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POURCRAFT BAR

MATCHA

Iced Matcha Latte

Four parts cold milk to one part matcha paste, where the paste is made properly first and everything else is assembly.

  • 4Cold milk76%8 oz
  • 1Matcha paste19%2 g matcha in 2 oz water
  • 1/4Syrup5%1/2 oz
Ice
Standard cubes
Glass
12 oz glass
Serves
1

Ingredients

Batch size

1 serving
  • 2 gmatcha, sifted (about 1 tsp, lightly heaped)Swap: Culinary grade works over milk; the finer grades are wasted under this much dairy
  • 2 ozwater at 175°F / 80°C
  • 8 ozcold milkSwap: Oat milk, which suits matcha better than most alternatives
  • 1/2 ozsimple or vanilla syrup
  • 5standard ice cubes

Method

  1. Sift the matcha

    Matcha arrives compacted and it clumps in the tin, not in the cup. Pushing it through a small sieve takes ten seconds and removes the single biggest cause of grit at the bottom of the glass.

  2. Use water off the boil, not boiling

    Water at 175°F / 80°C

    Boiling water scorches matcha and the result is flatly bitter in a way that sugar does not cover. If you have no thermometer, boil and then wait about two minutes.

  3. Make a paste before you make a drink

    Add just enough water to wet the powder and work it into a smooth paste against the side of the cup first. Adding all the water at once leaves lumps floating that will not break up afterward.

  4. Whisk the rest of the water in

    15 seconds

    A handheld frother does this faster than a bamboo whisk and just as well. You are looking for an even surface with a fine foam and no darker specks turning over in it.

  5. Build over ice, syrup before milk

    Ice, syrup, milk, then the matcha poured in last so you can see it fall through. One stir from the bottom finishes it.

The one thing that ruins it

Tipping the powder straight into cold milk. Matcha has to be wetted with a small amount of hot water first or it stays as dry lumps that no amount of stirring will open up.

Tools you actually need

If you need one

01Strongest aeration
Maestri House LunaFro Rechargeable Frother

Maestri House

Maestri House LunaFro Rechargeable Frother

The only frother here that states its motor speed — 8000 RPM — alongside a 1200 mAh battery and two detachable whisks. Speed is the specification that matters for this category, because aeration is a race against the dairy warming up.

Best for
Cold foam, where the whole job has to finish in about twenty seconds
Key spec
8000 RPM motor, 1200 mAh battery, 2 detachable whisks, stand
  • States 8000 RPM, the only speed figure published across this lineup
  • Two detachable whisks cover foam and powder dispersion separately
  • Detachable heads can be washed properly rather than rinsed in place
  • Stand included, which is what keeps it on the counter and in use
  • Rechargeable means it is unusable while flat, unlike a battery unit
  • Two whisk heads are two more small parts to lose
  • A 1200 mAh cell adds weight compared with an AA wand
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Technique behind this drink

Make it ahead, or batch it

Matcha paste can be made a few hours ahead and kept covered and cold, though it needs re-whisking before use. Prepared any earlier than that it turns increasingly dull and hay-like, which is a flavor change rather than a safety one.

Matcha is a suspension, not a solution, and that is what breaks at volume. A pitcher of matcha latte looks fine when you make it and has a visible green layer on the bottom within about ten minutes, so anyone served from the second half of the pitcher gets a different drink from the first. If you are making several, whisk one larger volume of paste — that part scales cleanly — but pour it into individual glasses of milk and ice at the last moment. Doubling the milk without doubling the paste is the other common error; the ratio here is doing real work, and matcha under-dosed against this much dairy simply tastes like slightly odd milk.