How to Make a Matcha Latte at Home (Plus a Pink Matcha Twist)
Vytautas Butkus · Japanese culture & matcha expert
By Vytautas Butkus. Last reviewed: May 2026.
A good matcha latte is one of the easiest drinks to make well and one of the easiest to make badly. The difference is almost never the recipe and almost always three things: the grade of matcha, the temperature of the water, and how you whisk it. Get those right and you have a smooth, naturally sweet, bright green latte in about five minutes, with none of the bitterness people complain about.
On this page:
What you need
The single biggest factor in the cup is the matcha itself. For drinking, use a ceremonial-grade powder: it is stone-milled from young, shade-grown leaves, so it is smooth and naturally sweet rather than harsh. Culinary grade is fine for baking, but it tends to be bitter in a latte. We use our own ceremonial-grade matcha powder, and if you are starting from scratch a complete matcha set with a whisk and scoop makes the whole thing easier.
- 1 to 2 tsp (2 to 4 g) ceremonial-grade matcha powder
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) hot water at 70 to 80C (160 to 175F)
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) milk or plant-based milk
- Optional: 1 tsp honey, maple syrup, or sugar
The method, step by step
- Sift the matcha. Push the powder through a small fine-mesh sieve into your bowl or cup. This one step does more for a lump-free latte than anything else.
- Add a little hot water. Use water at 70 to 80C, never boiling.
- Whisk. Whisk briskly in a light W or zig-zag motion for 15 to 20 seconds until the matcha is smooth, frothy, and an even bright green.
- Add the milk. Warm and froth it for a hot latte, or leave it cold and pour over ice.
- Serve. Sweeten to taste and drink straight away while it is at its brightest.
If you would like the full quantities, timings, and photographed steps in one place, we keep a step-by-step matcha latte recipe over on RecipeWorld.
Why water temperature matters
Matcha is a whole-leaf tea: you drink the ground leaf rather than steep and discard it. That makes it far more sensitive to heat than a teabag. Water above roughly 80C scorches the delicate amino acids and pushes the bitter catechins forward, which is the harsh, drying note people associate with bad matcha. Let a just-boiled kettle stand for two minutes, or top up boiling water with a splash of cold, and you are in the right range.
Making it iced
For an iced matcha latte, whisk the matcha with a little cool water until smooth, fill a glass with ice and cold milk, then pour the matcha over the top and stir. The same rules apply: ceremonial grade, sifted, properly whisked.
The pink matcha variation
Pink matcha is the photogenic version that took over cafe menus. You keep the real green matcha and add a separate layer of pink milk coloured naturally with freeze-dried strawberry or pitaya (dragon fruit) powder, so it is genuinely matcha plus fruit rather than a syrupy imitation. It uses our pink matcha powder (or the matching pink matcha kit), and the full layered method is written up as a pink matcha latte recipe on RecipeWorld.
Common questions
A few of the questions we get most often are answered below.
Frequently asked
- What kind of matcha should I use for a latte?
- Use ceremonial-grade matcha for drinking. It is stone-milled from young shade-grown leaves, so it is smooth and naturally sweet. Culinary grade is more bitter and better suited to baking.
- Can I make a matcha latte without a bamboo whisk?
- Yes. A handheld milk frother, a small jar you can shake, or a blender all work. The goal is simply to break up the powder and aerate it so the drink is smooth and frothy.
- How much caffeine is in a matcha latte?
- A latte made with 1 to 2 g of matcha contains roughly 35 to 70 mg of caffeine, less than a typical coffee. Matcha also contains L-theanine, which gives a calmer, more sustained energy.
- Why does my matcha taste bitter?
- The two usual causes are water that is too hot and a low grade of matcha. Keep the water at 70 to 80C and use ceremonial grade for drinking.
