Who we are
Hi, we’re Jules Reyes and Marc St Raymond, co-founders of Mindful Drops, a functional wellness brand centered around matcha’s calming amino acid L-theanine, and creators of Matcha Program, an educational platform designed to resource cafe operators with the tools and knowledge to elevate their matcha programs. For over a decade, we’ve built our careers in the matcha industry, beginning as part of the founding team at Jade Leaf Matcha, where we helped scale the brand from a single Amazon listing into the #1 selling matcha brand in the U.S.—an omnichannel, multimillion-dollar company acquired in 2020. Through Matcha Program, our mission is to bridge a major gap in the industry: most matcha education is written for consumers, not operators, and we’re here to change that.
why we started the matcha program
While our main focus is growing Mindful Drops, we remain passionate about supporting small businesses—especially high-volume cafes. Matcha demand keeps growing, yet most programs don’t get the same intentional support and systems that coffee programs do. And baristas, often on the frontlines of matcha education, are left without the training or resources they need.
That’s why we created Matcha Program: to scale the kinds of resources, stories, and systems we’ve shared behind closed doors so operators can thrive. Think of us as an extension of your team—practical guidance you can keep in your pocket.
meet your matcha educators
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Follow @julesreyes_
Jules is a matcha educator, brand strategist, and community builder with over a decade of experience advancing matcha education and culture across the U.S. consumer and cafe space. She is the Co-founder of Mindful Drops, a functional wellness brand centered on L-theanine and calm focus.
As a founding team member of Jade Leaf Matcha, Jules helped scale the brand from a single Amazon listing into the #1 selling matcha company in the U.S., leading to its multimillion-dollar acquisition in 2020. Her previous work consulting with specialty cafes to build intentional matcha programs inspired the creation of The Matcha Program—a free educational platform designed to scale matcha education for foodservice operators. The program equips cafes and baristas with the tools, systems, and knowledge to deliver matcha with the same rigor and consistency as specialty coffee.
Jules is deeply committed to resourcing cafes and operators with practical, context-driven education that improves consistency, profitability, and customer experience. Her work centers on helping teams build confidence, clarity, and systems that allow matcha to thrive in modern cafe environments.
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Follow @marcstraymond
Marc St Raymond is a serial entrepreneur, brand builder, and business strategist with over a decade of experience in the matcha industry. As Co-Founder of Jade Leaf Matcha, he helped pioneer the mainstream adoption of matcha in the U.S., making Japanese matcha more accessible through transparent sourcing and fair pricing. Under his leadership, the brand scaled from a single Amazon listing into a multimillion-dollar omnichannel business, culminating in its acquisition in 2020.
Today, Marc continues to shape the future of functional wellness as Co-Founder of Mindful Drops, a science-backed brand designed to make the benefits of L-theanine accessible to everyday coffee and tea drinkers. He also serves as Co-Creator of The Matcha Program, an educational platform offering free frameworks and resources that help cafes and pop-ups strengthen their matcha programs.
Marc’s work sits at the intersection of innovation, wellness, and operational strategy, bridging the gap between consumer insight and meaningful beverage experiences.