The Allure of the Matcha Latte & How to Make a Perfect Cup of Matcha

Matcha is having a good year. If you are unfamiliar with Matcha, it’s a powdered green tea made famous by Japanese Zen monks. It has been used for centuries to create a sense of calm and focused alertness in both meditation and mindful living. We’ve been seeing all kinds of recipes lately using Matcha in sweets, hot drinks, and cocktails. Matcha is also showing up more and more in coffee shops and cafés. Even Starbucks now features a Teavana Green Tea Latte made with Matcha (and a whopping 40 grams of sugar per 12 oz cup). Though I’m familiar with traditionally brewed Matcha, which creates a naturally creamy, frothy, sweet, umami, and tremendously satisfying cup of opaque green tea, I was inspired by the Americanized recipes using Matcha. I set out to make an Arogya-style Matcha Latte, made with homemade almond milk and our ceremonial grade Matcha.

In my Matcha latte research, many recipes seemed wildly misinformed about Matcha tea basics. Some suggested boiling the Matcha in the milk or pouring boiling hot milk/water over the Matcha. This was surprising because if there’s one thing to know about Matcha, it’s that low temperature water is essential. Boiling hot water on any green tea will produce a bitter brew, and the same goes for Matcha. To make a proper cup of Matcha, it’s important to use water no hotter than 175° F.

Once I understood the basics of Matcha latte preparation I set out to make my own recipe. I tried several different variations; some with sweetener, some without, some with frothed milk, some with whisked milk, some with half water/half milk, some with all milk, some with cocoa, and some with extra Matcha. My kitchen became a science laboratory with all the different kinds of lattes lined up for taste comparison.  No matter the variation, however, I was consistently disappointed. It’s not that the Matcha lattes weren’t good, in fact each one was sweet, creamy, nutty and delivered the sense of mindful concentration that Matcha is famous for. However, with each frothy green concoction, I felt like the milk, sweetener or cocoa obscured the best parts of  Matcha. Good Matcha tea is creamy, nutty, complex, grassy, sweet yet savory, light and uplifting, with notes of dark chocolate. Buried under milk and sweetener, the Matcha became a flat undertone, reminiscent of the complexity of Matcha but lacking the overtones that usually delight my palate. While Matcha lattes may be a good introduction to Matcha for the American palate, I’m content to keep whisking up my Matcha plain and simple.

Traditional Matcha Preparation

Preparing Matcha may seem elaborate with its bamboo utensils and precise water temperature, but once you get the hang of it, whisking up a bowl of Matcha tea is a delightful and delicious ritual. If you’d like to make Matcha with the traditional utensils you can find them in our store or on our website.

1. Gather your ceremonial grade Matcha, a flat-bottomed bowl, a bamboo whisk, a matcha spoon or teaspoon, a small sifter, and 8oz of 175°F water.

2. With the sifter set over the bowl, measure two scoops of Matcha (or one teaspoon) into the sifter.

3. Sift into a fine powder to remove any clumps.

4. Pour a little water into the bowl, just enough to form a smooth paste.

5. Gently whisk until smooth.

6. Pour the rest of the water into the bowl.

7. Moving at the wrist, whisk the tea as fast as you can in “W” shaped movements, without touching the bottom of the bowl.

8. Voila! Now you have a frothy bowl of delicious Matcha tea ready to be enjoyed straight out of the bowl…

… or poured into cups to share with friends.

by Chloe Bolton

photos by Chloe Bolton & Sophie Slater