Tokyo and London best cities for tech workers, according to “matcha index”

There are many ways to measure the quality of life – and your cup of matcha latte is apparently as good as any other.

Tokyo, the world’s capital of cool, is perhaps unsurprisingly also the most liveable city for tech workers. This is according to Savills, a global real estate advisory firm that came up with a new way of measuring quality of life based on local café culture.

The inaugural Matcha Index gives the Japanese city – where a cup of matcha latte costs $4.66 on average – top marks for offering “both value and vibrancy, blending traditional tea culture with a modern tech lifestyle.”

London, the British capital, is in second place and “matches Tokyo in café quality,” according to Savills, but is more expensive, with matcha priced at $5.54. However, its “indie cafés and ingrained coffee culture help maintain its position.”

Seoul, in South Korea, is third, followed by fourth-placed Toronto, Canada. The US city of San Francisco rounds out the top five.

“The Matcha Index reveals a clear pattern: tech cities that successfully blend lifestyle and innovation tend to thrive,” says Charlotte Rushton, associate in Savills World Research team.

Trendy coffeeshops, whether in Shoreditch or Gangnam, foster “spontaneous interactions, networking, and a seamless blend of work and leisure, making them essential to the social fabric of modern tech hubs,” according to Rushton.

“While the Index may appear playful, it underscores a serious truth: vibrant café cultures, whether centred on espresso or matcha, are vital to urban liveability and connectivity,” she says.

Savills considered the average cost of a matcha latte in select cities, as well as the quality of local coffee shops and how easy it is to order a proper cup of the trendy tea, among other factors.

Here are the top 10, with the average cost of a matcha latte in brackets:

1. Tokyo ($4.66)
2. London ($5.54)
3. Seoul ($4.15)
4. Toronto ($4.17)
5. San Francisco ($6.15)
6. Amsterdam ($5.97)
7. Singapore ($5.43)
8. Los Angeles ($6.12)
9. New York ($6.21)
10. Beijing ($3.61)

The Matcha Index replaces the annual Flat White Index as an alternative measure of a city’s status as a tech hub. According to Savills, matcha lattes have become the “go-to drink” for young professionals in the tech industry, which is increasingly focused on wellness.

The index is part of the firm’s larger Tech Cities research, which named San Francisco, New York, London, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles as the best overall hubs for global innovation and talent.

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