I
remember the first time I had a hand warming bowl of fresh matcha tea. I was on an energy high for the entire day! As someone who doesn’t drink caffeinated coffee its a great alternative energy kick full of caffeine and packed full of antioxidants. I realise that unlike me many won’t have the same apprecaitetion for the bitter flavours of green tea or my favourite 90% dark chocolate. However if you can appreciate the flavour, health benefits and vivid colour of matcha tea then forget your Starbucks ”skinny-soy-hold the cream- add the sweetener and cinnamon sprinkle grande latte (with – correctly written name)…breathe….and get to your local health food shop or teapigs supplier and go make your own! That said, more and more independent cafes are offering this healthy alternative so it is far more accessible for an easy take out than it used to be. It can be made using sweetened milk such as sweetened almond (my personal favourite) of hazelnut to just take off that bitter edge.
For those still curious, matcha tea is essentially organic green tea leaves that have been ground to a fine powder and concentrated into this vibrant ‘gold’ dust. As I say, I like to use a sweeter milk but after a recent lightbulb moment of inspiration I wondered if the after dinner coffee and chocolate pairing could be ‘matched’ (excuse the pun) with an alternative? So, I thought, why not pair super sweet white chocolate with this bitter green and warming tea topped with some camp rose petals?
Think of it as an alternative coffee-free afagatto for your more hipster dinner party guests.
The body is a temple. But only once a month….
NOTE: To get the aerated effect, the best thing to use here if you don’t have a green tea whisk is a milk frother (see here). You can also use a hand blender.
W
hilst I always use unsweetened versions of dairy free milks such as almond and soy, I find the sweetened ones work better here as an alternative to adding maple syrup or honey. However feel free to use the unsweetened versions, especially for the afagatto where the bitterness is a lovely contrast to the sweet ice cream.
Matcha latte for 1
- 1/2 tsp match tea powder
- 200ml milk of choice (almond, coconut, dairy, rice milk, hazelnut etc)
- Sieve the powder into a mug so its doesn’t end up lumpy
- Warm the milk in a pan until just coming to the simmer and then remove from the heat
- Using a whisk or frother add a few tablespoons of the hot milk to the powder and whisk well to combine.
- Once combined add the rest of the milk and use the whisk or frother to aerate.
Matcha Afagatto for 4
- 400ml (sweetened) almond milk (or soya, dairy, coconut, hazelnut….)
- 2 tsp matcha tea powder
- 4 scoops white chocolate ice cream
- Optional – 2 tsp rose petals
- Make the matcha latte as above.
- Spoon the ice cream into small deep bowls
- Pour over the hot tea and top with rose petals