Located directly behind Uchi on 25th and Larimer, traditional matcha gets a significant upgrade.

Sam Butarbutar, the Mochi Muffin Man as partner and co-owner Wenter Shyu calls him, has brought Japan to Denver in the form of mochi-based pastries and unique matcha drinks. Shyu, the master behind the matcha, honors traditional matcha by sourcing only from Kyoto, but morphs it into something entirely new when either roasted, combined with strawberry lychee, or mixed with Butarbutar’s signature homemade caramel. No surprise, the full pastry menu lineup features the mochi muffin that launched a thousand ships, waffles, daifukus, and will soon offer soft serve for summer. The infamous mochi muffin is primarily made of rice flour making it, yes, gluten free, but also giving it a bouncy texture new to Denver. While matcha and mochi bring new flavors and combinations, the best combination at Third Culture is owners and real-life partners, Butarbutar and Shyu.

Butarbutar and Shyu pay tribute to their ‘third culture’ upbringing in which it didn’t match that of their parents. They pulled deep from those experiences and honored their individual roots, transforming them to represent new beginnings, even if some had rot in the process. Holding back tears, Butarbutar recounts coming out to his family and ultimately losing that relationship, but finding himself a son to Shyu’s mother. Butarbutar recalls baking with his mom and eventually creating the mochi muffin, which now stands as a symbol for inclusion. From where I stand, I see Butarbutar and Shyu standing behind the counter, Lamborghini car wrap as wallpaper, and their cartoon faces on pink bags filled with rainbow stickers. I see two partners standing in a renowned bakery they built from the ground up that they never had as children, and I know that Butarbutar’s tears are happy tears filled with pride. Shyu and Butarbutar have built houses disguised as bakeries and invited everyone into their homes.

Much like a house, everything in Third Culture, even down to the ceramics is either chosen meticulously or even created. Shyu, far more than a matcha-tender, also functioned as the creative designer for the interior spaces. Their famous pink is not only an homage to feminism, but also derived from WWII when pink upside-down triangles were used to identify queer prisoners. Their floor-to-ceiling windows transform light from a moody orange to a dreamy pink, and paint customers in a changing glow. Shyu even curated the music playlist inside, aiming for a “light pride” vibe.

Inside their bakery looks a lot like inside their social media, which also looks a lot like inside Shyu and Butarbutar. When given pushback from customers on why they felt the need to be so politically active on social media and the social justice scene, Shyu comments that they wake up being a political statement: being Asian, being queer, being “gay-as-fuck” – it simply wasn’t an option to stay silent. It’s with that mindset that after a customer commented they didn’t want a rainbow sticker on their to-go box, Butarbutar found one of Third Culture’s core beliefs – “Speak your truth, even if your voice shakes.”

In response to the killing of George Floyd as well as the violence against AAPI communities, Shyu wanted to go further and provide something a little more tangible than donations. Shyu and Butarbutar began putting together safety kits to give out to vulnerable populations, such as AAPI, Black, and LGBTQ+ communities. The safety kits include pepper spray and an extremely loud alarm one can sound if they feel in danger. What first started as a manageable 100-or-so kits eventually turned into thousands and thousands of orders, with almost 5,000 going directly to an elderly home. More information on ways to contribute can be found on Third Culture’s site here.

Butarbutar and Shyu already have impressive plans to open several more locations. “We want to move as fast as possible for others,” Shyu says. Both have taken from their upbringings and either filled gaps for things they lacked or removed burdens they had in surplus. Third Culture has created a space filled with transformative light, mouthwatering pastries and matcha, and an ultimate sense of familial inclusion and kindness.

Written by Jenna McGoldrick