Coffee Movement Matcha Tea House: 7 am by the Cable Cars

The Coffee Movement, at 1030 Washington Street on the slope between Chinatown and Nob Hill, opens at 7 am every day and closes at 2 pm on weekdays and 4 pm on weekends. It is a coffee bar first, but it earns a spot on any matcha tea house list: The Infatuation's October 2026 matcha guide singles out its hot and iced matcha for keeping a rich, grassy flavor.

The company's About page says it was founded in 2016 by Bryan Overstreet and Reef Bessette as a mobile cafe in the back of a 1969 Volkswagen bus. Sprudge reported that Overstreet bought and renovated the butter-colored van in 2017, and that the Washington Street bar opened in early 2019. The van still anchors the space, and regulars still drink standing beside it on the sidewalk.

The shop itself is tiny. La Marzocco, whose espresso machine it uses, described it as a 200 square foot coffee bar on the cable car line, oriented toward outdoor seating. There is no indoor dining room: expect a single bench in front of the window and a ledge at the back of the camper van. A second shop opened later at 1737 Balboa Street in the Inner Richmond.

Coffee writers who visited early noted how little room there is. Brian's Coffee Spot described the bench in front of the window and found it easier to stand at the back of the camper van, where the ledge doubles as a table. That arrangement is part of the charm: you drink outside on one of the steepest blocks of the cable car route, with Victorian flats and Chinatown rooftops around you.

Do not expect a bowl and bamboo whisk. The Infatuation notes that the matcha is not whisked to order, but that both the hot and iced versions keep a rich grassy flavor. An older official menu described the matcha latte simply as organic stone-mill matcha with milk; the cafe does not publish where the powder is grown, and it no longer posts a menu page online, so prices are on the board at the window.

For a first cup, order the matcha iced if the sun is out and hot if the fog is sitting on the hill. The iced version is easier to carry uphill toward Nob Hill, while the hot cup suits standing at the van in the morning chill. People who drink matcha mostly for the tea flavor should skip extra syrups; the grassy edge The Infatuation praises is the reason to order it here.

Who is this for? A matcha drinker who also wants serious coffee nearby, or a group where half want espresso and half want tea. It is less suited to anyone after a ceremonial preparation, a quiet table or a long menu of flavored matcha drinks. For whisked-to-order cups, Asha Tea House on Kearny Street is about a twenty-minute walk downhill toward Market Street, and it serves its matcha in several styles.

Most of the line is here for espresso. The SF Standard reported in June 2026 that the house coffee is roasted by Saint Frank. The October 2025 copy of the cafe's own menu listed espresso at $3, a cappuccino at $4 and a latte at $5, plus an Espresso Tonic with lemon at $7. Those are the most recent official prices online, so expect the window board to have the final word.

The signature order on that menu was the Tasting Flight: three pours of the day's featured coffees, or one coffee prepared three ways, at $7 or $9. It suits a pair splitting drinks, one with matcha and one with the flight. The SF Standard also reported that the original shop would stop offering single-origin coffees once a planned slow bar opened nearby, so the flight may move there.

Mornings bring the busiest stretch, since the window opens at 7 am and the cable cars feed passengers onto this block all day. With only a bench and the van ledge, a queue of even a handful of people fills the sidewalk. Remember the early close: the window shuts at 2 pm on weekdays, so an afternoon matcha plan needs a weekend or a different cafe. Order, step aside to the van, and leave the path clear.

The SF Standard reported in June 2026 that a second Chinatown space, a four-seat slow bar at 1200 Mason Street across from the Cable Car Museum, was set to open in fall 2026, roughly 300 feet away. Once it opens, the Washington Street window is expected to become grab-and-go. If seats matter, check which of the two is pouring when you arrive.

The Cable Car Museum at 1201 Mason Street is a few steps uphill, free to enter and closed Mondays. The Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines stop at the museum, and inside you can watch the giant wheels that pull every cable car in the city.

From the museum, climb south on Mason and Taylor to Huntington Park at 1050 Taylor Street, a small square on the top of Nob Hill with benches and a fountain. Grace Cathedral faces the park across Taylor. Walking back down Washington Street drops you into Chinatown's markets within five blocks, a good way to finish the cup before shopping on Stockton Street. Wear flat shoes; the grades here are among the steepest in the city.

The Coffee Movement Chinatown: 1030 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94108. Hours: Monday to Friday 7 am to 2 pm, Saturday and Sunday 7 am to 4 pm. Outdoor seating only; no reservations. The Inner Richmond shop is at 1737 Balboa Street. Use the Karpo APP to pair the stop with the Cable Car Museum or a Chinatown lunch.