Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We’re turning your kitchen into Starbucks this morning!
I worked in a cafe as a barista throughout high school. In theory? Best job ever. Forever surrounded by the sweet aromas of coffee, baked goods, and books; how could any of that be a bad thing?
In reality? I came home a sticky, syrupy mess every.single.day. I remember walking out of the cafe with chai syrup splattered on my face, mocha syrup down my arm, and the stink of old spilled milk covering my shoes on multiple occasions.
In other words: I was a hot freakin’ mess.
BUT. It wasn’t all stank. No, I discovered the creme-de-la-creme of caffeine-laden drinks while working my 6-hour night shifts: the Green Tea Latte.
Ohhh, how I adored this drink. Earthy green tea powder mixed with steamed milk and topped with the perfect amount of foam. So naturally, I got one on the daily with my cool 50% discount.
Fortunately/unfortunately, I had the bright idea to actually check and see what actually made up that addictive green tea powder.
Answer: Sugar. And a wee bit of green tea.
Womp womp.
SO. We’re making our own with just a handful of whole food ingredients!
But don’t worry – it seriously couldn’t be any easier. And it’s actually super fun!
So, I’m going to be completely honest with you and tell you that I usually have at least 5 cups of green tea a day. While my insane tea consumption is mostly due to the fact that I’m always cold, I also love it for its smooth, earthy taste! I know describing something as “earthy” kind of makes you think of worms, dirty, and all things nasty. But matcha, the green tea powder we’re using in this recipe today, is so not that. Matcha is ground from the whole tea leaf, so you’re getting anything and everything the tea has to offer! Matcha rich, flavorful, and full of antioxidant goodness. This is the tin that I have that I stole from my mother. ?
But if you don’t want to fork out the moola for some matcha, do not fret! You can easily sub a regular green tea bag in this recipe. My favorite favorite green tea bags are the ones that I buy from Costco, and they actually have some matcha in them!
{side note: If you really stop and think about it, how weird is tea? It’s basically totally leaf-flavored water… #showerthoughts}
And while making your own latte at home may sound a wee bit intimidating, I promise you that it’s super easy…and actually totally fun! You’ll need to get your hands on a french press for that ultimate latte-at-home froth. I know the french presses at coffee shops can run $20-$30. But I found mine at IKEA for less than $10 ?
The press really makes this recipe. We’re going to quickly plunge the press up and down until the milk-water-tea mixture becomes niiiice and frothy. I mean, seriously. Look at dat foam.
Best part? It goes from flat, chunky matcha water to a luxurious, comforting Vanilla Matcha Green Tea Latte in just about 20 seconds!
Take that, Starbucks.
Cheers to pretty green drinks ?
PrintVanilla Matcha Green Tea Latte
- Yield: 1 drink, easily doubled, tripled, etc.
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp. matcha powder*
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice), warmed
- 1 Tbsp.+ sweetener of choice (I used honey, vegans use maple syrup or agave)
- Optional: [vegan] whipped cream for topping
Instructions
- Add matcha powder to your french press. Add water, almond milk, and sweetener, and mix until combined. It’s OK if the matcha doesn’t completely dissolve.
- Insert the press and quickly push it down, then pull it up continuously for 15 seconds, or until the latte is frothed to your liking.
- Pour into an 8-oz. cup, using a spoon to scoop out the foam and place it on top. Top with [vegan] whipped cream if desired.
Notes
*If you can’t find matcha, do not fret! Use a green tea bag and let it seep in the hot water for a few minutes before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. Just remove the tea bag before you start frothing!
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I’m pretty sure I’m the only person with a ton of matcha, yet have never made it a latte :P
Ahh you must, Rebecca! It’s my new favorite way to start the morning ;)
Ive been coffee free for 2 weeks now…..green tea is my new cup of joe. I’ve since moved on to Matcha…..mmmmmm.
Matcha is the BEST! So so good :)
Love Matcha! I don’t even want to think about the hundreds of dollars I’ve probably spent at Starbucks on their Matcha lattes…if I only knew they were this easy to make I would have been making my own a looooong time ago.
