What is Matcha? | A Complete Matcha Coffee Guide

Wondering if matcha is good? This matcha coffee review is here to answer your questions!

Matcha is a green powdery substance that has been making its way into many things lately. You can find matcha ice creams, café Maiko matcha recipes, and yes, matcha coffee. So exactly what is matcha? Is matcha good for you? Can you make your own matcha drinks from home? Here, we will discuss everything that you could ever want to know about matcha so that you will be a pro! 

What is matcha?

Matcha is a type of high-grade green tea that has been ground finely into a powder. This green tea powder can be whisked into milk, mixed with hot water, steeped, or added to beverages to form froth. Preparing matcha takes a little bit of practice and is often part of Japanese tea ceremonies. However, you can buy matcha in its pre-ground powdered form and use it as an ingredient in all sorts of things. 

Matcha vs Coffee: Similarities and Differences

When comparing matcha versus coffee, consider that matcha is a type of tea and coffee is, well, coffee. Both of these beverage ingredients contain caffeine. However, coffee has more caffeine than matcha. 

Matcha vs Coffee Caffeine

One tablespoon of coffee, or, 14.8 grams, contains 6 mg of caffeine. Alternatively, 1 tbsp of matcha can contain anywhere from 18 to 44 mg of caffeine. Bearing this in mind, you must also take into consideration how you will be preparing your beverage (extraction, brewing, etcetera). A small cup of regular coffee has about 90 mg of caffeine while a cup of matcha tea has between 38 and 70 mg of caffeine.

Additionally, brewing matcha only extracts a certain amount of caffeine vs mixing it in as a complete powder. With coffee, caffeine is generally extracted and absorbed quickly. This can make comparing matcha versus coffee caffeine a little bit complicated. The caffeine in matcha is comparable to drinking a cup of green tea, and a bit higher is the powder is stirred in vs, brewed through a strainer. 

The Benefits of Matcha With Coffee

Matcha and coffee both have many health benefits. Coffee is known for increasing alertness, stamina, and cognitive function. Matcha is good for helping with memory retention, energy levels, and producing a calm feeling. So, combining matcha and coffee is a great way to get the benefits of both of these ingredients. 

Combining matcha and coffee can enhance your mood and brain function. The caffeine in these beverages plus the EGCG, L-theanine, and antioxidants can help your health, mood, and even reaction times. Matcha is also known for enhancing liver health!

Matcha and Coffee Can: 

• Boost mood
• Help with memory
• Improve energy
• Produce a balanced feeling of wellness
• Increase stamina
• Elevate awareness

What is a Matcha Coffee Latte?

Matcha and coffee can be combined in many ways. However, the most popular is the matcha coffee latte. A matcha coffee latte consists of matcha powder, water, milk, espresso, and flavors. If the matcha powder is not sweetened, honey or sweet syrups can be added. The type of milk used in a coffee and matcha latte will vary depending on what your preferences are. Indeed, this type of latte can be made with almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or regular dairy milk. 

This drink is usually served hot but iced matcha coffee lattes are also available. The Starbucks Iced Matcha Latte, for instance, is very popular as of late. The type of coffee in a matcha latte beverage is usually espresso. With that being said, matcha can also be used to replace the espresso in a latte, as in an iced matcha latte. 

Where does Matcha come from? 

Matcha tea can come from a range of cultivation regions. Primarily, this is Japanese tea. Matcha tea growing regions include Kyoto, Uji, and Nishio. Generally, matcha is a shade-grown tea. The green tea leaves are then plucked and dried before being ground into a fine powder and then packaged. 

How to Enjoy Matcha in Coffee

Matcha tastes like green tea. Matcha can be mixed in with coffee and milk for a bright, floral, creamy, and earthy taste. Adding vanilla syrup for sweetness is highly recommended! Straight matcha powder can also be added to black coffee, but most prefer to cut the astringency of these drinks with milk of some kind.

For an iced coffee matcha latte, use 1 part cold brew coffee, one part matcha and almond milk (1 tbsp matcha powder and 1/3 cup almond milk), and one part straight milk (almond or dairy is fine) as your liquid base. After combining, pour everything over ice and add sweeteners (vanilla syrup is popular) for a nuanced iced matcha coffee latte! 

For a hot matcha coffee latte, brew two shots of hot espresso and then mix them with 10 oz of hot milk. Next, mix matcha powder and 1/3 cup of warm or room temperature almond milk. Pour everything together. Then, add vanilla syrup to taste for a warm matcha and coffee latte! a topping of whipped cream and cinnamon can enhance this warming drink nicely.

Dupe Starbucks Matcha Latte Recipe and Tips

There are many popular matcha drinks that you can make at home. Lately, a lot of people have been searching for ways to mimic the iced matcha latte (available from the Starbucks Coffee chain). The good news is that this drink is incredibly easy to make at home! Here's what you will need and how to make a Starbucks copycat iced matcha latte from the comfort of your kitchen! 

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Almond Milk (almond is the most popular way to simplify this dupe recipe)

1 Tablespoon of Matcha powder (use your favorite kind) 

2 Tablespoons of Vanilla syrup (Torani French Vanilla or Starbucks vanilla syrup are both good options is good in this) 

1 Cup of Ice 

Instructions: 

This drink is so easy to make. Simply mix your matcha powder, vanilla syrup, and milk, together in a cup. You can use a spoon or a milk frother. When everything is combined, pour it over ice and enjoy. That's it! 

Tips: 

It takes less than 3 minutes to make a dupe matcha iced latte and this method is way cheaper than buying one at Starbucks. The taste is nearly identical if you use almond milk and Torani vanilla syrup! Using sweetened vanilla almond milk is another delicious way to simplify this drink recipe if you don’t have syrup to mix in. 

Make Your Own Matcha Powder for Lattes With our Green Tea! 

If you want to make your own matcha powder from home, we highly recommend checking out this delicious Japan Sencha green tea! It can easily be ground into a delicious matcha powder. You can also use our Japan Genmaicha Green Tea to craft an array of delicious beverages. To make a coffee and matcha latte, this espresso is a fantastic choice.