Iced Matcha Latte

Summer is the perfect time for iced drinks, and matcha has got to be one of my favorites. While at a tea shop with my roommate, we found some really interesting raspberry flavored matcha. I'm quite the sucker for raspberries, and I'm fairly sure the words "I can't not buy it" were spoken at least twice.

If you're unfamiliar with matcha, go hit up your local tea shop and ask about it, it's quite delicious! I have some plain matcha, as well as vanilla (VERY good) and now raspberry (mmmmmm)!

Seeing as you're looking at this right now, you've got at least some interest in what matcha is, or where it comes from.

Matcha is very finely ground up green tea leaves, and has been used to flavor and dye different Japanese and Chinese foods and drinks. This is the tea that's used in traditional tea ceremonies that you may have heard about! Hot matcha can be made by vigorously whisking the powder into hot water using a chasan, or special bamboo matcha whisk, but we'll be focusing on cold matcha today. As you may have noticed in your regular tea drinking, tea leaves don't dissolve. So once you whisky your matcha into the water it doesn't dissolve, meaning that you are going to want to get your matcha mixed very well with the water (you know the matcha is well mixed when lots of froth appears in your drink), and you may need to further mix it if you are a slow drinker such as myself.

Tea itself is a very old tradition, starting over 4,000 years ago when it was first discovered. Legend has it that a Chinese doctor, Sheng Nong, was drinking hot water from a pot in which leaves had fallen into. He found the drink to improve his well being, and began to have his patients drink tea as well. Early tea was actually baked and molded into dense cakes for ease of transport. Tea enthusiasts would take a small piece of the cake, grind it up, and whisk it vigorously in hot water to drink. The rest is history! If you're interested, this is a great article outlining in greater detail the history of matcha:

https://mymatchalife.com/matcha-history/

Now that you're properly educated, let's get going!

Here's what you're going to need in order to make some delicious iced matcha!

1. Matcha

There are all kinds of matchas that you can use depending on your taste preference. I have some plain matcha as well as flavored, but I'm using raspberry matcha in this instructable!

2. Matcha Maker (I got mine from David'sTea, it's totally worth it!)

If you don't have a matcha maker, go ahead and grab a bowl and whisk instead! This mug is especially cool though, and comes with a great matcha attachment as well as a tea strainer so it can be used for loose leaf tea as well. The matcha strainer is a cone full of bumps and holes, and a weighted ball secured so that it can help break up any matcha lumps.

Add 1.5 tsp of matcha to your mug/bowl, along with any sweeterners you may like. I like to add about half of a packet of stevia (a natural sweetener), but this is all to your taste.

Now add 8oz of cold (or room temperature) water to the matcha. My mug has a handy line that measures this for me!

Add the lid to your mug and get ready to shake the matcha!

Vigorously shake/whisk your matcha until there is lots of froth on top, and there are no lumps in sight!

Go grab a glass and ice cubes, and pour your vibrant matcha over ice to get it nice and chilly. I like to add a splash of milk to mine. Now go head outside and enjoy your nice iced summer drink!

Thanks for reading! Please comment below if you have any questions, or if your tea cupboard is out of control and you need to chat about it!