Coffee town meets its matcha: Robots help power ex-Axon leader’s Seattle beverage startup Vale

Luke Larson, founder and CEO of Vale, with one of the company’s automated matcha dispenser units in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Luke Larson used to get a charge out of working on Tasers and body-worn cameras for law enforcement at Axon. Now he’s buzzing over matcha, the ancient Japanese green tea powder that devotees say delivers calm, focused energy without the jitters of coffee.