A matcha with Leo & Cara
We are so excited to have you here! Let’s start stirring! Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Cara - Hi! I am Cara. I’m 26, Jordanian, and currently working as a senior campaign manager at an advertising tech company. I love all things music (singing and playing the piano, mostly to myself), reading, going on coffee walks with friends, and hosting wine and cheese, board game, or movie nights in my cozy little flat.
Leo - I’m Leo, 27, and deeply devoted to the small things in life that bring joy and finding opportunities to romanticise my life (most likely a coping mechanism to counteract my overthinking brain). Whether that’s my morning coffee, a favourite book of the month, embracing the colder seasons with an excitement that would be immature for a 7-year old or changing my entire personality to match my current tv-series obsession.
Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
Cara - I grew up in Jordan until I was about 8 years old and then moved to Abu Dhabi after my dad got a new job out there. I lived there until I was 17 years old, when I moved to the UK for university, and now feel extremely blessed to be living and working in London. Growing up, I always lived on the outskirts of the cities (basically in the middle of nowhere) so it still feels surreal to be in a place as alive as London.
Leo - I was born in Germany and after a brief stint in the UK (Glasgow & London) lived there until I was eighteen and decided to continue living out my Enid Blyton inspired dreams by returning to the UK for university. After living in the UK for eight community, tea & happiness-filled years, I moved to Amsterdam two years ago (for love.. of course) and have since fallen more in love with this cosy city every day.
What led you to start The Matcha Diaries Podcast together?
After meeting in our first university lecture, there was one third space that soon occupied a large chunk of our time. A local cafe where they served matcha with oat milk (2016 in Lancaster this was not an easy feat believe it or not!) saw us share our thoughts, emotions and slowly realise that perfection may be overrated and instead actually being honest could help heal our respective insecurities. After university, the year that shall not be named (aka 2020) came along and after a year of long-distance friendship we finally reunited on a long-distance walk. We reflected on those deep conversations in that university cafe and wanting to hold on to that feeling we had the same unique idea that 90% of best friends do... aka ‘we should start a podcast’! It started as a chance for us to talk every week and maintain our long-distance friendship, quickly turned into weekly therapy sessions and ultimately has turned into our safe space (aka audio diary) where we can truly be ourselves and share all of our honest, conflicting feelings about being in our 20s. Five years down the line and we feel so lucky to have this audio time capsule of our weekly thoughts throughout our 20s and along the way have built a community of listeners who are right there with us.
What has been one of your favorite episodes so far with the podcast?
Cara - This is such a difficult question because there are so many I love, but I think I'd have to say our episodes around self love & confidence. This has been one of my biggest struggles in my 20’s and I feel so lucky to have the space to talk about my struggles but also how I want to overcome them on the podcast with Leo. I really think it has helped me be more self aware, want to take actionable steps to improve my relationship with myself, and it's also helped me feel less alone in this world. I also love the episodes on loneliness and making friends in your 20’s because it’s also something I know 20 year old me had been yearning for, for so long, and through being reflective and intentional It has helped me actually create those connections rather than just waiting for them to appear.
Leo - Two immediately come to mind (I realise that’s cheating but they’re for very different reasons so I hope it’s permitted) - one being a recent episode we recorded with my mum (a mother’s advice on finding love & confidence in yourself) which was so incredibly special and I’m so grateful we recorded, and the second being an episode we recorded on our biggest failures in life (inspired by Elizabeth Day’s podcast ‘how to fail’) which was by FAR the most confronting and hardest to record but ultimately was such a big growth moment for met.
If you could have any guest in the world on your podcast, who would it be?
Cara - I honestly would want to have my dad on the podcast. He is the most selfless and caring person I have ever met, despite his hardships in life. I got him a journaling book a couple of years ago, with a bunch of prompts for him to answer and share back with me so I’d always have his thoughts and words with me, but it would be really special to capture a moment with him on the podcast. I fear he is a little too shy for it, though.
Leo - I would have to agree! My dad is such a deep thinker and has such an incredible way of seeing and reflecting about the world and art around him which I would love to share with the podcast and get the opportunity to examine in an interview format. Another dream guest would be my grandma, she’s one of the people in my life i look up to the most - she’s incredibly intelligent, wise, knows just about everything there is to know about relevant historical and literary figures and just happens to be an incredible story teller!
We see that you host a book club too! Could you tell us more about that?
Reading is one of our shared passions so it made sense for us to include our reviews and recommendations of books we’ve read & loved (or not) on the podcast. We noticed that a lot of our listeners shared our love of reading, so starting a book club felt like the perfect way to build a cosy little bookish community we always dreamed of having. We host it on patreon, vote on a book every month and then have a meeting (online) where we share our ratings, thoughts and yap about whatever is on everyone’s minds that day! It’s been amazing to broaden our reading horizons and find new all-time favourite books through the book club. Most importantly though, it’s been so incredibly special to build a real community (some of our book club members we have now seen almost every month for 3 years!) that we feel so excited and lucky to talk to every month. <3
What’s one thing nobody would expect about you?
Cara - Despite hosting a podcast and speaking/meeting a lot of new faces, I’m actually quite shy at first and need a bit of time to warm up before I am my most comfortable self!
Leo - At first glance you may not realise how entirely inept I am at very basic life skills (this lack manifests itself most severely in the kitchen). To name just two examples involving fire: a) I managed to start a fire in my oven whilst microwaving popcorn (famously not a difficult activity) & b) I caused a shooting flame to erupt from my wok when attempting to make gyozas. Both times I was saved by friends who actually know how to react in a crisis, as the only thing I was capable of doing was stepping back, freezing & staring at the chaos I’d caused... oops
Normally we ask how do you take your coffee, however, it only seems fitting to ask about matcha! What are your go-to orders?
Cara - This may sound simple, but I genuinely love a classic Matcha Latte with oat milk. In the summer, I love treating myself to Jenki’s Iced Blueberry Matcha, it's the perfect refreshing but sweet treat.
Leo - When I’m at home, I looove making my matcha with a dash of maple syrup, vanilla & a lil sprinkle of sea salt. When I’m out, an (iced) oat matcha is my go-to order!
