Easy Matcha Latte

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A Tea Sommelier’s guide on how to make matcha lattes at home. Get, step-by-step instructions, how to pick the right matcha, and tips to make perfect froth.

Pouring matcha into a glass of frothed milk.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Matcha lattes are easy to make at home with just four ingredients and taste even better than the ones sold in coffee shops since you can customize all the ingredients. Matcha green tea, water, milk, and sweetener come together to make this delicious drink.
  • Matcha is traditionally paired with something sweet to balance out any bitterness, so this matcha latte recipe is made honey, but you can use whatever you like to make it sweet.
  • Iced matcha lattes are much easier to make than hot, but I’ve got some tips and tricks to make it properly and easily.

RELATED: Matcha Bubble Tea

Ingredient Notes

Four collage image showing ingredients to make a matcha latte.
  • Matcha: The brighter the green, the higher the quality. For lattes, get matcha in the $20-$30 price range.
  • Milk: You can use any milk you like. I usually make mine with oat milk or 2% milk.
  • Water: Always use filtered water if you can since better water makes better tea.
  • Honey: I’m using honey since it’s easy to mix into the milk but you can use sugar if that’s what you have.

For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

My Matcha Pick

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Great matcha for the price and quality. It’s the only matcha I get on Amazon.
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Step-by-Step Instructions

Four image collage showing steps to make a matcha latte.
  1. Heat water.
    Don’t use boiling hot water to make matcha — use simmered water instead.
  2. Combine milk and honey. Froth sweetened milk.
    Simmer milk then pour it into a French press and move the plunger until milk doubles in volume.
  3. Sift matcha into a bowl. Add hot water and whisk.
    Sifting and using a bamboo whisk prevents matcha clumps.
  4. Pour frothed milk into a cup then add whisked matcha.
    Optional: Top off drink with a dusting of matcha powder. Stir before drinking.

Tea Sommelier’s Tip: Velvety rich froth is the reason the matcha lattes made in coffee shops taste so great. Take the extra step to froth milk at home using my French press method to make perfect froth at home.

Notes & Tips

  • Good quality matcha is what makes the drink a really nice bright color. Matcha that’s less than $15 is going to be more brown than green so look to spend $20-$30. Usually, the more expensive the matcha, the better the quality.
  • When whisking matcha with a bamboo whisk, make sure to move it using a vigorous up and down motion instead of circles. The goal is to break up the matcha as much as possible.
  • Sifting matcha is key to preventing clumps.
  • You can sweeten your matcha latte with anything from brown sugar to date syrup.

Questions You May Have

Do I need a bamboo whisk to make a matcha latte?

A bamboo matcha whisk works the best for making matcha lattes, but if you don’t have one, put warm water and matcha in a cocktail shaker or a jar with a tight lid and shake vigorously until you don’t see any matcha clumps.

Is there caffeine in a matcha latte?

Yes, there’s caffeine in matcha so there’s caffeine in a matcha latte.

What’s the best way to froth milk for matcha lattes?

There are two ways to make cafe-quality froth. One is using an electric milk frother which heats and froths milk at the same time. The other is to use a French press. Simmer milk on the stovetop, then pour it, no more than halfway, into a French press. Move the plunger up and down a few seconds.

If the French press makes such great froth, why get an electric milk frother?

The electric milk frother heats milk and froths at the same time, so no need to heat milk separately like you would with the French press method. Plus, it’s a lot easier to clean than a French press.

Matcha green tea in a glass mug.

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4.75 from 104 votes

Matcha Latte

By: Jee Choe
Make green tea lattes at home with this easy and delicious recipe.
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients 

  • 1 ¼ cup milk, (any kind)
  • cup water
  • 1 teaspoon matcha , + more for dusting
  • 1 teaspoon honey, or sugar

Instructions 

  • Heat water.
    Don’t use boiling hot water to make matcha — use simmered water instead. If using an electric kettle, set the water temperature to 175°F. Use filtered water if possible.
  • Combine milk and honey. Froth sweetened milk.
    To make cafe-quality froth, use a French press. Simmer milk on the stovetop, then pour it no more than halfway into a French press. Move the plunger up and down until milk doubles in volume.
  • Sift matcha into a bowl. Add hot water and whisk.
    Sifting prevents clumps from forming and makes it easier to whisk the matcha. Use a matcha whisk and vigorously move it up and down, in a "W" shape. Don't swirl the matcha in circles since that doesn't create enough friction in the water to break apart the matcha.
  • Pour frothed milk into a cup then add whisked matcha.
    Optional: Top off drink with a dusting of matcha powder. Stir before drinking.

Notes

  • The brighter the green, the higher the quality of matcha. For lattes, get matcha in the $20-$30 price range.
  • Sift and whisk matcha to prevent clumps. Use a mesh strainer to sift.
  • Matcha lattes taste better when it’s a little sweetened to balance out any bitterness. 
  • A bamboo matcha whisk works the best for making matcha lattes, but if you don’t have one, put warm water and matcha in a cocktail shaker or a jar with a tight lid and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
  • Velvety rich froth is the reason the matcha lattes made in coffee shops taste so great. Take the extra step to froth milk at home using my French press method to make perfect froth at home.

Nutrition

Calories: 219Carbohydrates: 20gProtein: 12gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 135mgPotassium: 406mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 694IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 347mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Japanese
Tried this recipe?Mention @ohhowcivilized or tag #ohhowcivilized!

About Jee Choe

Welcome! I'm a certified Tea Sommelier and a self-proclaimed bubble tea and iced tea master. I'm all about making tea EASY and DELICIOUS.

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6 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This ended up being yummy!

    One issue I’ve had is my matcha drops to the bottom… I’ve made it twice with honey in my frothed and heated milk. Maybe I need to add honey to the matcha next time …

  2. 5 stars
    This recipe is great, I will use it every time I make a matcha latte now! And the milk froth with the French press is everything, it works very well with my vanilla soy milk! And thank you to Greyson Stoehr who recommend to use a fine strainer, it works wonders! Yummy recipe, thank you!

  3. Matcha green tea making very easy.at first ,we took some milk,sugar and green tea.Then open our gas stove and took a ketlly. Then boiled milk sugar and tea after some time.At last ready our lovely cup of tea.match green tea is very effective-for less our fatness.Thanks for your good advice.

  4. You can also use a fine strainer/sieve and either use a large marble to roll over the tea and send it through the mesh, or you can use the back of a spoon to do it. Either works very well and reduces any lumps.