Refreshing and Chilled Matcha Latte

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This honeyed drink is the perfect afternoon pick me up.
With matcha’s mild caffeine content and amino acid compounds that are known for promoting calming alertness without any crashes, this iced beverage is easy to make and is as good, if not better, than the lattes you can buy for just a fraction of the cost!

Here’s Why You’ll Love This Iced Beverage💚

I’ve created a short post here that talks All about Matcha so if you’re interested in knowing things like how it’s made and it’s health benefits, feel free to give it a read because trust me, there is a lot of love when it comes to this humble ingredient. In terms of this recipe though, you’ll want to give it a go because…

• It uses only 3-4 simple, natural, wholesome and clean eating ingredients (not counting ice!)
• It only takes 5 minutes to make.
• It is a healthy, gluten-free, vegetarian friendly – with vegan friendly options (more on that in a moment!)
• You can adjust the drink to suit your preference by adding more sweetener or making the matcha flavor stronger.
• It’s so pretty to create and look at!
• It costs a fraction of the price to make compared to buying it…speaking of which…

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Cost Breakdown of this Sweet Treat

One of the best feelings in the world is knowing you’re getting a great deal on something, and a lot of the time when you make something at home, you’re doing just that, but because I was curious as to the price difference, I worked out the cost per element of this drink to see how it holds up compared to … a certain wildly popular coffee chain. I looked up the cost for the same-sized beverage across various locations and the “retail” price of this drink falls between a range of  $5.50-$7.00.

Using the cost of my grocery store purchased ingredients (as of May 2022), I worked out the cost factor of my ingredients to be as follows:

• Whole Milk – $0.30
• Raw Honey – $0.60
• Matcha Powder – $0.50
• Total cost: $1.40

*Optional vanilla: +$0.80 for high quality vanilla bean paste or anywhere between +$0.24 – $0.90 for vanilla extract.

So overall the price comparison for a 16oz matcha latte comes in at an average of $6.25 (bought) -VS- $1.40 (homemade). Not a bad deal at all, wouldn’t you agree? Now, with all that said…

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Ingredients Needed

• Milk: I’m using whole milk today.
• Ice: You’ll need enough ice to fill up about half of your glass.
• Raw Honey: I’m using my favorite brand of Keez Bees honey. They are a local producer with a phenomenal quality and variety of honey.
• Matcha Powder: We’ll be using a stone ground premium culinary grade matcha powder that is perfect for blended drinks.
• Optional add in: Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract are a great optional add in to your latte.

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Can I Make This Vegan Friendly?

Absolutely! Feel free to use your favorite dairy-free alternative and sweetener of choice. A few great options include:

– Base: unsweetened oat milk, coconut milk, unsweetened  rice milk, or unsweetened nut milks such as cashew, almond, hazelnut and macadamia nut milk.
– Sweetener: Maple syrup (you might want to add a touch extra than the recipe calls for to compensate for honey’s thickness), agave nectar, or coconut nectar are great choices.

What About That Fancy Matcha Whisk??

Traditionally, matcha is whisked together using this really cool looking bamboo whisk called a chasen. This nifty whisk is specially designed for making matcha and helping it to dissolve and froth into a lovely silky texture while supposedly enhancing the matcha’s flavor. While this specialty item is great to have, in reality it’s not necessary to use, so if you have it, use it, if not, then you can use a fork, whisk, or even a milk frother.

And if you have issues getting your matcha to blend without leaving lumps and clots behind, I have a great little trick you can use. Jump ahead and follow the directions for making this drink with the matcha as the bottom layer to learn more. 👇👇👇

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Here’s How To Make This Matcha Latte

I’m going to show you two slightly different ways to make this drink depending on where you want your layers.

⬜🟩With the Matcha Layer on the Bottom:

This is my favorite way to make my matcha lattes because it gives the prettiest gradient/ombre layering. More to that, the method we’re going to use is a great trick to ensure your matcha powder blends with no lumps and it’s so effective you don’t even need a whisk or fork, you can use a spoon! Here’s how we do it.

