When I first heard about matcha (and saw the price tag), I thought, “Well, shucks. I can make that myself by opening a bag of green tea and grinding it in the coffee grinder!”
I was severely disappointed. And for good reason.
Matcha powder is so much more than ground-up green tea leaves. It is delicately grown, harvested, and processed. The result is a beautiful, deep, rich flavor. Yes, it does have grassy undertones, but a good matcha isn’t overly bitter.
If you’d like to get into drinking green tea, I highly recommend starting with matcha. And a matcha latte is the ultimate treat.
These are the ingredients and tools that I like to use to make a matcha latte at home:
- a double-sized mug (12-ounce size)
- a bamboo matcha whisk and scoop (you can also just use a teaspoon instead of a traditional scoop)
- matcha powder
- milk and cream (yes, this is technically a breve)
- honey
- vanilla bean paste
It’s also handy to have an infrared laser thermometer (which I stole borrowed from my husband), or an instant-read thermometer.
Place 2 scoops (or 1 teaspoon) of matcha powder in your mug. You can also use a special matcha bowl, but I find that a mug works just fine (and doesn’t dirty up as many dishes).
Heat some water to 160ºF (70ºC). I like to heat mine a bit beyond 160ºF since it will cool down as I get everything else ready.
Add the water to the matcha powder.
Now for the whisking!
Skooch all of the matcha powder under the water with the whisk. Then, whisk vigorously in a straight up and down, back-and-forth motion. Do this for about a minute, or until the matcha powder is completely dissolved.
I like to finish off by switching between a circular, back-and-forth, and “W” motion.
Isn’t it beautiful?
Next, add your vanilla bean paste …
And honey. I use raw honey from my dad’s bees. It’s pretty special.
Whisk again until the honey and vanilla bean paste are incorporated.
I’m not sure if this is proper, but I like to have a bowl of cool water handy to rinse my whisk in so it doesn’t get stained with the matcha.
Next, it’s time to froth your milk. If you’re lucky enough to own an espresso machine with a steam frother, by all means, use it!
Otherwise, heat your milk in a saucepan on the stove. The ideal temperature for frothing is between 140 and 160ºF (60 to 70ºC).
After your milk is heated, froth it and pour it into the dissolved matcha.
If you’re skilled at making latte art: lucky you! Tell me all of your secrets!
If you aren’t so skilled (like me) but you’d still like to make your matcha latte pretty, you can sprinkle some extra matcha powder on top of the milk foam.
Some variations:
- If a double-sized latte is too much for you to drink, you can use a single (8-ounce size) mug and use 1 matcha scoop (or 1/2 teaspoon) of matcha powder, a scant tablespoon of water, 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of honey, and 1/2 cup of half-and-half.
- If you’re not sure you’ll like the flavor of green tea, you can start with half the amount of matcha powder and work up from there. So use 1/2 teaspoon for a double cup, or 1/4 teaspoon for a single cup.
- Plain whole milk (instead of milk and cream) can be used, but your latte won’t be as rich and dreamy.
- You can also use maple syrup for the sweetener (or any other sweetener, really) and vanilla extract in place of the vanilla bean powder. However, I think that the vanilla bean paste gives the best flavor.
- You don’t have to use sweetener or vanilla in your matcha latte. I’ve had lattes with just milk and cream and they were delicious. Keep in mind that the higher quality the matcha, the better it will taste without sugar.
A word about matcha quality: Matcha is graded for quality and taste. I have personally tried three different grades of matcha: culinary, latte, and ceremonial. Culinary grade is the most affordable, then latte, and ceremonial is the most expensive.
If you find a good-quality culinary grade matcha, it will still taste lovely when you add a sweetener and flavoring to your latte. For the most sublime matcha experience, go for a high-quality, well-reviewed ceremonial grade matcha.
If you have adverse reactions to the caffeine in coffee, I suggest that you give matcha a try. I am quite sensitive to caffeine, but matcha doesn’t give me the jitters like coffee. I feel like it’s a gentler release of the caffeine.
Plus, it’s one of the most delicious drinks I’ve ever had.
