Easy step-by-step directions and tips from a tea sommelier on how to make a layered matcha drink in less than 5 minutes! Perfectly sweet and refreshing, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make at home.
CONTENTS
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Iced matcha lattes are incredibly quick (takes less than 5 minutes!) and easy to make at home. All you need is matcha green tea, milk (any kind), ice, water, and a sweetener like honey or sugar.
- No need for any traditional matcha tools, like a bamboo whisk. My trick is to use a cocktail shaker or a jar with a tight lid.
- It’s layered! Sugar (or in this case, honey) is the secret to making layered drinks and this recipe will show you exactly how to put the drink together.
Want more matcha recipes? I’ve got a lot! Make Matcha Latte Ice Cubes, Matcha Bubble Tea, Matcha Frappuccino, Matcha Milkshake, and Matcha Lemonade.
Ingredient Notes
- Matcha
There’s a big range when it comes to matcha. The brighter the matcha, the better the quality. Find the brightest green matcha without going over $30. Make sure there’s no sugar added to the matcha. - Milk
Any kind of milk can be used. I usually use oat milk. - Cold water
Use filtered water if possible since good quality water makes tea taste better. - Honey
Sweetener is the secret to making the drink layered so honey, or white sugar, is needed.
Photo Credit: amazon.com
Step-by-Step Instructions
For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to see the recipe.
- Combine milk and honey in a cocktail shaker. Shake.
Make sure to add milk in first. - Pour sweetened milk into a cup then add ice.
- Rinse the cocktail shaker. Combine water and matcha in the cocktail shaker. Shake.
Add water first, then matcha, otherwise the matcha can easily clump. Any wide-mouth container will work if you don’t have a cocktail shaker, including a jar with a tight lid. - Slowly pour matcha into the glass with milk and ice.
Pour matcha on top of the ice, not directly into the milk to get a cleaner layered look. Stir before drinking.
Tea Sommelier’s Tip: The sugar content keeps the layers separated. The liquid that has the most sugar will sink to the bottom. Honey is added to the milk and poured into the cup first. The matcha doesn’t have any sugar in it so it’ll sit on top of the sweetened milk.
Notes & Tips
- The color of the matcha indicates quality. If you pay around $15, the matcha will be a dull, brownish green color. If you spend $50, the matcha will be a bright, vibrant green but you don’t need to spend $50 for this recipe. Something in the $20 – $30 range will work.
- Matcha tends to clump so it’s important to shake the matcha green tea powder with water vigorously.
- Make this recipe vegan by using oat milk and replacing the honey with maple syrup.
- Always add the water first before adding the matcha so that matcha doesn’t clumped together.
- Make sure the matcha you’re using isn’t pre-sweetened since it won’t layer on top of the milk.
- It’s easier to shake matcha and water together than whisking cold water into matcha. No need to sift the matcha if you shake vigorously.
Questions You May Have
It’s the sugar content. Because of the honey in the milk, the matcha (without any sugar) won’t immediately sink to the bottom and mix with the milk. Ice also helps to keep the layers separated. If you want to have the matcha at the bottom and the milk on top, add the honey or matcha to the matcha instead of the milk.
Matcha is green tea that has been finely ground into a powder. It’s made in Japan.
Yes! There’s caffeine in matcha so there’s caffeine in this drink.
You can, but you won’t be able to make it layered since the sweetener is what separates the milk from the matcha.
The iced matcha latte at Starbucks is made with 2% milk, pre-sweetened matcha, and ice. Because Starbucks’ matcha blend is loaded with sugar, it can taste cloyingly sweet.
Related
- Matcha Green Tea Latte
- Best Matcha Brands For Lattes
- Iced Matcha (Cold Brew Matcha)
- How to Make Matcha
- Quick & Easy Matcha Milk Tea
Did you make this? Did you love it? Please leave a star rating below or leave a review in the comments section.
