What’s the easiest way to make an Iced Matcha Latte? Shaken, of course! Just grab some matcha, ice, milk, and a mason jar and your days will be filled with glorious green Iced Matcha Latte goodness. Guaranteed.
BEGIN UNRELATED STORY // Holy moly, May was a doozy. Not, like, in a super serious way, and I am grateful for that, but still a doozy.
Toward the end of April, our kindergartener came down with an illness that had her temperature spiking to 106! She went from perfectly fine, munching on dinner, to a super high temp within an hour. We’d never seen anything like that with her and we were terrified. It went on for several days (and many doctor visits) but we finally confirmed that it was a flu-like virus that just needed to run its course. And run its course it did – through our entire family. A couple of weeks later, this jerky virus had me down and out, too, for a good 10 days (much of it feverish; fun times). And even my guy, with his usually iron-clad immune system, is just now coming out of his own week of misery.
Now that we’re at the end of the jerk virus, we’re looking around our yard and home and feeling overwhelmed with all of the half-completed projects we’ve gotten ourselves into. I can’t decide if I just want to run away and hide or go all ninja minimalist and get rid of 90% of everything.
No matter what I decide, I’m gonna need some energy. And what’s a great way to get energy? You guessed it: Caffeine! // END UNRELATED STORY
The boost you get from matcha is potent, yet also what most describe as “smooth.” Jitters – like you get from coffee – are minimal. It’s just a nice solid boost of energy. So that you can mow the lawn, and build another flower bed, and erect another fence, and put in a few more garden beds, and oh by the way finish painting the kitchen cabinets already.
Ugh.
Okay, so what is matcha, and what does it taste like, you ask?
Matcha is a form of green tea, but instead of steeping the leaves, they’re ground up superfine and dissolved right in to your drink. That’s why it’s that glorious, glorious green color. So pretty!
It’s … not always delicious, I will say that. No matter the quality (hugely important) or how you doctor it up, in my opinion, matcha is an acquired taste. It’s a bit … grassy and vegetal. But there are things you can do to make it crave-worthy.
The first is making sure you do not buy culinary grade green tea. It’s more of an olive green in color and it tastes bitter. Get yourself what some companies call “latte grade” or, a more expensive but highest quality, ceremonial grade matcha.
I’m pretty loyal to Encha brand latte-grade matcha. I’ve had a hard time finding good-quality matcha – Encha brand or otherwise – in grocery stores around here, so I order it either directly off of their website or via Amazon (affiliate link).
Once you have the right matcha, how you prep it is also going to be key. I’m not quite a hardcore matcha drinker yet so I don’t whisk mine up in a bowl and drink it straight up or anything. Rather, I fluff it up with some sweetener, uber-creamy lite coconut milk, and some vanilla. Soooooo delicious.
How to Make an Iced Matcha Latte
One problem with iced matcha lattes is that the matcha can be lumpy. I’ve solved this problem by first dissolving the matcha – I mix it with with warm water right in the mason jar.
Then, you add the rest of your ingredients, put a lid on it, and shake shake shake until it’s ice cold, gloriously creamy and frothy, then sip sip sip.
So easy, so refreshing, so energizing, so green.
NOW IT’S TIME TO DO ALL THE THINGS!
Shaken Iced Matcha Latte
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon good quality (latte grade or ceremonial grade matcha)
- 3 tablespoons hot tap water
- 1-2 cups ice
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup lite coconut milk*
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Grab a 24-ounce mason jar, and lid. Add matcha and hot water. Stir with a fork or whisk until most of the matcha is dissolved (there might still be a couple of lumps, but most of it should dissolve nicely).
- Add one or two ice cubes and stir to cool down the mixture, then add one more cup of ice. Add maple syrup, vanilla, and coconut milk. Screw the lid onto the jar and shake well. Remove the lid and add 1 cup almond milk. Top off with more ice and/or more almond milk if desired.
- Plop in a straw and serve!
The photo of the green Matcha Latte is so pretty, it makes me want to try it–even though I’m not such a big fan of green tea… I do LOVE black tea, however, and I have a hint for you for enjoying tea in tea bags without so much caffeine. I like weak, plain black tea, so I just re-use the tea bag over and over during the morning. I understand that most of the caffeine comes out into the first cup, and by reusing the tea bag I not only save money, but keep my caffeine consumption down while still quite enjoying cup after cup of tea. If your husband likes tea, you might make him a cup, then use that tea bag to make yours. Anyway, I was sorry to hear that you were all hit by the plague, but I’m glad to hear you are all doing better now. I’ve also heard that mushrooms are good immune system boosters. I haven’t yet had the occasion to try it, but next time a plague comes near me I will.
One question for you. Exactly what is Guar Gum? I’m on a kick to eliminate “FrankenFoods” from my diet, so if it is a highly processed or chemically made ingredient I’ll try another brand of coconut milk that doesn’t have it. Thanks for the ingredient hints, it really helps to get a good final product when cooking. Cheers!
Hi. Am a big fan of matcha green tea lattes. Enjoyed reading your piece. Suggestion for you to try. Instead of coconut milk try oatmilk. Has a bit of natural sweetness that I think you’ll enjoy and also has a little guar gum to help getting that foamy thing going. Again thanks for the article.
Great idea! I have recently started drinking oat milk and absolutely love it in lattes but hadn’t tried it here.