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If you love to cook with tea, matcha green tea powder is a must have ingredient in your kitchen. It’s so versatile you can use in almost any drink – from cocktails to lattes, and in almost any dish – from savory soups to yummy cookies and sumptuous cakes, and even in DIY cosmetics. It really doesn’t surprise that it can be used for making the most delicious green tea lattes too. You don’t need to go to a coffee shop to enjoy a delicious matcha latte – it’s easy to make at home too.
What is matcha tea?
Matcha green tea powder is a type of Japanese tea made from shaded, destemmed and deveined green tea leaves. Tea leaves are ground into a very fine silky powder just before packaging. It has a vivid green color and intense scent and flavor with grassy, sweet and sometimes slightly bitter notes. Matcha is used in a Japanese tea ceremony. It’s prepared using traditional tea utensils, a tea bowl called chawan, a tea whisk called chasen, and a tea scoop called chashaku.
Traditionally, matcha is always served hot. However, many restaurants and cafes started offering either icy cold matcha drinks or hot matcha lattes. They are easy to make at home too, even if you don’t have traditional utensils.
Why is matcha great for cooking?
Matcha is a tea powder, which makes it very easy to use. Next, it has an intense flavor, scent and color, that will either make your desserts visually different, or add a grassy green flavor note. There are different grades of matcha powder. The highest ceremonial grade is usually prepared only in a traditional way. Other grades, such as culinary latte grade or industrial grade, are used for cooking, baking and making drinks. They will have the same intensity, but lower price tag. Some latte grades are suitable for traditional preparation, too. However, other lower grades, such as industrial, will never have the flavor complexity of ceremonial grade matcha.
If you want to make vividly green desserts or drinks, always choose Japanese high quality matcha powder. Other green tea powders, including Japanese sencha or matcha teas from other countries, may have a lighter green or even grey color and a different flavor. That’ because they are not made from shaded tea leaves and usually contain powdered stems and stalks too.
How to Make Iced Matcha Latte
You can make iced matcha green tea latte using a traditional whisk, blended or a regular electric hand whisk. Whichever way you choose, there’s only one thing you should be extra careful about – preventing lumps. Because matcha is a very fine powder, there will always be lumps. And lumps taste bitter. That’s why you should always sift it before adding water. Always add powder to dry bowls, and preferably, whisk with special utensils.
However. for making matcha latte, you don’t necessarily need a bamboo whisk. You can use a regular teaspoon and make a paste, a cocktail shaker, or a blender bottle.
Which milk to use? Any milk is great for making matcha latte. Use either cow’s milk, almond milk, even coconut or rice milk. However, keep in mind that ice will dilute your latte, so full fat milk or non-dairy cashew milk may be the best options. Any sweetener will work with matcha latte, but lighter honey, maple syrup or simple syrup will be easier to dilute in cold milk.
This recipe is for one glass of matcha latte.
Ingredients:
- 1 rounded or heaped teaspoon of matcha powder
- 3/4 cup of cold milk
- ¼ cup of hot water
- 1 teaspoon of simple syrup (optional)
- Ice
Instructions:
- Bring fresh spring water to a boil. Let it cool down to 185°F.
- Use a dry bowl and sift 1 teaspoon of matcha powder into a bowl.
- Add 2-3 spoons of hot water and use a spoon or a whisk to make a paste without lumps.
- Add the rest of hot water and whisk or stir with a spoon.
- Pour prepared matcha into a shaker. Add the milk.
- Shake well for 20 seconds.
- Fill a larger glass with ice.
- Pour the matcha drink over ice.
- Add a sweetener and stir.
If you don’t have a shaker, skip steps 5 and 6, pour both milk and prepared matcha into a glass and stir well.
Prefer your latte hot? Simply warm up the milk and use a frother to make a froth. Never use matcha whisk for whisking anything but matcha powder. They are made of bamboo and very delicate. Not only it’s very easy to damage them, but once you use them with milk, you will never be able to get rid of the milk scent.
Read more: Homemade matcha latte recipe
