The perfect matcha green tea latte is creamy, smooth and delicious, with a hint of ginger. It's a soothing, healing, invigorating drink for any time of day!
Purists may love matcha tea with water alone. But try drinking it my way, with creamy non dairy milk and a bit of ginger to increase its benefits, and you will never go back.
This matcha green tea latte is the ultimate healing drink, especially in cool weather, when the sniffles are sure to hit sooner or later. But you don't really need a reason to drink it, other than wanting to sip on something cozy, delicious and rejuvenating!
Table of Contents
What is matcha tea?
Matcha is a type of green tea with origins in China and Japan. Farmers cover the tea plants a few days before harvest, which boosts chlorophyll and amino acid production, giving matcha tea its unique, brilliant green hue.
Matcha green tea leaves are ground into a very fine powder. This means you can dissolve the matcha powder in water or milk and drink the entire matcha tea leaf, consuming all of the amazing benefits this plant has to offer.
Matcha green tea powder is high in catechins -- potent compounds that are believed to have very high antioxidant activity. It is known to boost brain function, reduce inflammation, could help with cancer prevention, improve blood pressure and promote weight loss, among its many, many benefits. It's an amazing superfood to add to your diet, and it's delicious to boot. In addition to sipping it as a relaxing tea, you can stir it into smoothies and desserts and even into oatmeal and chia puddings. It adds a lovely green hue to any food without asserting a strong flavor.
Why you will love this recipe
- Creamy and delicious. I am a big tea drinker--a habit ingrained in me through cups of masala chai drunk all through my childhood and young adulthood in India. But I've always struggled with green tea because, well, I just don't love the flavor as much. Once I discovered matcha powder, the struggle was over. I love the delicate flavor profile and I can drink it all day. Especially when it's flavored with ginger.
- So good for you. This Japanese tea, like I explained above, has a long list of health benefits and is a great addition to a healthy lifestyle. When combined with ginger, which is also great for your health, those benefits magnify.
- Easy to make. A cup of this matcha green tea latte takes minutes to make and you need just three ingredients. If you like tea sweet (I do!), add a sweetener of your choice, including maple syrup, turbinado sugar, coconut sugar or a keto sweetener like erythritol, stevia or monk fruit sweetener.
Expert tips
- Matcha tea is made by whisking the liquid with the tea using a special bamboo whisk. The whisk, called a chasen, helps incorporate air into the tea and release its aroma. Tea makers whisk the tea using a quick, short, back-and-forth motion. You don't need a chasen to make a great cup of matcha, unless you already have one. A small regular whisk or a milk frother does the job just as well.
- Matcha is a sweet and slightly nutty tea with just a hint of bitterness. But with any ingredient, unless you are used to it, use a little at first and then graduate to more according to your taste. I use a teaspoon of matcha tea for a cup, but you can start with ½ or even ¼th of a teaspoon and graduate to more depending on how much you like in your tea.
- The same goes for ginger. Ginger is an amazing food, but too much of it can cause diarrhea, heartburn and even an irregular heartbeat, so you need just a tiny bit, about ½ teaspoon of grated ginger, which you will strain out before drinking the tea. Add more only after you are certain you can tolerate more, and scale back on it during summer months because ginger warms the body.
Ingredients
- Matcha tea. You need just a tiny bit to make a cuppa.
- Ginger. Use fresh ginger for this tea.
- Non-dairy milk of choice. I love oat milk or soy milk, which are both quite creamy, with my cup of matcha tea. You can use almond milk, which has fewer calories, or any other milk you like.
Variations
- Add a sweetener of choice to the matcha tea, including maple syrup, any sugar, or a keto sweetener.
- You can make the matcha tea with water alone and skip the milk. Add ginger to the water and heat until steam rises. Turn off heat just before the water comes to a boil.
- Add a pinch of cardamom to the water or milk instead of ginger. Cardamom works really nicely with the flavor of matcha.
How to make matcha green tea latte
1. Add ginger to non-dairy milk and heat until the milk is scalding.
2. Sift the matcha tea into a cup or bowl using a strainer to get rid of any lumps.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of hot or warm water to the cup with matcha and use a small whisk or milk frother to whisk it until it becomes foamy and frothy.
4. Strain the ginger-infused milk into the matcha mixture and use the whisk or milk frother to mix until frothy again. Pour into cup and enjoy.
Recipe FAQ
Studies show that green tea, including matcha, can increase metabolism and fat burning. Adding a cup of matcha green tea to your diet if you are trying to lose weight certainly cannot hurt, and might actually help!
Matcha contains a compound called L-Theanine, which can help soothe and relax the body, improving sleep quality. Matcha, like all teas, does contain a small amount of caffeine, however, so if you are very sensitive to caffeine it might not be the right bedtime drink for you.
Matcha green tea is overall an extremely healthy food to add to your diet. However, drinking too much matcha, in excess of eight cups a day, has been shown to have some negative side-effects, including acid reflux and nausea, iron deficiency and nausea. Any ingredient consumed in excess, including ones as healthy as turmeric or matcha, can hurt rather than help, so always use common sense and moderation.
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Matcha Green Tea Latte
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Milk frother or small whisk
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons water
- 8 oz oat milk (or any non-dairy milk of choice, including almond milk, soy milk and cashew milk)
Instructions
- Add ginger to non-dairy milk and heat until the milk is scalding.
- Sift the matcha tea into a cup or bowl using a strainer to get rid of any lumps.
- Add 2 tablespoons of hot water to the cup with matcha and use a small whisk or milk frother to whisk it until it becomes foamy and frothy.
- Strain the ginger-infused milk into the matcha mixture and use the whisk or milk frother to mix until frothy again. Pour into cup and enjoy.
Recipe notes
- Matcha tea is made by whisking the liquid with the tea using a special bamboo whisk. The whisk, called a chasen, helps incorporate air into the tea and release its aroma. Tea makers whisk the tea using a quick, short, back-and-forth motion. You don't need a chasen to make a great cup of matcha, unless you already have one. A small regular whisk or a milk frother does the job just as well.
- Matcha is a sweet and slightly nutty tea with just a hint of bitterness. But with any ingredient, unless you are used to it, use a little at first and then graduate to more according to your taste. I use a teaspoon of matcha tea for a cup, but you can start with ½ or even ¼th of a teaspoon and graduate to more depending on how much you like in your tea.
- The same goes for ginger. Ginger is an amazing food, but too much of it can cause diarrhea, heartburn and even an irregular heartbeat, so you need just a tiny bit, about ½ teaspoon of grated ginger, which you will strain out before drinking the tea. Add more only after you are certain you can tolerate more, and scale back on it during summer months because ginger warms the body.
Sylvia DeSantis
Thank you for this, Vaishali! I have some very expensive matcha powder I bought but never used bc I was so intimidated about ruining it. This is a perfect recipe for me bc I love lattes.
Vaishali
Awesome, hope you love it, Sylvia!