Play NYT Games’ Connections This Week for a Free Matchaful Drink in NYC

This might be a controversial opinion: Wordle had a phase, but Connections has had a lasting impact. Case in point: Saturday, March 7th will bring us the 1,000th Connections puzzle to date. To celebrate this occasion, The New York Times Games is partnering with NYC-based matcha company Matchaful to offer free Connections drinks to puzzlers all week long.

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From March 2nd through 7th, every Matchaful location in NYC will offer these Connections-inspired drinks for free while supplies last, from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. You can’t just walk in and claim a drink, though; you’ll need to present your score for that day’s Connections puzzle to claim your prize (whether you complete it in color-order or not).

What is Matchaful?

Matchaful is a “Farm-To-Whisk” company offering premium matcha from the Shizuoka and Aichi prefectures of Japan, delivered within three months of grinding to prevent oxidation. In addition to their online store stocked with matcha, snacks, and accessories, Matchaful also operates seven cafés around New York City. These cafés offer a robust mix of matcha lattes, elixirs, and plant-based snacks.

What’s in the Matchaful Connections drink?

It’d just be too easy for all four layers of the Connections drink to be the same base mixed with different colors. Each layer of this quad-drink features a different ingredient mix:

Purple – Purple Sweet Potato, Taro, Maple, Coconut Milk
Blue – Blue Spirulina, Maple, Almond Cream
Green – Grape, 3g Kiwami Super Ceremonial Matcha, Almond Cream
Yellow – Pineapple, Maple

While the layers obviously look like wholly separate experiences, there’s a nutty, maple, lightly fruity throughline across the entire drink. As a bonus, the complexity of each layer roughly matches the difficulty of that color in the actual Connections puzzle!

Which Matchaful locations are participating in this Connections drink promotion?

• SoHo – 184 Prince St., New York, NY 10012
• Nolita – 217 Mulberry St., New York, NY 10012
• West Village – 87 Christopher St., New York, NY 10014
• Midtown East (inside Clean Market) – 240 E 54th St., New York, NY 10022
• Brookfield Place (inside Clean Market) – 250 Vesey St., 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10281
• Clinton Hill – 44 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11205
• Williamsburg – 92 Berry St., Brooklyn, NY 11249