Bringing community together, one matcha at a time

For those in Aspen looking for an alternative to aprés, where the opportunity for connection can align with a bid for health and wellness, it’s time to meet up for matcha at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday in Herron Park.

Driven by a desire to foster a deeper sense of community and friendship, the Matcha Walk is aiming to provide a space where locals can meet more like-minded individuals and start the day off in an empowering way.

“I wanted to find a way to connect with other people in town, not over alcohol, and have really interesting conversations with them,” said Ashley Grimmel, founder of The Fresh Program and one of the three women hosting the event. “I want to have a deep conversation with someone that I don’t know, hear different perspectives … It’s just a really perfect way to bring people together and have a little bit of connection and ceremony around it.”

Grimmel, along with the other two event hosts — Jackie Akerberg, creative force behind the popular plant-based food brand Jackfruitful, and Sarah Beattie, founder of Aspen’s newest community app The 611 along with Landen Saks — are all too familiar with how difficult it can be to find genuine connection in a valley that can trend toward transient attachments and an emphasis on nighttime events.

“It’s easy to meet people here, but it’s hard to build friendships,” Beattie said.

She added that, after meeting both Grimmel and Akerberg, the value of being able to build those types of deeper friendships became especially evident.

“These two women walk and talk the mindset of ‘everyone else’s success is my success,'” she said. “That’s just the kind of energy that I respond very strongly to. We are each other’s cheerleaders through and through.”

According to Akerberg, fostering that type of authentic bond is exactly what the Matcha Walk is for.

“This is a great opportunity to spread those wings and connect with women that are active, community-minded and want more than just small talk,” she said.

Akerberg’s mission is to share healthier, high protein, plant-based recipes, and as a one-woman show who works from home, she said the idea of a Matcha Walk catered to both her excitement around a healthy, active lifestyle and a craving for more in-person connection.

For Grimmel, who goes into businesses to work with key employees, usually upper level executives, to improve their health, happiness and performance, the event also aligns deeply with her brand. She flagged that for many women in leadership roles, the relationship part is something that she focuses on.

“Seeing other people connect with each other … there’s this look that people get on their faces when they meet someone new and get in an in-depth conversation,” Grimmel said of the visible impact interpersonal relationships can have.

And for Beattie, who worked at Meta for years and was on the team that she said “detected the worst of what humanity could put online,” her new platform built for real-life connection is trying to unravel the legacy of toxic social “norms” that online forums have been imposing on people, particularly women.

“It felt like we were trying to really solve problems but, at the end of the day, it really just started to feel like we were building bandaids,” she said of her time at Meta. “When I left, I felt like social platforms are really just not working for women in particular … When anonymity destroys accountability, women really bear the brunt of that.”

The Matcha Walk is single-handedly part of Beattie’s vision to allow women to begin to reconnect authentically in their own backyards.

“I just want to facilitate true, deep connection between women because that’s where we find our power,” she said. “That’s where we grow our power, that’s where we feel fulfillment, that’s where we feel support.”

And while everyone is welcome — whether or not they are an avid matcha drinker — Akerberg is also on a mission to elevate Aspen’s matcha game with her own signature “golden ratio recipe.”

She uses organic spring harvest ceremonial grade matcha, the highest-tier green tea, which she said has a velvety, silky texture and a mildly sweet, earthy flavor. She uses a slightly higher amount of matcha than usual, with a focus on its flavor, and mixes two teaspoons (sifted) with a pinch of sea salt salt, 2 ounces of water (not hot), 6-8 ounces plain unsweetened soy milk and ice.

The result is a thick and creamy drink that attendees can also personalize with alternative milk options that will be available for the walk. Those making it at home can also add half to one teaspoon of maple syrup to make it sweeter or add one to two shots of espresso to make it what Akerberg calls a “dirty matcha.”

For all three women, the Matcha Walk is just the beginning of what they hope will be more opportunities for connection and friendship — The 611 is already planning a free ski tuning event with Hamilton Sports on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 5-7 p.m. for the first 40 members who sign up through The 611 app (tunes are $40 for all participants after that), with more events to come. Akerberg, Grimmel and Beattie also hope to continue the Matcha Walks, encouraging other women to also pick up the torch and have their own iterations.

“A huge sign of success is if someone else reaches out in a month to do a hot chocolate walk,” Beattie said. “It’s empowering the community with an idea they can replicate on their own.”

For those joining Nov. 10, attendees will meet at Herron Park in Aspen and enjoy matcha from 7:30-8 a.m. (611 members get a free matcha, and non-members can buy one for $5) before heading out on a walk from 8-9 a.m. There will be conversation cards and prompts, and friendly, well-behaved dogs are welcome.

To sign up, go to the-611.com/the-611-events/matchawalk.