Frozen Matcha Latte

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A quick, refreshing, and energizing frozen matcha latte perfect for the warm weather season. Skip the coffee shop and whip this tasty drink up in just five minutes.

a glass of matcha latte with matcha powder on spoon

I'm a sucker for buying frozen drinks in the summer months. I was surprised by how much I liked Dunkin Donuts' frozen coffee when I tried one for the first time recently. Until I later checked out the nutritional details. 😲

That's the problem. They're usually too sweet and made from concentrates with a long list of ingredients. Not to mention, it's a pricey habit when half the drink is made of ice anyway.

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🌿Key Ingredients
🥣Instructions
💭Helpful tips
📖Variations and Substitutions
💬FAQ
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe

This matcha latte recipe solves all the problems.

It's sweetened with maple syrup instead of highly processed sugar and you can control the level of sweetness by using more or less to your liking.
You don't need any extra (and expensive) emulsifiers or additives. We're making a simple frozen drink, not a science project. I know some recipes suggest otherwise, but I haven't found it necessary.
It's just four ingredients, plus water and ice. It doesn't get much easier.

If you're a fan of tea, you may like my recipes for Lilac Tea or Honey Citrus Mint Tea. And for another refreshing beverage idea, try my Lemon Balm Lemonade.

🌿Key Ingredients

Matcha green tea powder - Matcha powder makes a smooth and rich tea with an earthy, sort of herbal taste. On its own, it can be bitter. But incorporated into milk with some sweetener, it's quite satisfying and unique. You can find matcha in most grocery stores with the other teas. It comes in both a loose container form as well as tea bags. If you can only find it in a teabag, simply cut it open. One bag typically contains 1 teaspoon of tea.

Milk - This recipe will work with whichever milk beverage you prefer, such as cow's milk, almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk.

Maple syrup - Sweetens the frozen matcha latte. Use more or less as you like.

🥣Instructions

matcha being whisked with water in small bowl

Whisk the matcha with the hot water in a small bowl until combined.

milk being poured into a blender cup with matcha

Add the ice to your blender, along with the matcha liquid, milk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.

Blend for about 30 seconds to combine.

Pour the drink into your glass. Top with some whipped cream, if you like. Enjoy your frozen matcha latte!

💭Helpful tips

Matcha powder clumps easily. Because of this, you may find it helpful to first sift the matcha powder into your cup or bowl. Then whisk it into hot water to dissolve the powder.
While there are special bamboo matcha whisks that the professionals use to prepare the tea, a small traditional whisk is fine at home for the occasional matcha drinker.
If you're wondering about the caffeine level in this matcha latte, it's around 70mg. That's more than a cup of green tea, but less than the standard cup of coffee.

📖Variations and Substitutions

Hot matcha latte - After dissolving the powder into hot water, you can add steamed milk and sweetener for a simple cup of matcha tea.
Honey - If you'd rather use honey instead of maple syrup, that will work fine.
Flavored frozen matcha lattes - If you want to take this drink one step further, you could add various flavors to this frozen latte. For fruit flavors, substitute ½ cup of ice for an equal amount of frozen fruit, such as strawberries or blueberries. For other flavors, such as mint or lavender, you could either blend in a small amount of those ingredients or use them to flavor a simple syrup that you would then use in place of the maple syrup.

💬FAQ

What is matcha?

Matcha is a green tea powder. It's made with a special shade-grown green tea plant high in chlorophyll that is ground into a fine powder. When you make matcha, the powder is incorporated into the liquid. This is different than when you make a cup of tea and steep the leaves and then discard them. With matcha, you're consuming the plant.

Is a matcha latte still healthy?

It depends on your definition of healthy. A homemade frozen latte, like this recipe, uses fewer ingredients and no additives compared to coffee shops. However, there is still sugar in the form of maple syrup. I'd argue that it is a healthier alternative to buying something similar and that's why I wanted to share this recipe.

In general, there are many matcha benefits, and you'd still get them from a latte. Most of these are the same as regular green tea, but the benefits are even greater because you directly consume the plant. They include increased energy and reduced stress. The energy you get from matcha is said to be less jittery and more focused energy than coffee. Here's some more info on the health benefits.

What's the difference between matcha and matcha latte?

Think of it as you would espresso. You make espresso with water, right? But when you add milk, it becomes something else - such as a latte or cappuccino depending on how you make it. The same with matcha. If you make it purely with water, that's matcha tea. If you combine it with milk, it becomes more of a latte beverage. David's Tea has more info on the traditional preparation of matcha.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

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