It’s officially Summer! What better way to enjoy the summer heat than a refreshing cold beverage in hand. Matcha iced latte, anyone?
I usually order a Matcha drink from a boba shop but I recently came across a large package of premium organic Matcha at my local Costco. It went into my grocery cart so quick.
What is Matcha?
Matcha is finely ground green tea leaves from Japan. These specialty green tea leaves are grown in the shade so that the leaves are greener than other green tea leaves. Also, shade growth produces more caffeine and other health benefits, such as help protecting the liver, promote heart health, and even aid in weight loss.
Once in production, the stems and veins of the leaves are removed then pulverized into a fine powder. The powder dissolves quickly in liquid so not only can you have them in tea, but you probably seen them in various desserts such as cake and ice cream.
One thing I realized while making my own iced Matcha latte, was how little matcha powder and how much sugar I needed. I thought since I can make my own drink, I’d go full-on gangsta matcha. I added 2-3 teaspoons of matcha powder per serving. Matcha gets bitter in higher concentration so needless to say I was not able to finish my drink.
I even thought I contaminated my drink as I was having it while working in the garden. Maybe I dropped some dirt into the drink? Nope, I didn’t.
It was simply too much matcha. Lesson learned, for one serving, stick to 3/4 to 1 teaspoon matcha powder. There is a fine, almost invisible line, between perfectly tasting matcha ice latte to Good God what in the Sam Hill am I drinking?!
I also realized, I had to add quite a bit of sugar syrup to balance out the flavor of matcha. I kept adding and adding sugar syrup until I was satisfied with the taste of 4 tablespoons of simple syrup. So much for being a healthy drink.
I did add some grass jelly. That would negate the unhealthiness, right?
My favorite thing about this drink is the striation of colors. You have the dark grass jelly color with the syrup at the bottom. Next is the white layer of milk and then the green matcha on top. The matcha beautifully sits on top of the milk because it’s so light and frothy. The presentation of this drink is oh so pretty but make sure to stir everything up before drinking to balance out the different flavors.
Print
Matcha Iced Latte with Grass Jelly
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
It’s officially summer! What better way to enjoy the summer heat than a refreshing cold Asian beverage/dessert in hand?
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon matcha powder
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/3 cup cubed grass jelly
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar simple syrup (see notes below)
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 1/2 cup fresh milk
Instructions
- Whisk together matcha powder in a small cup or bowl with hot water until it is completely dissolved and frothy. Set aside.
- Add grass jelly, brown sugar syrup, ice and milk.
- Pour matcha mixture slowly on top of the milk and enjoy.
Notes
To make the brown sugar syrup, mix equal part brown sugar and water in a small pot and bring to a boil then cool.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: dessert, drink
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese
