, specifically because of how different these are from a standard cinnamon roll. They are extremely generous with the purple Ube icing, and the roll itself has a sort of brown bread base, maybe even wheat, that comes across as a tad healthier than white bread, maybe to offset the extravagance of the Ube. It's also huge.

So altogether, you get a massive cinnamon roll with colors that pop and flavors that pop, where the Ube icing is sweet but not the overwhelming buttercream sweet you may be used to in cinnamon rolls. It's just different, in a good way. I really think you should try it, then contact me to let me know what you think. I want to hear from you if the topic is cinnamon rolls.

What a splendid thing this is. For cultures around the world to bring their own unique flavors to the beauty that is a cinnamon roll. This is what we need y'all. Coming together worldwide over ways to bring your own flair to cinnamon rolls. Yes. Cinnamon roll diplomacy. I dig it.