About This Iced Sakura Matcha Latte Recipe
Celebrate sakura cherry blossom season with this iced sakura matcha latte! The drink is made with iced milk, a shot of vibrant and flavorful matcha tea, and a quick and easy cold foam flavored with cherry blossom powder. The cold foam is inspired by Starbucks and my copycat Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam recipe (one of the most popular on Hummingbird High).
Looking for more delicious iced matcha latte recipes? Check out my Iced Strawberry Matcha Latte Recipe on Hummingbird High!
What is sakura?
If you’re unfamiliar with sakura, here’s a quick primer: sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom. And although it’s not common in the United States, it’s frequently used as a culinary flavor in Japan and other Asian countries (especially in desserts).
What does sakura taste like?
If you’ve ever had a pink-colored mochi, you’ve probably tasted sakura. Most pink mochi are cherry blossom flavored!
But in general, sakura has a very delicate, subtle, perfumey flavor. It’s similar to using lavender (like in these Lavender Earl Grey Cookies) or rose water (like in these Strawberry Rose Snickerdoodles) in baked goods.
Let’s Talk About Sakura Powder
To make this recipe, you need sakura powder. Sakura powder is made from pulverized freeze-dried sakura petals. It’s easy to find on Amazon. I recommend the one from Orgnisulmte (more affordable) or Yamasan Kyoto Uji (more expensive).
Don’t confuse sakura powder with sakura latte powder. Sakura latte powder has other ingredients like milk and sugar. While recipe testing, I discovered that the latte powder does not work as well in the cold foam recipe!
Need other recipe ideas for your sakura powder? Check out this Sakura Tiramisu recipe (based on my Easy and Classic Tiramisu Recipe) and these Sakura Matcha Cookies (based on these 3 Flavor Neapolitan Cookies Made With 1 Dough).
Making Sakura Cold Foam
The most important part of this sakura matcha latte is the sakura cold foam. The cold foam gives the matcha latte its signature pink color and cherry blossom flavor.
The cold foam comes together quickly and easily. Combine the cream, milk, sakura powder, and pink food coloring and whisk with a handheld electric mixer or a milk frother until thick and foamy. As it mixes, the cold foam will go through different phases with varying textures:
The Three Textures Of Sakura Cold Foam
A Note About Using An Electric Mixer
In my recipe for Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam, I instruct you to shake the ingredients in a jar to make the foam. While recipe testing, I found that the jar method didn’t work as well for the sakura cold foam. The sakura powder didn’t dissolve quickly and needed a lot of shaking to do so. Make your life easy by using an electric mixer or frother!
KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Mixer
My favorite handheld electric mixer is this KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Mixer. Unlike other handheld mixers, it doesn’t need to plug into the wall! It is cordless and runs off a re-chargeable battery; you can take it anywhere in your kitchen to help you bake.
Best Recipe Tips
- Looking for matcha recommendations? Check out my post on How To Make The Perfect Matcha Shot For Matcha Lattes to see my favorites! I also offer lots of tips and tricks on how to make the perfect matcha for drinks like this iced sakura matcha latte recipe.
- In a pinch, you can skip the food coloring. However, I know from testing that the sakura cold foam won’t come out as vibrant. I used a pink food color from this Americolor Nifty Fifty food coloring kit. But in a pinch, you can use 1 drop of red food coloring from the food coloring packs readily available at grocery stores.
- I sweetened the matcha with my 5 Minute Simple Syrup Recipe (For Cakes, Cocktails, Drinks). If you don’t like sweet drinks, feel free to skip the sweetener! Just note that since matcha and sakura aren’t sweet on their own, the resulting drink won’t be very sweet.
For The Iced Sakura Matcha Latte
buy the book
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.
