How To Make The Perfect Matcha Shot For Matcha Lattes
Need a shot of matcha for creamy, dreamy iced matcha lattes (like this Iced Strawberry Matcha Latte)? I’ve got your back! With my tried and true recipe of matcha and water below, your drink will taste perfectly balanced. The matcha won’t be too weak or overpowering; nor will it taste too grassy or herbal. This post teaches you how to make the PERFECT matcha shot for 8- to 12-ounce drinks.
For more fun homemade coffee and tea drinks on Hummingbird High, check out my Drinks Recipe collection! Popular recipes include this Vietnamese Egg Coffee and this Iced Pistachio Latte (A Fancy Starbucks Copycat).
Ingredients and Recommendations
A quick Google search reveals a TON of matcha brands. I won’t go into the hairy details about their differences—there’s plenty of articles that already do so. Instead, I’ll just dive straight into what I like and why:
My Favorite Matcha
- Ippodo Tea Horai. If you’re looking for a classic traditional matcha from Japan, Ippodo is your best bet. It has a perfectly balanced and ever-so-slightly grassy, fresh flavor that holds up against milk and any drink sweeteners. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the most affordable matchas in Ippodo’s offerings!
- Rocky’s Ceremonial Blend Matcha. If you’re looking for a modern matcha, check out Rocky’s! Rocky’s is the brand used by most LA-based coffee shops known for their matcha drinks (this is a huge endorsement given that LA is a big matcha drinking town).
- Blue Bottle Coffee Craft Matcha. I checked out Blue Bottle’s matcha because I loved their coffee when I lived in San Francisco and Bon Appetit Magazine recommend it. It’s solid, but my least favorite on this list since it has a pretty mild flavor. That being said, I think it’s a great matcha for beginners since it has a neutral taste that can easily be tempered by milk and sweeteners.
I’ve also heard good things about other traditional matcha brands like Marukyu Koyamaen and Yamamasa Koyamaen but have yet to try these for myself.
That being said, I’ve tried plenty of matcha that I didn’t like. These matchas were often stale and oxidized, with horrible mossy green colors and off flavors. Again, without getting too into the weeds, here’s some potential red flags to avoid when investing in your own matcha:
A Beginner’s Guide To Buying Matcha
A Note About Culinary Versus Ceremonial Grade
You’ll often see matcha described as “culinary” versus “ceremonial” grade. Culinary matcha is cheaper in price because it’s “lower quality” and often used for baking and cooking. Ceremonial matcha is more expensive because it’s “higher quality” and traditionally used for drinking in Japanese tea ceremonies.
It turns out those definitions are a LIE. These definitions are used in the west, but not in Japan itself. In Japan, most folks instead choose their matcha based on what region the tea was grown in. So don’t fall for the marketing! If you like the flavor of a matcha that’s labelled as “culinary”, that’s perfectly fine!
To make the perfect matcha, I recommend having the following tools on hand:
- Electric Kettle With Temperature Control. Matcha powder is especially sensitive to temperature. If you use water that’s too hot, you could burn the leaves and end up with a super bitter or astringent tea! To make your life easy, use an electric kettle that lets you set the temperature to the exact degree (specifically, 175℉).
- Precision Digital Coffee Scale. If you’re a reader of Hummingbird High, you probably know that I love using a digital kitchen scale to measure out my ingredients (if you’re new here, check out why in How To Fix Puffy Cookies and Other Cookie Baking Fails). But most digital kitchen scales aren’t great for measuring small quantities of coffee or matcha.
Why? Most have an accepted standard deviation of 1 gram. For big quantities of ingredients, that 1 gram doesn’t matter too much. But for small measures like matcha (like this recipe, which calls for 2 grams of matcha), that changes your measure A LOT.
So if you’re a big coffee and tea person, I recommend investing in a coffee scale. A good coffee scale will measure weight in tenth of a gram increments and will correctly weigh as little as a single gram of matcha.
- Matcha Whisk. Traditional matcha whisks are hand-carved from bamboo and have a short, bulbous shape that’s designed for frothing up matcha. You can find plenty of affordable options on Amazon. Look for one with springy tips that curl inwards at the end to help break up bubbles.
- Matcha Bowl (or another small bowl with a spout). If you’re a serious matcha drinker, I recommend investing in a matcha bowl! Matcha bowls are designed to work with matcha whisks (see below). They’re the perfect size for the matcha whisk, usually have high sides to prevent splatters, and have a spout for pouring the matcha. You can buy plenty of reasonably priced matcha bowls on Amazon.