For real! And the homemade version is so much more convenient!
So I’m not sure if I’ve tried Matcha. I got given a packet of this green beveragey stuff, except the writing was all japanese so I’m not 100% sure what it is. I’ve made some bliss balls with it which were delicious (I hope that wasn’t a drugs high.)
hahaha I loved this. Bliss balls with matcha sound DELISH!
Ahhhh I’m so obsessed with matcha so I’m naturally obsessed with this. So festive!
Same here, Emilie! Hope you can give this a try!
Love this! My best friend and I are obsessed with matcha (ever since we tried homemade matcha ice cream at a local ice cream shop last summer), so we will for sure be making this next time we are together!! Thanks Alexa! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! :)
Aw! That’s so sweet! I hope you both enjoy :)
I tried a matcha latte for the first time in NY and I loved it! I have been meaning to buy some powder to try and make it on my own. This is the push I needed!
Yes! Do it, Christina! And it’s so simple to do at home!
LOVE matcha!! This latte is so pretty! I have that same french press from Ikea, works like a charm ;)
Thanks, Erin! I agree – I use my IKEA french press all the time ;)
I tried a matcha tea latte for the first time about a year ago and I knew I had to find a way to make it at home. This recipe is very similar to the one I do at home! I use a frother tool to whip the milk into more of a latte and I always use cashewmilk.
I need a frother! I’m obsessed with lattes, so any tool that will make it even easier for me to make one at home is a necessity in my opinion :)
Sounds good. Would like to try it. But I don’t have a press. Is there something else I could use?
Sure thing! You can buy a stick milk frother, and then just froth the milk before you add it to the green tea mixture. I just got one for Christmas (it’s less than $3 from IKEA), and I love it!
Omg…. this may change my life!!!!! I had never tried match before and was thinking it was going in a smoothie when I saw your post. This is going to replace my morning coffee and quite possibly get me off diet mountain dew (I know it is awful but I’m addicted to it’s all day long pick me up ability). Thanks!
YESSS! I think you’ll love matcha lattes! They’re so easy to make too :) Let me know how it goes!
Ahhh! The first time I tried matcha I was like “What?” But as the time passed I realized how unique its flavor is. I can’t imagine my life without it right now and I think that your recipe is outstanding! Thank you so much for sharing it, Alexa!
Yes! So glad you enjoyed it :) Matcha is one of my favorite ways to wake up in the morning. You’re totally right – the flavor is so unique, but I really love it with the vanilla :)
Hi, I have been seeing more and more matcha tea recipes lately, have not taken the plunge yet but it is on my “to do in the near future” list and I just saw matcha tea in my local grocerie store, so it is now locally available, no more excuses lol. My question to you is do you strain the tea through your french press filter or is the powder fine enough you can just drink it unstrained? Thanks!
Hi, Lisa! The matcha powder is fine enough – it dissolves in the hot water!
I’ve had a Starbicks French Press in miss you cupboard for a long time. I was delighted to put it to good use making this delicious tea. I used only 1/2 T agave that seemed sweet enough to me. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you liked it!
Stumbled across this via Pinterest and was instantly curious about the French press. Most other methods for making lattes at home (mine included) require using a blender or one of those handheld frothers. This is so great, love the suggestion. Now I’ve got to try making my next matcha latte using the French press! x
Woo hoo! I hope it was delicious!!
Where can you buy the matcha that you recommended?
I got mine, ironically, at TJMaxx!
I bought matcha tea tags instead of matcha powder. :( so should I just steep like 3 bags than mix it with almond milk because I hear the bags have only have a bit of matcha
Oh yeah! That sounds like it would work. I’d maybe try two bags and adjust from there.
Only had plain almond milk, so I added a tsp of vanilla powder. This was so yum!
So glad to hear that!
This did not work at all in my French press! The press doesn’t reach the bottom, so it didn’t froth the latte at all?
Hmm! Try more milk…maybe your french press is bigger!
I was looking to have a Matcha Green Tea latte delivered from that Star coffee place and they were out. I had matcha green tea bags and made this. I did add a little too much vanilla but it was really good!!