Technique · 02
The matcha latte. Bright green, built to last.
Sift it, slurry it, then lengthen it with milk. The whole game is killing the clumps before the milk ever touches the bowl — and using a grade that can stand up to it.
The short answer
A matcha latte is matcha whisked into a smooth paste with a little hot water, then lengthened with steamed or cold milk. Use culinary or latte-grade matcha — ceremonial is wasted under milk — sift it first to kill clumps, sweeten to taste, and serve hot or over ice.
The idea
Matcha is the most-searched tea latte there is, and the one people most often get wrong. Two fixes carry the whole drink: use a latte grade built to survive milk instead of burying expensive ceremonial powder under it, and sift before you whisk so you never serve someone a mouthful of green chalk.
The method
5 steps. No shortcuts.
- 01
Sift the matcha
Push 1–2 teaspoons of matcha through a fine strainer into your cup or a bowl. Clumps are the enemy of a smooth latte, and this is the step everyone skips and then regrets.
- 02
Make a slurry
Add 1–2 tablespoons of 175°F water — never boiling — and whisk hard (a chasen in W-strokes, or the frother) into a glossy, lump-free paste. Get it smooth here and the milk can’t un-smooth it.
- 03
Sweeten now if you want
A little honey or simple syrup folds into the warm slurry cleanly. Sweetening after the milk goes in never quite works.
- 04
Add the milk
6–8oz. For a hot latte, steam and froth it, then pour into the slurry. For iced, fill a glass with ice, add cold milk, and pour the slurry over the top for the layered look.
- 05
Finish
Hot: spoon foam on top and dust with a little matcha. Iced: give it a stir before the first sip so the slurry and milk actually meet.
What it takes
The short shopping list.
Powders
Aiya Cooking Grade Matcha Powder
Latte grade, on purpose. Built to hold its flavour through milk and ice — drinking-grade ceremonial just disappears under the milk and costs more for nothing.
Sets
Bamboo Matcha Whisk + Chashaku Scoop Set
The chasen breaks up clumps and builds the slurry better than anything else, and it's cheap. A sieve to sift through helps even more.
Accessories
Bodum Bistro Battery-Powered Milk Frother
Froths the milk for a hot latte, and doubles as a backup whisk for the matcha slurry if the chasen's in the wash.
House rule
Sift, then slurry. Skip either step and you're drinking green chalk in milk.
FAQ
Matcha Latte, answered.
What matcha is best for a latte? +
Culinary or latte-grade matcha, such as a cooking grade — it's built to hold its flavour through milk and heat. Save ceremonial grade for drinking neat; under milk its nuance is lost and you've overpaid.
What water temperature for matcha? +
About 175°F (80°C), never boiling. Boiling water scorches matcha and turns it bitter. Make the slurry with the hot water, then the milk does the rest of the work.
Why is my matcha latte clumpy? +
You skipped sifting or didn't make a slurry first. Sift the powder, then whisk it with a small amount of hot water into a smooth paste before adding any milk — clumps won't break up once the milk is in.
How do you make an iced matcha latte? +
Make the matcha slurry as usual, fill a glass with ice, add cold milk, then pour the slurry over the top. Stir before drinking. Use latte-grade matcha and sweeten the slurry while it's warm.