Fellow Corvo EKG Electric Kettle
I’ve been coveting this kettle for years! Not only is it beautiful, but it also allows you to heat water to the exact temperatures needed for making different beverages (matcha or otherwise).
Timemore Coffee Scale
I read all the recommendations for the “Best Coffee Scale” on the internet, and was sad when the top contender on all the lists cost $150. So I found this Timemore “dupe” on Amazon that costs about a third of the price. I’ve been using it for a few years now and have no complaints!
Do I really need a coffee scale to make matcha?
If you’re just an occasional coffee or matcha drinker, I get why you don’t want to spend money on a coffee scale. You can get away with using teaspoon measures to measure out your matcha. I’ve included the measures in the recipe below.
However, if you’re a big coffee/matcha drinker and plan to make drinks regularly at home, the coffee scale is worth it!
Making The Matcha Shot (Step By Step Videos)
Blooming The Matcha
In a matcha bowl or a small bowl with a spout, combine the matcha powder and 1 Tablespoon of the water. I use this little liquid measuring cup to help with the task.
Whisk with the matcha whisk vigorously until it has the consistency of natural peanut butter or tahini, around 15 seconds. At this point, there’s no need to whisk the matcha in a special motion. Just whisk like you would pancake batter!
Why don’t you sift your matcha with a sieve?
Most posts explaining how to make the perfect matcha shot for matcha lattes will instruct you to sift your matcha before using it. However, similar to my belief that sifting ingredients for baking isn’t necessary (learn more in my Bon Appetit article!), I don’t instruct you to sift the matcha.
Why? My instructions above teach you to “bloom” the matcha by whisking it vigorously with a small amount of water first. In my experience, this step pretty much gets rid of all the major clumps.
Whisking The Matcha (The Traditional Zigzag Method)
Pour in the remaining 3 Tablespoons of the hot water. Continue whisking vigorously, this time whisking the mixture in a zigzag motion, about 1 minute more or until frothy and bubbly.
This second video is in slow motion to help you understand the zigzag whisking motion:
Perfecting The Microfoam
When the matcha is foamy and frothy, it’s ready to go. Slow down the zigzag whisking and start to lift the whisk out of the mixture as you do so.
I usually have some medium-sized bubbles at this point. I then whisk the mixture in an up-and-down tapping motion to get that perfect microfoam texture:
And here’s something other recipe developers miss. I let the matcha sit, undisturbed, for another 30 seconds. Doing so lets the bubbles settle and turn into even smaller ones. Here’s the same matcha as above after it’s been left to settle:
And that’s how you make the perfect matcha shot for matcha lattes!
Loved learning how to make the perfect matcha shot for matcha lattes? It’s time to put your new found knowledge to the test. Check out my recipe for Iced Strawberry Matcha Latte!
Get the Recipe:
How To Make The Perfect Matcha Shot For Matcha Lattes
Looking for a tried and true matcha recipe to use in a matcha latte? This recipe teaches you how to make the perfect matcha shot with the perfect light and airy microfoam for iced lattes, hot beverages, and more!
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Prep your matcha whisk. Fill a small bowl with warm water (around 120 to 130℉). Submerge the tines of the matcha whisk in the water and let sit for 1 minute.
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Bloom the matcha. In a matcha bowl or a small bowl with a spout, combine the matcha powder and 1 Tablespoon (0.5 ounces or 14 grams) of the hot water. Whisk with the matcha whisk vigorously until it has the consistency of natural peanut butter or tahini, around 15 seconds.
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Whisk the matcha. Pour in the remaining 3 Tablespoons (1.5 ounces or 43 grams) of the hot water. Whisk the water into the paste until any remaining lumps disappear, about 20 seconds.Continue whisking vigorously, this time whisking the mixture in a zigzag motion, about 1 minute more or until frothy and bubbly.Finally, lift the whisk until only partially submerged in the upper half of the mixture. Continue whisking in a zigzag while slowly pulling the whisk out of the mixture to break up any big surface bubbles, another 10 seconds. If any large bubbles remain, whisk the mixture in an up-and-down mixture until the surface has a microfoam texture, another 20 seconds.
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Serve immediately. Let the matcha sit, undisturbed, for another 10 to 30 seconds. The matcha can be enjoyed as is, or used immediately in a matcha latte recipe of your choice.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
