How to Make a Matcha Latte at Home, Properly!

A café matcha latte is five or six dollars. A great one at home is about a dollar — If you get five small things right.

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1. Start with a barista-grade or premium barista grade matcha

The most important step. Ceremonial matcha is delicate — its lovely flavour gets lost in milk. You want a barista grade designed for milk: bolder, more vivid, lower in bitterness. our Camellia is built for exactly this.

2. Sift the matcha

Skip this and you get clumps. Sift one heaping teaspoon (about 2g) of matcha through a small sifter into your cup or bowl. It takes ten seconds and it's the difference between smooth and grainy.

3. Use warm water — not boiling

Boiling water burns matcha and turns it bitter. You want about 70-80°C / 176°F. Easy trick: bring water to a boil, then pour it into a cool cup and wait 30 seconds before using.

Add a small splash (about 30-50ml) to your sifted matcha.

4. Whisk to a smooth paste

Use a chasen (bamboo whisk) and whisk briskly in an "M" shape for about 15 seconds. You're looking for a thick, lump-free paste with a fine foam on top.

No chasen? A small electric frother works too — it makes a smoother base, faster.

5. Pour the milk

Warm and froth about 200ml of milk — Oat is our favourite with matcha, but any milk works. Pour gently over the matcha base. Give it a soft stir.

For iced: skip warming the milk. Fill a glass with ice, add cold milk, then pour the whisked matcha base on top. Swirl, and you've got a beautiful green-and-white iced latte.

What about sweetener?

With a good matcha, you usually don't need any — the natural sweetness comes through. But a small touch of honey or maple is lovely if you like. Add it to the matcha base before the milk, so it dissolves evenly.

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Ready to skip the café queue? Camellia — our barista grade — makes the smoothest, most vivid latte at home, for about a dollar a cup. meet your match-a today.