Prep the Matcha Layer: We’ll add our matcha powder to 1.5tbsp of raw honey and using a spoon, mix and blend the matcha into the honey until a smooth and glossy paste is formed. If you’d like to add in a touch of vanilla you can add it in now as well.

Then, we’ll warm a 1/4 cup of our milk until it’s just starting to steam and mix it into the matcha/honey mixture until it’s all fully blended together. You’ll want to be sure that you’re not using boiling hot liquid here because it will affect the taste and the nutritional value of the matcha.

Prep the Glass: This step isn’t necessary but I like to be a bit fancy because why not.🤭 To the inside of a tall 16oz glass I will drizzle and drip my remaining 1/2 tbsp of honey into it to create pretty streaks. This is honestly purely for aesthetics and the honey will end up mixed into your drink in the end.

Pour Your Latte: To your glass, pour your honey/matcha layer into the bottom of the glass. Then, add enough ice cubes to fill half the glass before you slowly stream the remainder of your milk over the ice. That’s honestly all there is to it!

Serve and Enjoy! After being poured, your latte will sit like the above image. But to get that perfect gradient layering of color, add your straw into your latte and gently swirl the matcha layer 3-4 times it to encourage the matcha to migrate upwards to create that gradient effect.

Doesn’t that look absolutely gorgeous??? 😍

Note that As your latte sits the honey streaks will begin to dissolve into the drink with some of it slipping into the bottom. Before you enjoy your drink, be sure to fully stir to combine everything.

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🟩⬜With the Matcha Layer on the Top:

The process for this is similar with slight differences. Nonetheless it is still very easy and gives you a drink that has wonderful swirls of matcha sitting on the top, just waiting to be stirred into the honeyed milk layer below.

Prep your Matcha Layer: To start we’ll pour a 1/4 cup of milk into a separate bowl or vessel and gently heat it until it is just steaming. Like above, you don’t want your milk to be boiling hot because it will affect the matcha’s flavor and nutrients.

Once your milk is warmed, add in your matcha powder and using a chasen, small whisk, fork or a milk frother, vigorously whisk your matcha into the milk until smooth and a frothy/foamy layer sits on top. If you like, you can even pass your matcha through a small, fine sieve to remove any lumps. Set it aside to cool while you prep your milk and glass.

Prep Your Milk Layer: To your cold milk, stream in 1.5 tbsp of honey and, if you’re using it, your vanilla, and stir or shake it until the honey is fully blended in. The honey in the milk adds enough sugar content to the milk that it makes it “heavier” thereby allowing the matcha layer to sit on top. Without it, the matcha will simply sink to the bottom of your drink the moment you pour it in.

Prep Your Glass: Same as above, this step is optional but for presentation sake it gives a really cool effect! Slowly drizzle and stream in your remaining 1/2 tbsp of honey into a tall 16oz glass to create these cool amber-colored streaks of sweetness.

Pour Your Latte: Fill your honey-streaked glass halfway up with ice. Then slowly pour in your honeyed-milk. Finally stream in your matcha layer, being sure to slowly and carefully pour it over the ice to encourage it to not slip down to the bottom of the drink (though note it will ultimately do that anyway). Note that the frothiness of the matcha also helps it to sit on top of the drink for longer!

Serve and Enjoy! Add your straw into your latte and stir to mix both layers together before enjoying. The honey streaks will dissolve into the drink as you do so for that little extra touch of sweetness.

And there you have it, two very easy ways to utilize the same ingredients to create a pretty and delicious matcha latte, whether you like top layer swirls or bottom layer ombre-effect, the choice is yours but the end result is the same, a delicious, healthy, boosting beverage that makes a wonderful treat.

Let me know in the comments below if you tried this recipe and don’t forget to leave a rating and drop a comment to let me know which layering arrangement you like better! See you all in the next post! 💚