A Dirty Matcha Story
Once upon a time, there was a girl who fell in love with a drink and had to share her love with everyone by writing about it.
The End
I first learned about this drink from Sift & Simmer, a website that shares some wonderful looking Matcha recipes. The author used science to separate the layers of this drink. This meant the espresso had to be hot.
I like to brew espresso in batches and keep it in a mason jar in the refrigerator so it’s there for me when I’m ready for it. After many many tries, I’ve mastered how it should look and for me it’s not science; it’s a secret ingredient.
How to Make a Dirty Matcha Latte
First and foremost, I think you need to be a Matcha Tea lover. If you like green tea and you’ve never had Matcha, you’ll LOVE it. If you don’t like green tea, you should still give it a try. Matcha is smooth and does not have the bitter taste of green tea.
For the drink you’ll need Matcha Powder, a fine mesh strainer, a whisk, sweetener, milk, espresso, a pretty glass, oh and the secret ingredient.
I bought this glass from Target when I visited my parents this summer. All of my moms drinking glasses are cobalt blue and part of the fun in making this drink is being able to see it.
The cute nesting measuring cups were a gift from my mom. I totally recommend for makers or bakers; it’s a 7-piece set measuring from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 cup. I love them!
Matcha
Whatever brand you buy, make sure it’s ceremonial grade and not culinary grade. The culinary grade is much cheaper, but it’s meant for baking and doesn’t have the same taste when you’re drinking it. It’s also not as vibrant in color.
You’ll want a fine mesh strainer so that the matcha part of your drink will be smooth. I’ve had many drinks sipping Matcha balls before I figured this out. No matter how much I whisked the Matcha, some balls still remained.
This is a Milk Frother
You need a whisk. A bamboo matcha whisk is recommended. And maybe it takes care of the matcha balls where you wouldn’t need a fine mesh sifter. I’m just using the supplies I had on hand. I’ve had a bamboo matcha whisk before and I think it molded. I know I threw it away because it didn’t look right after it had been sitting awhile. Now I’m thinking that happened to my mom and mine had a spider web in it. I don’t remember. I just know I have an aversion to bamboo matcha whisks.
I own this Milk Frothing whisk in red. I chose this beautiful green one for this post because it matches. When using a frothing whisk for this drink, you just need to pulse it so you don’t have too much foam.
Recipe + The Secret Ingredient
Big Square Ice!
You’ll need 2 ounces of room temperature or warm water for 1 teaspoon of Matcha; for a stronger taste and more caffeine use two teaspoons. With a spoon, scrape the Matcha through the mesh strainer creating a very fine powder into a measuring cup. Here I add two teaspoons of Truvia Cane Sugar Blend, my sweetener of choice, then pulse whisk in the water until it’s throughly mixed. Add one ice cube to the glass, then add the Matcha. Add the second ice cube and slowly pour ½ Cup of your milk of choice into the center of the ice, creating a waterfall. Do the same thing with 2 ounces of cold espresso. The big ice is the secret ingredient! If I use regular ice, it does not layer properly. The layering process needs a slow waterfall of the last two liquids.
These are nice ice cube trays but I bought mine from Walmart.
Full disclosure, my espresso is decaf and the original recipe calls for full caffeine espresso and two teaspoons of Matcha. I imagine you’d feel like Superman for days with that amount of caffeine. For me the Matcha just gives me a nice boost in the afternoon and I can still go to sleep at night.
In the end you have to stir your drink and it looks like dirty matcha womp womp. The drink tastes the same no matter what it looks like. I’m just obsessed with making mine into art.
Do you think you’ll try it?
Sporadically Yours, Kenya
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that should you click on the links, and subsequently purchase a product, I will receive a small commission. The price is exactly the same for you as it would be without the affiliate link. The Matcha is much cheaper if you can find it at fancy grocery store like Publix, not Walmart.