With so many cozy, small-town books on the market, you'd think they're all one and the same. But, if you're lucky enough, like I was, to find Natasha Bache's The Magical Matcha Teashop, you'll see that this genre has so much more to offer!
I got the chance to interview the author behind Lavender Hollow's incredible story, Natasha Bache.
Before we get into the Q&A, have a little look at the plot for The Magical Matcha Teashop!
After breaking off her engagement, Grace moves back to Lavender Hollow with her parents and, despite knowing she did the right thing, feels a little deflated. Desperate for a job and a routine, Grace lands a role at Matcha Made In Heaven, the town's coffee shop. Yuji, the owner, sees something in Grace she doesn't see in herself. She meets the bakery owner, Abigail, who happens to be his sister. Max Owens enters Grace's life and makes her question herself in the best way. Maybe matcha isn't the only thing brewing...
Simple one to start! What was your inspiration for Grace’s story?
The inspiration for Grace’s story began with the question, ‘What if you could influence people’s emotions through a cup of matcha?’ What would that look like, why and how did the matcha become magical, or is it actually the person making it who imbues it with magic?
That’s when the prologue came to me of Yuji’s wife, Mei, desperately preparing her last batch of matcha in order to ease his grief at her imminent passing.
Could you tell me about Lavender Hollow? Why that name, and why
include the shops/locations you did, such as the Psychic’s place?
The name Lavender Hollow came from the want to make the village sound cozy and familiar - Hollow is used for many fictional places that we know and love, like Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls, and I thought that Lavender gave the sense of this place being spring-like, whilst also evoking that sense of a beautiful smelling and slightly rugged/rural place.
Funnily enough, the psychic shop that Sybil runs, is heavily based on one of my favourite characters I’ve written from my witchy series called The Arcane Tales of Tamsyn Pride. There is a character called Quincy who is a tarot reader and sort of oracle. I thought it might be a nice easter egg for anyone who goes on to read that series, in that they might be related in some way as they look and behave so similarly…
To you, what makes a great setting for a small-town romance?
For me small town is all about the characters who reside there. My favourite part of the writing process is exploring the cast. I love writing quirky, humorous as well as dark people who feel very real, so whether the small town is quintessentially English, or it’s a rugged coastal town, it’s all about the people within the community that really help to bring it to life.
Do you think Grace was somewhat saved by Max (or vice versa), or
did they comply with an opposites attract type of thing, and help each
other?
I think Max demonstrates to Grace that he can be strong and protective, even going to the lengths to want to provide for her without the domineering control she was subjected to in her previous relationship. He offers to help her in any way he can, especially with money, but ultimately she rejects that (nicely) by figuring out a way to take on the Teashop by herself.
If anything, what do you want readers to think/feel while reading this
book?
I wanted to evoke the sense of a truly cozy read with an emotional thread running through the heart of it all. Feelings of grief, anger and betrayal, that are healed in a plausible way despite the element of magic. I love creating characters based on very real people I’ve met in my life, as well as situations I’ve found myself in, and enhance the scene though the medium of magic realism… those scenes, for example when Grace’s ex Oliver confronts her in the Teashop and the teapots start clattering on the shelves, feel quite cathartic to write and I hope it has an emotional connection with anyone reading who can perhaps relate to that situation.
What made you think to make the matcha magical? It’s unique in a
book like this to include that!
This is actually the first romance I’ve written, but as I have written a small-town magical series before, it felt natural to include a magical element. I love drinking matcha, and there’s such a grounding, comforting and ritualistic feeling when preparing it that it seemed like the perfect fit for the tone of the story I wanted to tell; about healing from the past and finding a brighter future.
Perhaps a cliché question now! What was your process for piecing
this amazing book together?
I always have two or three scenes that are in my head before I start writing. With The Magical Matcha Teashop, those scenes were the stormy nights - first when Grace discovers the broken pots of matcha and the mysterious book in the store room, then later when she is standing on a plinth in her wedding dress and Max whisks away to the bookshop through the driving rain, and lastly Yuji seeing his wife through the sunlight and dust-motes.
I’m a very visual person, so I usually have these scenes in my head as if they were in a film or series. I then have to start writing to get to those scenes, and it’s pretty much all discovery writing. I love doing it this way as it feels unpredictable, but it can also be hard at times, because you feel like you can only see two steps ahead. I have tried plotting out my work, but as I’m writing I tend to let the character lead me (that sounds pompous, but I don’t like forcing them as it can feel a little inauthentic.)
Do you enjoy matcha in real life? What’s your typical order?
Yes, I genuinely love matcha! My favourite is just making it at home, a regular ceremonial grade matcha, with a little bit of vanilla syrup and coconut milk, either steamed depending on the weather, over ice. I’d love to try out all of the amazing shops in London with the more adventurous flavours though!
Out of all of Abigail’s pastries mentioned in the book, what would you
order from her bakery?
When Grace can’t resist taking a hot maple and pecan pastry from the side, that’s totally because it’s my favourite - even though Abigail bakes incredible cakes and makes beautiful intricate pastries, the maple and pecan plait can’t be beaten in my opinion!
What is your favourite part or line from the book?
There are too many to choose from! Three that come to mind are the first time Abigail meets Grace and says, ‘I’m a tired baker, I’ll drink anything as long as it’s a piping hot caffeinated beverage.’ I actually added this line in when an incredible person sadly passed away in December 2025. His name was David Adam Williams, known to many as Adam the Woo, a YouTuber who documented his life and adventures.
I find him so inspiring, he lived his life to the absolute fullest and didn’t take a day for granted. I still watch him everyday, and one of his most common sayings was ‘a piping hot caffeinated beverage.’ The next is when Max says to Grace, ‘I want you to know that I see you, Grace. The real you. Not whatever version of yourself he tried to make you believe in.’ I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this - when someone in your life has perhaps given you a perception of yourself that is not accurate, but you almost start to believe them anyway.
Another line that always makes me laugh is when Grace and Yuji find Maow destroying his teapots and she says, ‘I think he’s trying to tell us something,’ and he replies ‘like what, “I enjoy destruction and your abject misery”?’ The whole scene always cracks me up!
You can find The Magical Matcha Teashop in supermarkets and bookstores everywhere!
