Alexander Robateau

Tea industry professional engaged in tea writing, consulting, and in-person education.

New York, New York, United States of America

About

As a tea educator and industry professional, I bridge my scientific training with my deep respect for Japanese tea traditions. I seek to answer questions raised by our ever-changing understanding of tea, and I am passionate about sharing what I've learned during my many years in the tea industry. I approach all of my educational duties with the question, "How does this contribute to the preservation of over a millennium of tea culture?" My passion for tea deepened nearly 10 years ago, when I studied Urasenke-school tea ceremony in college. I entered the tea industry working for Ippodo, widely considered an industry leader in Japanese matcha and looseleaf tea production. After working for a few years in brain health research, I re-entered the tea industry to work for Matchaful, where I am currently the Director of Tea Education. Seeing the need to recenter the importance of Japanese traditions, I resumed my tea practice in 2025 and I continue to be an active member of the Urasenke Chanoyu Center in Manhattan. I was originally trained as a clinical psychologist, and most recently worked as a coordinator for NIH-funded research on Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD). I bridge my scientific training with my desire to raise awareness about traditional Japanese tea, bringing an evidence-based approach to tea education.

Education

Teachers College, Columbia University

Master of Arts - MA, Clinical Psychology / January, 2021

Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Psychology, Asian Studies / January, 2018

Waseda University

Certificate, School of International Liberal Studies Exchange / January, 2017

Experience

Matchaful

Director of Education / March, 2026 — Present

Direct Matchaful’s overall education strategy, guiding internal education strategy, developing educational material for wholesale partners, developing public-facing educational materials, leading the Berry St. Ritual Bar rollout and strategy. Guides the company's commitment to authenticity, cultural respect, and world-class tea preparation. Assists with the development of new tea tools. Develops and manages the programming for the company's education-focused tea bar in Williamsburg, Ritual Bar.

Manager of Education / February, 2025 — March, 2026

Works with the Manager of Training and Creative Retail Strategist to design and implement tea-focused educational programming for bar staff, works with the Senior Marketing Manager to develop engaging and relevant customer- and partner-facing educational and marketing materials, works with the CEO to sample new tea products, interfaces with suppliers to better understand and highlight clean botanical nutritional facts in internal and external educational materials.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Clinical Research Coordinator / April, 2024 — February, 2025

CRC II - Rivera Mindt Lab Study Coordinator, CLARiTI Study Inclusion Core Site PI: Dr. Monica Rivera Mindt Assisted the Project Manager in designing and implementing initiatives to increase enrollment of historically underrepresented populations in brain health research. Drove marketing and website planning, developed presentations for local and national brain health advocacy initiatives, assisted the Project Manager and PIs with managing a small core of centrally located community outreach specialists, facilitated internal and stakeholder-facing meetings, produced brain health research recruitment materials and website copy in accessible language, advised navigators on the creation of a national community research liaison network, assisted local Project Manager with budgetary and regulatory tasks.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Research Assistant / March, 2022 — April, 2024

Data Coordinator Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain Long Life Family Study (LLFS) Site PI: Dr. Stephanie Cosentino Cleaned and entered data collected by field staff, trained in neuropsychological testing, advised field staff on appropriate data collection methods to ensure data integrity and reduce noise.

Ippodo Tea USA

Supervisor / January, 2019 — March, 2022

Supervised a small staff at Ippodo Tea's New York outpost. Maintained the strict aesthetic and cultural standards of a heritage Japanese tea company, completed regular inventory counts and ordered supplies to ensure smooth store operations, educated staff and guests about Ippodo's tea products and about Japanese tea culture, conducted tea tastings for guests, assisted Kyoto management team with producing and selecting new tea products to market to American customer base, trained in omotenashi customer service, interfaced with wholesale partners--made local deliveries of wholesale tea to provide a personal touch to Ippodo's partnerships.

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