Are you looking for a matcha recipe that’s delicious and easy? This is the perfect ratio of matcha to milk, with the perfect sweetness.

I love a strong and creamy matcha and drink it in lattes. It’s sometimes hard to get the proper ratios: too milky, not enough matcha, sometimes grainy… It takes much trial and error to get the proper ratio.

Plus, it’s hard to make great matcha if you don’t have good matcha powder. So, here’s how to make a delicious iced honey matcha latte.

What is Matcha?

Matcha is a finely ground green tea powder made from grinding green tea leaves, usually using a stone mill. The powder is generally as fine as dust and stored in tins or bags.

While matcha is grown worldwide, it’s most concentrated in China and Japan, with the latter becoming renowned for its matcha production.

Good quality matcha powders will be vibrantly green, similar to emeralds. Upon first smell, it will be vegetal. You’ll get chocolate, umami, floral notes, and more, depending on the variety.

In taste, people say that matcha has a “grassy” flavor. But it has a really lovely earthy and umami flavor and is sometimes paired with a nice sweetness and bitterness. It pairs great with a light sweetener like agave or honey and is a great dessert flavor.

It’s also different from jasmine green tea or other varieties of green tea.

Matcha vs. Green Tea

Matcha is different from the typical green tea you find at the store. While all tea is made from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, processing or growing the plant differently will give you different types of tea.

Jasmine green tea, for example, is fully grown and harvested green tea infused with jasmine flowers.

Matcha uses young, high-quality green tea leaves grown in shade at the end of its growing season. Then, the leaves are dried and ground to make matcha!

Food Science Break: Shading tea boosts the tea’s flavor. The shade forces the leaves to increase chlorophyll to try and absorb more light. Chlorophyll gives the tea a grassy and umami flavor highly sought after in matcha.

If you were to grind regular green tea leaves, you would get a really unpleasant and bitter powder, not matcha.

Also, you drink the matcha tea powder itself while you drink brewed tea, not the leaves itself.

Types of Matcha

In the West, matcha is sold and marketed with different terms, like ceremonial grade, culinary grade, etc.

However, it’s unclear what these terms actually mean and are sometimes misleading. No one wants to buy a ceremonial grade matcha and receive low-quality, flavorless matcha.

A better way to identify good quality matcha is by digging deeper into the matcha’s background. How was it made? Where was it grown? What are the flavor profiles?

The industry standard is that ceremonial-grade matcha powders are good quality while culinary matcha powder is not. But it’s not as black and white as it seems.

In Japan, these terms are not used since there is no regulation for categorizing matcha qualities. So, the best way to spot a good quality matcha powder is to read reviews and the background of the matcha.

Best Matcha Powders

The best matcha powder I’ve had is Ippodo’s Ummon blend. It’s super green and has lots of umami—if you drink it straight up, it tastes like seaweed without the salt. But milk thoroughly washes away the sea flavor, leaving you with a delicious umami flavor that works so perfectly with whole milk and a little honey. Liquid gold!

However, good quality matcha doesn’t have to be expensive, and you can find a lot of affordable matcha powders on the market for less than $20. These brands have matcha at all different price points:

• Ippodo
• Kettl Matcha
• Yamamasa Koyamaen
• Horii Shichimeien
• Marukyu Koyamaen
• Matchaeologist

How to Prepare Matcha

The general purpose of preparing matcha is to combine the matcha powder in water for easy drinking. While you could try and eat the powder itself, you’d probably have a hard time. (Imagine the cinnamon challenge but with matcha).

The traditional way to prepare matcha is by using specific ceramicware, including a chawan (tea bowl) and a chasen (tea whisk).

You don’t need a tea bowl or whisk to make matcha. You can get creative as long as the matcha and water mix well.

But usually, you add matcha powder and water into the bowl and whisk until a layer of foam forms on the top. This foam is important for texture! It makes the tea softer and more creamy to drink.

Once combined, pour the matcha mixture onto milk or ice and enjoy!

Is Honey Good with Matcha?

Honey is delicious with matcha. It adds a nice sweetness without being overly sweet and is great in matcha lattes. I find that it helps balance out the earthiness of matcha and complements its flavors well.

Also, honey is easily dissolvable since it’s already semi-liquid.

How to Make a Honey Matcha Latte

You’ll need:

• 1.5 tsp (3g) Matcha powder
• 1/4 cup (30g) Water
• 3/4 cup (6oz) Milk
• 1 tsp (8g) Honey
• 1 cup Ice

That’s it! First, you’ll want to combine the matcha powder and water together in a bowl or cup. If you have a matcha whisk, whisk the matcha in a Z motion until a froth forms. If you don’t have a whisk, use a handheld frother or shake the matcha in a lidded jar until frothy.

Dissolve the honey with milk. You may need to dissolve the honey with a little hot water before adding milk so it dissolves more easily.

Then, add ice to the milk and top with your matcha. This recipe should give you a nice, green drink!

Best Milk for Matcha Lattes

The best milk for matcha lattes is the one you love most! However, there are some kinds of milk that (I think) overpower the matcha flavor. Even some brands of certain milk are overpowering.

Oat milk, coconut, almond, or soy milk are great non-dairy alternatives to use with matcha. However, some brands may make their milk differently and have a weird texture or aftertaste.

I personally think coconut and soy milk have a strong flavor that lends different flavors to the drink that are not ideal. I think almond is okay but leans a little watery. I prefer oat milk most for matcha because it’s creamy without lending a weird taste.

But dairy milk is the best for matcha, in my opinion. Although, I am biased because I love dairy. I prefer whole milk in my lattes because it’s creamy, and many local dairy brands in the Bay Area make fantastic milk (I love Strauss so much).

Tips

Here are some tips on how to make the best iced honey matcha latte:

• Sift your matcha into your bowl or cup so no clumps are in your drink. I’ve made clumpy matcha before, and it’s terrible to drink because it’s impossible to combine it with milk afterward.
• To get a nice layer, sweeten your milk and add ice and matcha. The sugar makes the milk denser, so the matcha floats on it!
• Whisk matcha powder with cold water. Sometimes, hot water kills the umami taste in matcha, and cold water can help preserve subtle flavors.