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Easy Iced Matcha Latte
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine milk and honey in a cocktail shaker. Shake for 15 seconds.Pour milk in first, then the honey. Shake vigorously.
- Pour sweetened milk into a cup then add ice.
- Rinse the cocktail shaker. Combine water and matcha in the cocktail shaker. Shake for 15 seconds.Add water first, then matcha, otherwise the matcha can easily clump. Shake vigorously.
- Slowly pour matcha into the glass with milk and ice.Pour matcha on top of the ice, not directly into the milk to get a cleaner layered look. Stir before drinking.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- The color of the matcha indicates quality. If you pay around $15, the matcha will be a dull, brownish green color. If you spend $50, the matcha will be a bright, vibrant green but you don’t need to spend $50 for this recipe. Something in the $20 – $30 range will work.
- The secret to making this drink layered is the sugar content and ice. Because of the honey in the milk, the matcha (without any sugar) won’t immediately sink to the bottom and mix with the milk. Ice also helps to keep the layers separated. If you want to have the matcha at the bottom and the milk on top, add the honey or matcha to the matcha instead of the milk.
- Make sure the matcha you’re using isn’t pre-sweetened since it won’t layer on top of the milk.
- Any wide-mouth container will work, including a jar with a tight lid if you don’t have a cocktail shaker.
- It’s easier to shake matcha and water together than whisking cold water into matcha. No need to sift the matcha if you shake vigorously.
- Make this recipe vegan by using oat milk and replacing the honey with maple syrup.
NUTRITION
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Using a shaker is just brilliant! I’ve been struggling with getting all the matcha dissolved and this just did the trick. Thank you. Your recipe is perfectly yummy! I used splenda for a low sugar treat and it was good.
I just made this and OMG I am blown away! It was so easy and simple and 100x better than ANY iced matcha latte I’ve ever bought at a coffee shop… I’m officially making this every single morning. The flavor is so good and the layering turned out perfectly. Any time I buy one out there are always chunks of unmixed powder and this recipe turned out sooooo smooth with absolutely no chunks. I’m obsessed, thank you!
I love matcha! Here is how I made you mathca drink:
I used almond milk and whisked with agave.
Poured over ice.
Then I whisked my matcha and ice water and poured it over.
The layering was lovely.
Thank you Jee!
Hi Lily, sounds delicious!
hello! I was wondering if the quality of matcha powder from Vahdam teas is good? it was $14. thank you! 😀
Hi, judging by the price, I wouldn’t consider that good quality matcha. Good quality matcha is in the $20-$30 range and the higher quality is $40+.
Hi Jee! Your recipe is easy to follow and you’re right, the separation happens immediately and the drink looks picturesque before mixed. Tastes yummy and the drink is very light – I like the “shaker” approach as opposed to a blender.
This is great! I love this! Super easy and tasty! New daily drink indeed. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 yay go Matcha
Impressed with the layered matcha drink. Do you mix the honey with the milk? Or just pour the honey in the milk without mixing them together?
Hi Queenie, yup, I mix the honey with the milk since the milk needs to be sweetened so that it settles to the bottom of the drink.
I tried this recipe this morning and loved it!!! I used a combo of oat and hemp milk and it turned out perfectly! I usually drink my matcha hot because I hadn’t been able to master the iced ratio, but I think this has solved that problem. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
Hi Chelsea, iced matcha latte is so much easier to make than hot so I’m glad you found this recipe!
Does this work with a different tea other than matcha? I would love to try this, but don’t have any macha. Thanks for your time!
Hi Mercedes, this would only work with powdered tea.
Hi, I’m very interested in learning more about layering drinks. I run a small Tea shop in Jamaica and I love how layered drinks look! Would love if you could give me a bit more insight, the layering isn’t going so well even when I follow the recipe.
Hope to hear back soon
Thanks
Alex
Hi Alex, the layer effect works best when the bottom layer has sugar and the top layer doesn’t. Try adding more sugar to the milk and making sure there’s no sugar in the matcha.