Look inside this new cafe pouring custom matcha drinks

A new cafe near LSU’s campus adds something unique to Baton Rouge’s matcha scene. 

Twistella Cafe opened Sept. 1 at 630 Arlington Creek Center Blvd., Ste. D. The shop’s owner, Abdul Rahman Obeh, began planning to open his own business shortly after moving to the United States almost two years ago. 

Obeh worked as a barista when he lived in the Middle East and knew he wanted to open his own cafe in America. The owner has a deep love for coffee, but also wants to share matcha, desserts and Italian sodas with the community. 

Twistella’s matcha is imported from Japan. Obeh says he wanted to share a more authentic flavor with his customers, since he hasn’t been able to find it since moving to Baton Rouge. 

“All the matcha here in the market is commercial matcha. The one I get is different,” Obeh says. “If you love matcha and you try a lot of places here, you can come here and try our matcha, and you will say, ‘Oh, this is real matcha.’”

Twistella has six syrup flavors to customize matcha drinks and plans to offer more after its soft-opening phase. Customers can order specialty drinks off the menu, such as banana crumble or Biscoff matcha, or customize their own drink by mixing different syrups.

As for upcoming flavors, Obeh says he is adding new syrups and items based on customer recommendations. He says guests have also asked for Hōjicha, a roasted brown tea similar to matcha, which he will add to the menu as well. 

Along with matcha, the cafe serves coffee and Italian soda beverages. The menu currently offers a Spanish latte, which contains espresso, milk and condensed milk; a Biscoff latte; a salted caramel latte; and more iced coffee options. Italian sodas are another item Obeh enjoyed in the Middle East and wanted to bring to Baton Rouge. Also called a refresher, the beverage is a soda or sparkling water topped with the customer’s choice of flavored syrup. 

And if you’re hungry, the cafe also has a selection of sweet treats. Waffles, crepes, mini pancakes and taiyaki, a popular Japanese pastry, are all available. Or you can grab a scoop of one of 12 ice cream flavors. 

The new cafe’s soft opening has been a great success, Obeh says. Since opening its doors, Twistella has sold out of its matcha on three occasions. Obeh shared on social media that he didn’t expect this level of popularity and will be ordering larger batches from now on. 

Obeh says the response from customers has been great so far, and he values creating a positive customer experience. 

“I treat my customers like a family. I’m not here just to get the money from you,” he says. “If you found any problem, anything you don’t like, you can just come back. Just let me know what the problem was. I can fix it.” 

Twistella Cafe will be holding a grand opening event on Oct. 1. Obeh says the grand opening will come with a new website, extended hours and an updated menu.

The shop is currently open Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Stay up to date with Twistella Cafe on Instagram.