Matcha Milk Tea (Hot & Iced Versions)
Skip the coffee shop and make a hot Matcha Milk Tea from the comfort of your kitchen. Or make an iced version with boba pearls -a must-try if you’re a matcha latte lover, bubble tea lover, or both!
There’s no denying that the matcha tea latte from Starbucks is downright delicious, but at over $4.00 a pop, I’d rather not. Fortunately, this DIY matcha milk tea recipe tastes just as amazing (if not better), plus it won’t break the bank!
For this homemade matcha milk tea, you’ll need quality matcha green tea powder, hot water, your choice of milk, and something for sweetness like honey, maple syrup, or flavored simple syrup.
A matcha whisk or modern whisk (aka handheld milk frother) also helps, but if you don’t have either, you can use a standard whisk or blender to get the matcha super smooth and frothy.
This post will show you how to make an iced matcha milk tea. The iced version is ideal for bursts of chewy pearls, aka the bubbles in bubble tea!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This matcha milk tea tastes like heaven in a cup. It’s delightfully fragrant and earthy with just enough sweetness.
- Matcha is an antioxidant powerhouse and a great way to start the day!
- It’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. This matcha milk tea has enough caffeine to put an extra pep in your step without the jitters.
- You get to decide on the milk, sweetener, and whether you’d like it hot or over ice.
- You can serve the iced version as bubble tea or green tea milk tea.
- Homemade matcha drinks are less expensive than daily trips to the coffee shop.
What Is Matcha?
Like all tea, matcha comes from the Camellia Sinensis tea plant. The youngest two leaves from each shoot are picked, preserved, dried, and sorted into grades based on age, color, and texture.
The two primary matcha grades are ceremonial and culinary, ceremonial being the higher quality of the two. In addition, culinary matcha is grouped into five more grades: premium, café, classic, ingredient, and kitchen.
For DIY matcha drinks, I recommend using a ceremonial-grade blend. The leaves are from the first harvest (or Ichibancha) and have a higher concentration of L-theanine, which gives the leaves a more delicate, natural sweetness and refined earthiness.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Matcha powder – To add to what we discussed above, you can make matcha lattes with culinary-grade matcha instead of ceremonial. However, the color won’t be as vibrant, and the flavor will be bolder and slightly more bitter. You can also use matcha to make these Wild Blueberry Matcha Protein Pancakes!
- Hot water – You will need a small amount of hot water to mix with the matcha, creating a liquid that will smoothly incorporate into both hot and cold milk.
- Sweetener – I like sweetening matcha lattes with honey or vanilla stevia syrup from NuNaturals. For drinks, I’ve found it’s the best-tasting alternative to real sugar. Of course, you can also use granulated stevia, cane sugar, simple syrup (plain or flavored), coconut sugar, real maple syrup, date sugar, or brown sugar to sweeten things.
- Milk – I use unsweetened almond milk for a lactose-free low-calorie version, but your latte will be creamier if you use milk with more fat, like whole milk. Try soy, oat, or coconut milk for a creamy dairy-free version.
How To Make A Hot Matcha Milk Tea
Step 1: Dissolve matcha powder. Add matcha powder into a sieve and sift into a mug (not mandatory but helps to create a light frothy consistency).
Add the hot water. Using a matcha whisk or a handheld milk frother, blend until the matcha is dissolved and smooth.
Step 2: Steam milk. Using a milk steamer or a small saucepan on the stove, warm the cold milk until hot, constantly whisking, so it doesn’t bubble over.
Step 3: Assemble the drink. Stir the sweetener of your choice into the mug of matcha. Top with steamed milk and enjoy hot!
How To Make An Iced Matcha Milk Tea
To make an iced version, dissolve the matcha powder in hot water just as you would for the hot version. Stir in sweetener and ¼ cup of the milk, and place the mixture in the fridge until chilled.
When ready to assemble the drink, add ice and prepared boba (optional but recommended!) to a tall glass. Pour in the remaining ¾ cup of milk, followed by the chilled matcha mixture. Give it a good stir or don’t, and sit back and watch the magic happen.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- No worries if you do not have a fancy matcha whisk or handheld milk frother. You can use a regular whisk for this step, but you may need to whisk the matcha powder and hot water in a bowl if your mug isn’t wide enough. Likewise, you can use a high-speed blender.
- To make a matcha milk tea with bubbles, prepare the boba balls according to the package instructions immediately before making the drink. Prepared boba balls only keep for a short time, unfortunately.
- Instead of honey, customize with different cocktail syrups for sweetness and a juicy fruit flavor. For example, Matcha tastes great with flavors like apple, pear, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, honeydew, and more!
Storing & Freezing
Generally, matcha lattes are best enjoyed immediately, but if you have extra, don’t toss it! Instead, freeze the liquid in an ice cube tray, transfer the matcha cubes to a freezer-safe zip-top bag and keep it in the freezer for up to a month. Then, the next time you make an iced matcha drink, use the matcha cubes instead of ice!
Recipe FAQs
If the matcha powder isn’t stored correctly, its quality deteriorates and causes the ground tea leaves to harden and clump together. This also happens if the powder isn’t sifted into the cup and dissolved properly in hot water. The easiest way to fix a clumpy matcha drink is to simply strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve or mix it in a high-speed blender until smooth.
Yes! Like matcha powder, collagen peptides must be dissolved in hot water, or it doesn’t mix well in cold drinks. That said, it’s best to add a scoop of collagen peptides when mixing the matcha green tea powder with hot water, or if you’re making a hot matcha latte, you can add it when steaming the milk.
Yes. Of course, a matcha latte doesn’t have nearly as much caffeine as an espresso latte, but it does have some.
More DIY Drinks You’ll Love
- Homemade Electrolyte Sports Drink
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
- All Natural Zero Calorie Lemonade
- Homemade Strawberry Lemonade
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Matcha Milk Tea {Hot & Iced}
Equipment
- milk steamer or small saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 tsp matcha powder *see notes for types of matcha recommended for drinking
- 3 tbsp hot water
- 1-2 tbsp honey or sweetener of choice: see notes for other recommendations
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
Instructions
- For Hot Matcha Milk Tea:
- Sift matcha powder into a mug with a small sieve and pour in the hot water.
- Blend with a matcha whisk, a small whisk, or a handheld milk frother until smooth.
- Heat the cold milk into a milk steamer or warm it in a small saucepan on the stove, whisking until hot.
- Add the honey (or sweetener of choice) to the mug and pour in the steamed milk. Enjoy hot.
- For Iced Matcha Milk Tea:
- Follow the first two steps for hot matcha, then stir in the honey and 1/4 cup of the milk.
- Refrigerate for about 15 minutes to chill.
- Pour ice into a glass (you can add prepared boba here if you'd like) and add the remaining 3/4 cup of milk. Pour the chilled matcha mixture over the top, stir, and enjoy. If you like it a bit creamier, feel free to add a little more milk.
Notes
Nutrition
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