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My SZN Guide · Sip · 🍂 Autumn

Matcha at Home: Iced, Hot and Everything In Between

The ratios, the kit you can skip, and how the same tin turns into an iced summer drink or a spiced autumn one.

Guide · low-cost · 5 minutes a cup · 7 min read

A glass of iced matcha latte on a kitchen counter with a bamboo whisk and a small tin of green tea powder

Matcha is powdered green tea whisked into water, and that is the whole of it. Everything else — the ceremony, the café price, the discourse — is optional.

Made at home it costs a fraction of the takeaway version, takes about ninety seconds, and can be adjusted until it tastes like something you actually want rather than something you're being good about.

Here's the working method, plus the seasonal variations that keep it interesting from an iced July glass to a spiced November mug.

What you need (and what you don't)

  • Matcha powder. Ceremonial grade for drinking straight; culinary grade is fine and cheaper in a milky latte.
  • A small sieve. This is the one that actually matters — it's the difference between smooth and lumpy.
  • A whisk: bamboo chasen if you like the ritual, a small electric milk frother if you like the speed. A jam jar with a lid works too.
  • A mug or a tall glass. Optional but pleasant: a scale, because 2g is easier to repeat than 'a scoop'.
  • You do not need a bowl, a scoop, a stand or a starter kit.

Hot matcha latte

  1. Sift 2g of matcha into a mug. Don't skip this.
  2. Add 60ml of water at about 80°C — just off the boil, or boiled and left two minutes. Boiling water makes it bitter.
  3. Whisk briskly until there is a fine foam and no visible powder, roughly 20 seconds.
  4. Warm 150–200ml of milk of your choice and pour it in.
  5. Sweeten only if you want to: half a teaspoon of honey or maple usually does it.

Iced matcha latte

  1. Sift 2g of matcha into a jar or glass.
  2. Add 60ml of cool water and whisk or shake hard until completely smooth.
  3. Fill a tall glass with ice and pour over 200ml of cold milk.
  4. Pour the matcha over the top so it layers, then stir before drinking.
  5. For a sweeter version, stir a teaspoon of syrup into the milk first rather than into the matcha.

Seasonal variations from the same tin

  • Spring: matcha with cold oat milk and a strip of lemon zest over ice.
  • Summer: iced matcha with a splash of coconut milk, or a matcha and lime soda with no milk at all.
  • Autumn: a spiced matcha latte — a pinch of cinnamon and a scrape of nutmeg into the milk while it warms. Maple rather than sugar.
  • Winter: matcha with warm milk, a little vanilla, and a blanket. A white-chocolate version if it's that kind of December.
  • Any season: matcha shaken with sparkling water and a squeeze of citrus, which is the most refreshing thing on this list.

Getting it right

  • Lumps mean you skipped the sieve. There is no other cause.
  • Bitterness usually means the water was too hot or the powder is old and dull-coloured.
  • Good matcha is bright, almost fluorescent green. Khaki powder has been open too long.
  • Keep the tin sealed, cool and out of the light, and use it within a couple of months of opening.
  • Two grams per cup. If it tastes thin, add powder rather than reducing the milk.

One honest note

Matcha contains caffeine — roughly comparable to a modest cup of coffee — so it's worth being mindful of it late in the day. We don't make health claims about it here: it's a nice drink, that's the whole pitch.

Keep a drink to try

Keep the version that sounds best today, and it'll be waiting when you're standing in the kitchen wondering.

  • Make an iced matcha latte at homeKept for later 🤎
  • Make a spiced autumn matchaCinnamon, nutmeg, maple.Kept for later 🤎
  • Try a matcha and citrus sodaKept for later 🤎

Anything you keep lands in My Keeps — ready to plan, live and remember.

Matcha questions

What's the difference between ceremonial and culinary matcha?
Ceremonial grade is made from younger leaves, is finer and sweeter, and is meant for drinking with just water. Culinary grade is stronger and more bitter, which is exactly what you want behind milk or in baking.
Can you make matcha without a bamboo whisk?
Yes. A small electric frother is faster and just as smooth, and shaking it in a sealed jar with a little cool water works perfectly well.
Why does my matcha taste bitter?
Usually water that was too hot, too much powder for the liquid, or an old tin. Try 80°C water and 2g per cup, and check the colour of the powder.
How much caffeine is in a matcha latte?
It varies with how much powder you use. A typical home latte made with 2g sits somewhere below a standard coffee — enough to notice, not usually enough to keep you up unless you're sensitive.

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