This creamy vegan matcha latte is delicious both hot and iced and is a great coffee substitute if you're trying to cut back on caffeine!
I haven't always loved caffeinated beverages, but since becoming a mom, I look forward to a black cup of hot coffee or a latte every day. In the hot summer months I'll make an vegan iced mocha or mocha smoothie. But when the weather is cooler, I'll often opt for a vegan PSL or a Vegan bulletproof coffee. However, one of my favorite caffeinated beverages to enjoy in both hot and cold weather is a vegan matcha latte! Matcha has about ⅓ of the caffeine as coffee so I can still enjoy it in the afternoons without it keeping me awake all night. Plus, this vegan matcha latte is delicious iced or hot so basically it's the perfect drink anytime of day or year!
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- Matcha has a unique, subtly earthy flavor which tastes amazing when paired with creamy non-dairy milk and homemade simple syrup. It's the perfect afternoon pick-me-up that won't give you any caffeine jitters!
- If you can't handle a lot of caffeine or are hoping to cut back on the amount of coffee you consume in a day, matcha is a great substitute as it contains ⅓ of the caffeine as a cup of coffee.
- While I only like oat milk in my coffee, I've found that most non-dairy milks taste good with matcha. Cashew, almond, and soy all pair beautifully with matcha!
- Simple syrup, non-dairy milk and matcha powder last for ages when stored properly so you can always have the ingredients you need for a fresh, vibrant cup of matcha on hand.
📃 Ingredients
- Matcha Powder - There are so many kind of matcha powder available. I'll talk about some ways to choose the best matcha below, but some basic tips are that you want the color of your matcha to be a vibrant green and the texture should be silky and smooth, like baby powder.
- Simple Syrup - I usually use homemade vanilla simple syrup in my vegan matcha lattes. To make simple syrup, you combine 1 part sugar to 1 part water in a sauce pan and heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Once dissolved, turn off the heat and add a splash of pure vanilla extract. Allow the simple syrup to cool completely before transferring the syrup to an airtight container and storing it the fridge.
- Non-Dairy Milk - My personal favorite non-dairy milk to have with matcha is oat milk, specifically barista oat milk. Any kind of barista non-dairy milk is best. Choose your favorite!
- