Craving some tropical sweetness? You have to try this matcha latte with pandan cold foam made with pandan flavoring and umami matcha. The pandan adds the most delicate floral, herby, nutty, and vanilla-like aroma that balances matcha so well. It’s seriously delicious and will transport you straight to Southeast Asia!

Here’s how to make this amazing pandan cold foam matcha latte at home!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s a tropical twist on a classic matcha latte!
• A great use of pandan flavoring or extract.
• Easy and fun creative matcha latte recipe!
• It’s an easy and quick cafe-style drink to make at home.

What is Pandan?

Pandan is a tropical plant with leaves that smell and taste like vanilla! But besides its sweet aroma, it also has sweet, nutty, and floral flavors alongside vanilla. It tastes similar to ube, but with a fresher, more herby taste.

It’s a very common dessert flavor in Southeast Asia and used as a natural green dye for food. It originally comes as a leaf which you can buy fresh or frozen, as well as in artificial flavorings and powders.

It’s one of my favorite flavors and tastes especially delicious with coconut!

What Does Pandan Taste Like? It tastes like a coconutty, floral, and herby vanilla! Sometimes you can also taste hazelnut.

What is a Pandan Cold Foam Matcha Latte?

Just like what it says: a matcha latte with a creamy pandan cold foam. The pandan cold foam is a nice tropical twist on the classic matcha latte. While both green, the pandan adds a nice aroma to the matcha and makes it slightly coconutty and vanilla-like.

You can make it easily at home with fresh or artificial pandan flavor. You can even omit the cold foam for a less heavy version.

Does Pandan Go Well With Matcha?

Yes! Pandan and matcha are such a good combination, very underrated in my opinion! Matcha has a grassy and umami undertone, which overlaps with some of pandan’s flavors including herby and floral.

In my experience making drinks, I’ve noticed that the best pairings with matcha are from flavors that have an earthy or grassy undertone and a different flavor. For example, mangoes have a slightly earthy flavor but a juicy and fresh fruit flavor! It pairs amazingly with matcha!

Simiarly, pandan and matcha overlap just enough, which accentuates the coconut-like vanilla flavor from pandan.

What Does a Matcha Latte with Pandan Cold Foam Taste Like?

A matcha latte with pandan cold foam tastes like a more fragrant, sweet matcha latte. At the first sip, you get the aromatic pandan, followed by the earthy matcha. It’s a very balanced flavor combination!

If you’ve tried Southeast Asian desserts like Vietnamese che, Malaysian cendol, or Filipino buko pandan, then this drink will taste very familiar and sweet. It’s basically a pandan dessert with an umami matcha flavor.

How to Add Pandan Flavor

The best way to add pandan flavor to your drink is with fresh (or frozen) pandan leaves. Usually frozen pandan leaves are most accessible, especially in the U.S. where it’s imported, but any leaf-form of pandan is better than any artificial flavoring.

To process the leaves, blend it with some water and steep in milk or cream. You can also reduce the juice with sugar to make homemade pandan syrup!

But the easiest option is to use pandan extract or artificial flavoring. You can find it in practically all Asian grocery stores and they’re cheaper than $5 each for a small bottle that will last you months.

How to Make Pandan Cold Foam

Pandan cold foam is super easy to make! The base of any flavored cold foam is regular sweet cream cold foam—heavy cream, milk, and sugar.

To that, add your pandan syrup, flavoring, or extract, then whip on medium speed until you get a soft, fluffy, and light cream! Stop whipping when it’s fluffy but still pourable! Otherwise you’ll end up with a stiff cream that’s hard to stir into your drink.

Tip: With pandan extract, use just a drop or two since it’s extremely potent. For flavoring, you can use the amount mentioned in this recipe. And with pandan syrup, use double the amount since it will have the least potent pandan flavor.

How to Make a Pandan Cold Foam Matcha Latte

Ingredients:

• Pandan Cold Foam
• ½ tsp pandan extract or flavoring
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• Pandan Cold Foam Matcha Latte
• 1½ tsp matcha powder
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup ice
• ¼ cup pandan cold foam

Pandan Cold Foam Matcha Latte Recipe

1. Add pandan extract, heavy cream, milk, and sugar to a cup or bowl. Whip for 5 – 10 seconds using a handheld frother until light and fluffy but still pourable.
2. Sift matcha into a bowl, then add water. Whisk quickly in a zigzag motion for 20 – 30 seconds using a matcha whisk or until a foam forms.
3. Add ice, milk, and whisked matcha to a separate glass, then top with pandan cold foam. Garnish with a dusting of matcha powder or a pandan leaf.
4. Mix and enjoy!

FAQ’s

Where Do I Get Pandan Leaves From?

You can find frozen pandan leaves from the frozen section in most Asian grocery stores! Online, you can also order freeze-dried pandan leaves. Fresh pandan leaves are a lot harder to find since they don’t transport well, but I’ve seen them at niche Asian markets (usually smaller and local).

Can I Use Dried Pandan Powder?

Yes! You’ll find pandan powder that’s either dried pandan leaves ground up or made by evaporating pandan juice. The former may leave a gritty texture, so most people will steep the powder in water and strain before using it.

Other Cold Foam Matcha Latte Recipes

This creamy pandan matcha latte has a slight floral and vanilla flavor that pairs perfectly with matcha. The cold foam takes it to the next level, especially when you sip the two simultaneously. If you love this drink, then you have to try these other cold foam matcha latte recipes:

• Watermelon cold foam matcha latte
• Blueberry cold foam matcha latte
• Lavender cold foam matcha latte
• Vanilla cold foam matcha latte
• Double matcha latte
• Strawberry cold foam matcha latte

Tips:

• Use Real Pandan: While pandan extract and flavoring is convenient, it doesn’t have that same fresh and aromatic flavor real pandan leaves have. If you can, use real pandan leaves to make a syrup or extract and use that instead. The flavor will be better!
• Make it Green: Depending on the extract you use, your cold foam can end up light green instead of a vibrant green. For more color, add some green food coloring (artificial or natural) to make it more visually appealing. Although, light green is also really stunning, too!
• Add Pandan to Milk: For extra pandan flavor, add the extract into the milk as well for a double pandan situation. With real leaves, you can blend the leaves with milk to get it extra, extra fragrant.