What’s frothy, pale green, and loaded with energizing goodness? A matcha oat milk latte! Here’s how to make them barista-style, without an espresso machine, at home, with just 3 ingredients!
If you’re looking for a clean stimulating buzz that lasts longer than coffee and doesn’t let you down like coffee, try matcha. Matcha tea contains caffeine but it doesn’t give you the jitters. A matcha latte gives you that energy boost without the crash.
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When I first got my electric frother, I started out making coffee lattes. Easy! Just insert the frother into a cup of hot milk and in 30 seconds it foams to twice the volume. Pour that into your coffee.
Then I moved on to matcha lattes. It’s a similar deal, except you mix a little of the hot milk with the matcha powder, along with some hot water and a little maple syrup. Use the milk frother to whip that into voluminous green foam, then pour the luscious foam into a mug of hot oat milk.
I’ve got a serious case of milk frother love and I want to share with you what I’ve learned about matcha.
What is matcha?
Matcha powder is simply very finely ground pure green tea leaves specially processed to yield a fine quality tea powder. Tea plants for matcha tea grow under shade, which boosts the plant’s chlorophyll, which gives matcha its bright green color.
Matcha has awesome “good for you” health benefits:
- Because of its chlorophyll intensity, matcha tea is a natural detoxifier and liver-cleanser.
- Matcha’s high concentration of L-theanine calms the mind and improves focus.
- Matcha is loaded with with EGCg, a plant compound linked to faster metabolism, brain health, and reduced risk of cancer and diabetes.
What does matcha tea taste like?
Matcha flavor has been described as grassy and vegetal. Depending on quality and freshness, the taste can vary. Higher quality matcha might have a buttery mellow green tea essence, while a chalky decidedly bitter matcha usually indicates lower quality. Also, the fresher the matcha the mellower the taste, so it’s important to keep matcha powder in an airtight container away from light and heat.
Which is better for lattes, ceremonial grade or culinary grade matcha?
- Highest quality “ceremonial-grade” matcha is used in Japanese tea ceremony, an elaborate meditative ritual of preparing, serving, and drinking matcha tea. A quality ceremonial grade matcha might be of single origin or a blend of hand-picked first harvest leaves.
- Lesser “culinary-grade” tea blends are used in foods like mochi rice cakes, soba noodles, green tea ice cream, and coffee shop matcha lattes.
- Ceremonial or culinary, there’s no industry standard for rating matcha–its quality can be all over the map. Bottom line, know your matcha source and for drinking, buy best quality.
Bottom line–be sure your matcha powder:
- Has vibrant green color.
- Was grown in the shade, and is solely “tencha” leaves.
- Is from Japan.
- Was stone ground, not mechanically ground.
Why choose oat milk over other plant-based alternatives for matcha lattes?
You can make matcha lattes with any plant-based alternative or dairy milk. You can also make your own vegan alternatives to dairy milk, but here I’m talking about the processed readily available plant-based milks. (So you can sweeten your latte to your taste, choose an unsweetened variety.)
- For vegan matcha lattes, I like oat “milk” for its neutral flavor and milky texture. Oat milks contain oil and it’s the oil component that makes creamy rich frothy lattes.
- Chobani Oat is our favorite, particularly their plain extra creamy. (Just my opinion—I’m not paid to say that.) Oatly is another popular brand of oat milk and they sell a barista blend with a bit more oil, 3% compared to 2%. With no added stabilizers or gums, Calafia makes probably the cleanest oatmilk. Alternatively, you could make your own oat milk.
- If the coffee shop that doesn’t offer oat milk, soy beverage is my next choice for good foam.
- IMHO–Almond milk’s more watery quality doesn’t make tasty lattes, never mind the lack of foaming ability. Coconut milk even more so. I’ve never tried hemp, pea, or other nut milks for lattes.
- Green milk for a green latte? You could make your matcha latte even a brighter green with pistachio milk, especially if you make it yourself and peel the darker skins before soaking the nuts. For a pretty penny you can buy pistachio milk online.
For good voluminous foam, you’ll want to use either an electric frother, a hand-held blender, or a bamboo matcha whisk. I’ve had a couple of different frothers. My first milk frother was from Zulay kitchen (affiliate link)–inexpensive and does the job. This USB rechargeable Golde Superwhisk whips a wonderful milk froth–the best!
What if you don’t have an electric milk frother?
* Hand-blender option: In the 2-cup measuring cup, insert the hand-held blender. Whir away. Works like a charm.
* A matcha tea bamboo whisk (affiliate link) is the traditional tool to make matcha foam. I enjoyed this video showing how to care for and use a bamboo whisk.
* If you don’t care about latte foam but you’re looking for matcha energy and health benefits, try a regular whisk or put everything in a jar and give it a vigorous shaking.
* Frother or no frother, so you don’t end up with green lumps, it’s important to first mix the green matcha powder with a little hot water and oat milk. Without a frother, do that with the back of a spoon.
I hope I’ve talked you into making yourself a matcha oat milk latte—with an inexpensive milk frother they’re so easy. You’ll love this maple syrup sweetened energizing beverage, hot or cold!
How do you make an iced matcha oat latte?
For an iced matcha latte, mix the matcha powder with a little hot water and maple syrup. Use your milk frother to mix that with cold milk and whip into a gentle foam. Pour over ice. If you don’t have a milk frother, you can blend the milk, matcha and maple syrup in your stand or hand-held blender, and then pour over ice. Know that iced matcha lattes won’t have as much foam as a latte made with hot milk.
You might also want to make this Homemade Chai Bubble Tea!
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Matcha Oat Milk Latte
Equipment
- hand held electric milk frother
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
- 2 tablespoons very hot water but not boiling, 180 degrees F. (see note)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 cup oat milk
Instructions
- Put matcha powder in a 2-cup measuring cup, a frothing pitcher, or a large narrow bowl. Be sure your container is large enough so the mixture can foam to its full potential. Use a spoon to mix the matcha, hot water and maple syrup into a smooth paste without any lumps. (Some afficionados sift their matcha before adding water prevent any lumps.)
- Heat the oat milk to just below boiling, either in a saucepan stovetop or in a microwave oven. Pour ¼ cup of the hot milk into the matcha mixture and pour the remaining ¾ cup milk in your coffee mug or cup of choice.
- Insert the milk frother into the matcha mixture and give it a good whir, 30 seconds or so, until the mixture foams to about double in volume. Immediately pour over the foam into the hot milk in the mug and serve. If the green foam loses volume, and it does fairly quickly, just give the foam another whir with the frother.
Notes
- Use water below boiling temperature—boiling water can burn the delicate tea and make it bitter.
- This recipe makes a large frothy cupful. If you don’t want to drink it all in one sitting, you can refrigerate the extra matcha latte and reheat and re-froth later.
