A matcha latte at a café costs €5 to €7. At home, the same cup costs you about one euro and three minutes. This matcha latte recipe gives you the exact dosage, the right water temperature and the one mistake that makes almost every matcha bitter. Plus an iced version, the best milk to use and answers to the most common questions.
What you need for a matcha latte
For one cup (about 250 ml):
- 2 g matcha – one heaped teaspoon or two chashaku scoops. For lattes, use a latte grade from the first spring harvest: strong enough to come through the milk, mild enough that you don't need a sweetener.
- 50 ml water at 70–80 °C – not boiling. This is the single most important point in the whole recipe.
- 150–200 ml milk – barista oat milk gives the creamiest foam; cow's milk and almond milk work too.
- Something to whisk with – a bamboo whisk (chasen), an electric milk frother or a shaker with a lid.
- Optional: a fine sieve and 1 tsp maple syrup, honey or date syrup.
At 2 g per cup, a 100 g bag makes around 40 lattes. At €39.90 that is about €1.00 per cup – for the price of five or six café visits you drink a matcha latte every morning for a month.
Matcha latte recipe: 5 steps to a creamy cup
- Sift the matcha. Pass 2 g of matcha through a fine sieve into a bowl or a wide cup. Sifting takes ten seconds and prevents lumps more reliably than any amount of whisking.
- Temper the water. Boil the water and let it stand for two to three minutes until it reaches about 75 °C. No thermometer? When the steam stops rising, you are in the right range.
- Whisk. Pour 50 ml of water over the matcha and whisk for 15–20 seconds in quick W or M strokes – not in circles. It is ready when a fine, light-green layer of foam forms without large bubbles.
- Heat and froth the milk. Warm 150–200 ml milk to about 60–65 °C and froth it. Don't go hotter: oat milk loses its sweetness and cow's milk loses its gloss.
- Combine. Pour the milk slowly onto the whisked matcha. If you like it sweet, stir in a teaspoon of syrup now. Dust with a pinch of matcha if you wish.
Ratio to remember: 2 g matcha, 50 ml water, 200 ml milk. Want it stronger? Use 3 g – not hotter water.
No bamboo whisk? Put matcha and water in a jar with a lid or a shaker and shake for 20 seconds. The foam is slightly less fine, but there are no lumps. You will find more whisk-free methods in our guide to preparing matcha.
Matcha for your latte
Iced matcha latte recipe for warm days
The cold version is even easier because you don't heat any milk:
- Sift 2 g matcha and whisk it with 50 ml water (70–80 °C) as above.
- Fill a tall glass halfway with ice cubes.
- Pour in 200 ml cold milk, then slowly pour the matcha over it. This creates the typical two-tone layering.
- Syrup to taste, one stir, drink.
For the layered look, the matcha goes in last; for an even green, stir right away. For even less effort, put matcha, cold water and ice in a shaker and shake for 30 seconds – a finely ground matcha dissolves just as well cold.
An idea for guests: a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of syrup on top of the iced matcha latte. The matcha slowly melts the ice cream and takes on its sweetness.
Why your matcha latte turns bitter: 4 mistakes
Bitterness is not a characteristic of matcha. It is a mistake – either in processing or in preparation. A good matcha from young, shaded spring leaves tastes creamy, slightly sweet and full of umami. These four causes are behind almost every bitter latte:
- Boiling water. Above 80 °C the catechins – the bitter compounds – dissolve faster from the powder, while the matcha loses its sweetness. That is why temperature matters more than any technique.
- Too much powder. More than 3 g per 250 ml doesn't taste stronger, just harsher. If you want more flavour, use less milk instead of more matcha.
- Late harvest and stems. Cheap matcha is often ground from second- or third-harvest leaves, frequently with stems and veins. You can tell by a yellowish olive-green colour. A first-harvest matcha is deep green.
- Poor storage. Matcha oxidises in air and light. Once opened, the bag belongs tightly sealed in the fridge and should be used within about eight weeks. Our article on storing tea properly explains the general rules.
This is how one customer describes it in her review of our latte grade: "Especially in combination with milk it really comes into its own and makes a creamy, aromatic latte. I like it best with oat milk and just a little sweetness." Our organic matchas currently average 4.65 out of 5 stars from 31 reviews.
Which milk goes best with matcha latte?
The milk decides texture and sweetness. Our experience from many cups:
- Oat milk (barista version): The most popular choice. It froths finely, brings its own sweetness and lets the matcha flavour through. Regular oat milk froths less but tastes the same.
- Cow's milk (3.5%): Classic creaminess with stable foam. The matcha tastes a little milder because the milk fat rounds off the aromas.
- Almond milk: Light and nutty, froths little. Works well in the iced version.
- Soy milk: Froths well but has a distinct taste of its own that competes with the matcha.
- Coconut milk (carton): For a dessert-like latte. Use sparingly.
A note on sweetness: a first-harvest matcha usually needs no sugar in oat milk. Try it plain first and sweeten afterwards.
Latte grade or ceremonial grade?
You don't need ceremonial grade for a matcha latte. The difference is not quality but purpose:
- Latte grade is ground and bold enough to blend effortlessly into milk and still come through. It is the everyday matcha: about €1 per cup.
- Ceremonial grade comes from the youngest leaves and is made for drinking pure with water – finer, sweeter, more umami. In milk, part of that finesse is lost. If you want both, take the ceremonial grade in the 50 g bag for pure matcha and the latte grade for the milk version.
Both matchas come from shaded first-flush cultivation, are certified organic and were checked by us on the farm. What matcha does in the body and how its caffeine compares to coffee is covered in our article What is matcha?
Conclusion: three numbers to remember
2 g, 75 °C, 20 seconds. Two grams of sifted matcha, water under 80 °C and twenty seconds of brisk whisking – then the milk. Everything else is personal taste: hot or iced, oat or cow's milk, with or without syrup.
Shop the organic latte grade
100 g, about 40 cups, certified organic, free shipping from €50 (DE/AT/CH).
