If the thought of the "Unicorn frappuccino" turns your stomach, you're not alone! I'm more of a plain-old-coffee kind of girl.
But I recently heard of matcha green tea lattes, and I'm HOOKED! They're the perfect afternoon pick-me-up, and surprisingly easy to make at home.
Matcha is green tea, but instead of leaves it comes in a very fine powder that dissolves. It has a slightly sweeter and more mild taste than traditional green tea.
Here's what you'll need:
- Matcha green tea. I bought this small container from Trader Joe's just to make sure I liked it. Next time, I'll buy the biggest container I can find!
- Milk. I used 1/2 cup skim milk, and 1/4 cup half and half. The combo was nice and creamy, but not too heavy that I couldn't froth it myself. Pro tip-- skim milk is the easiest milk to froth up.
- Honey, agave, or another liquid sweetener. I used agave because that's what I happened to have! You just need a drizzle, about 1/4 tsp.
- Vanilla extract; again, just a drizzle, about 1/4 tsp.
Here's what you do:
- Boil water, preferably using a tea kettle but you could always microwave it or use a pot, whatever you have on hand.
- Mix about 1/2 cup of water with the matcha. It's best to use a small whisk for this! Stir, stir, stir until you get a nice dark green color
- **If you happen to have a fancy milk warmer/frother, you go ahead and use it! I don't, so here's what I did.** Combine the milk, half and half, agave, and vanilla into a microwave safe container (I used a glass measuring cup, for easy pouring). Microwave for approximately 1 minute - 1.5, on high. You want it hot and beginning to froth.
- I highly recommend you buy one of these little frothers! I got this one for just a few bucks at IKEA. Use your frother to get some nice thick bubbles in your warm milk. If you don't have one, you can actually just use a straw! It won't be quite the same, but it'll get you close. Pretend you're in kindergarten, and blow some bubbles!
- Pour the milk over the tea, then top with your bubbles. ENJOY!
You can see the pretty green color here... It looks like a Shamrock Shake!