A few weeks ago, I grabbed a bag of matcha at Whole Foods on Magazine Street, so I could craft my own matcha lattes, rather than picking it up at the coffee shops so many times throughout the week. If you aren’t familiar, matcha is a fine powder made from green tea leaves. (Green tea has a solid list of scientifically proven health benefits, including being high in antioxidants, so if you haven’t tried it, look into adding it to your repertoire.) Compared to green tea leaves (which are generally steeped in hot water using a bag, stick, ball or basket), when and how matcha is grown is as different as the preparation and method of consuming it. Many have seen matcha without perhaps realizing it, as it’s used in Japanese tea ceremonies. After a few attempts, I realized I needed some guidance. Mine was turning out clumpy, bitter, not well blended with the almond milk I was using and, well, just not great.
As luck would have it, Remy Morimoto Park, a New York-based holistic nutritionist I follow on Instagram happened to have written a post on this very subject on her blog, Veggiekins. The two most important takeaways for me were the importance of buying ceremonial matcha (versus culinary) and sifting the powder to remove those clumps I mentioned.
In addition to Park’s recommendations, I also upped my game by investing in an Aerolatte milk frother. (I got lucky and happened upon one locally at Seasoned.) This has transformed my lattes and hot chocolates.
If your matcha latte skills are lacking, like mine were, or you are wanting to try making them at home, here’s the method I’ve been using.
Matcha LatteÂ
- 1 teaspoon ceremonial grade matcha (I used Park’s recommendation and purchased a tin from Ippodo Tea)
- ¼ cup or less hot (not boiling) water
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 6-8 ounces milk or alternative milk (I like MALK brand oat milk, because it’s sweet, and also often use almond milk).
While your water and milk are heating, sift matcha powder into a cup. Add hot water to powder and whisk or use electronic milk frother until blended. I like to add honey at this stage and hit it with the whisk or frother again to mix. When milk reaches 140 F (or right before it starts to simmer), froth it, pour into cup, mix with matcha if desired, but it will blend well on its own, top with foam and enjoy!
You can also drink it without steamed milk (but you will want to add more hot water) and iced.
Do you have any matcha latte tricks you’d like to share? If so, pop them in comments or shoot me an email at melanie@myneworleans.com.
