The “crowd-pleasing” item has been all over social media as of late
13:32, 17 Nov 2025Updated 13:44, 17 Nov 2025
Inside Sip & Stories on Smithdown Road
If there was ever a day for a lie in, it’s a Sunday, there’s no doubt about it. However, everyone I follow on TikTok would have you convinced otherwise.
The last few weeks, my ForYouPage has been inundated with videos of people up early doors to pay a visit to a tiny independent coffee shop on Smithdown Road. Located on one of Liverpool’s busiest streets, Sips & Stories opened back in March of this year.
Since then, it has been on my to-try list but given it is rarely a part of the city I venture to, it has remained unboxed off for some time. That was until last week, when I was trying a new supermarket, sandwiched between the Asda and Aldi, that I made the extra five-minute walk to order an item, that I discovered wasn’t even on the menu anymore.
The cosy venue sells coffee, loose leaf tea and a variety of sweet and savoury pastries made on site each day. Stable food items on the menu include flaky spinach, feta pastry, hybrid ‘cruffins’ which combine the best elements of a muffin and a croissant, as well as brownies, blondies and the most popular item on the menu – the custard tarts.
Sip & Stories speciality Shrek matcha
However, given I have never seen one particular item being done elsewhere, I knew I was ordering it straight off the bat. The item in question? A Shrek-themed matcha.
Co-owner Anestis Gaitanidis, originally from Greece but now living near Festival Gardens, explained how the it started out as a guest drink earlier this year but became such a hit that it’s now a permanent item on our menu.
He said because it’s been such a “crowd-pleaser”, it needed to come back. Despite this, it isn’t officially listed on the wall with all the other offerings so it’s more of a if you know, you know type situation – and at this rate, if your TikTok algorithm is anything like mine, most people will know.
The matcha will set you back £4 and just to be sure I also ordered a trusty caramel iced latte in case the green tea wasn’t for me. This was my first time trying a warm matcha so wanted to be on the safe side as I’ve been known to screw up my face after the smallest sip of its cold counterpart.
Mango and raspberry cold matcha drink with a cloud foam top from Sips & Stories on Smithdown Road
Thankfully this wasn’t the case with the Shrek matcha. Arriving like a miniature work of art, I eventually gave it a taste test after five minutes of trying to capture an Instagram-worthy picture.
The drink was dessert-like with the ideal amount of soft froth. It looked almost velvety, giving the drink a quiet elegance. There was a subtle sweetness that followed when you made your way through the cloud-like texture. The matcha was as expected and so it really was the creative illustration siting on the top of the cup that drew me in.
The pint-sized store shop did have a range of other matchas available including an iced raspberry and white chocolate blue matcha, strawberry, mango and raspberry matcha drinks.
Hot blue matcha with white chocolate flavour from Sips & Stories on Smithdown Road
The ECHO previously reported how in less than two months after opening, the shop had developed a cult following particularly among students.
This community still seemed to be thriving with multiple people cracking open their laptops and typing away inside the homey space. The same could be said for runners, who were grabbing a post-excerise treat.
Anestis, 40, launched the coffee shop with his friend Dimitrios Samaras. The friends both love the “rich coffee culture” found in their homecountry, and decided to bring this approach to their own shop.
Each month, Sips & Stories’ coffee selection changes, allowing their community to enjoy and discover new and exciting flavours, from bold, chocolatey richness of South American beans to the fruity and floral notes of African varieties.