How to make a matcha latte (hot or iced)

Today we’re going to show you how to make a matcha latte at home!

Before we get into the actual recipe, I wanted to go over a couple of points about matcha. Matcha is made by taking green tea leaves and then grinding them up until they become a very, very fine powder. That powder is then mixed in with hot boiling water, where with traditional green tea, the leaves are taken and they're infused in the water, and then usually separated before enjoying. Matcha is also a much gentler source of caffeine in comparison to a traditional espresso latte or a cup of drip coffee, and that is because the caffeine from a matcha latte is absorbed by your body a lot slower, which creates a slow release caffeine effect.

In order to make your matcha latte, you'll need a small bowl. This is where we'll whisk the matcha powder with the hot water and the milk. Next, you'll need a handheld whisk, also known as a chasen. If you don't have one of these, you can use a handheld metal baking whisk. You can also use a hand frother, if you have one of those, but if you are going to be making matcha lattes on a regular or semi-regular basis, I would highly recommend investing in a chasen.

Next, we have our matcha powder itself, and then we have one-quarter cup of boiling water. We have a sweetener, which in this case, I'm using agave syrup, but you can also use simple syrup or honey, it works just as well. And then finally, we have three-quarter cup of warm milk. For this example, I have 2% milk, but you can substitute it for almond milk, soy milk. You can also use coconut milk if you'd like.

To begin, I'm going to take one teaspoon of our finely ground matcha powder right here, and I'm going to put it in our bowl. Next, I'm going to take our one-quarter cup of boiling hot water, and I'm going to add it to the powder. Once I've added my water to the bowl, I'm going to take our bamboo whisk and I'm going to whisk the powder in with the water. The idea behind this is to make sure that when you add the water, that there is no clumping that forms with the matcha powder, because you want to have a nice, even base. So after about 10-20 seconds, you should have a nice base that has no clumps and has a nice, deep green colour.

Now I'm simply just going to take our warm milk, I have three-quarter cup here, and I'm going to add it to our matcha base. I'm also going to take the agave syrup and add about a tablespoon of sweetener. You can add more, you can add less. The sweetness is definitely a measurement of preference.

Once all those things are in your latte, you're just going to whisk it for about 20 - 30 seconds. As you whisk, you'll start to notice a little bit of frothing occurring on the top of your bowl, which is perfect. It's exactly what you want. If you're using an electric frother, you might see a little bit of excess froth forming.

Once you are done frothing, all you have to do is transfer it to a mug and enjoy your matcha latte, or you can transfer it to a glass full of ice and enjoy a nice iced matcha latte.

If you’re interested in watching a video tutorial of this recipe, click here to watch it on our YouTube channel.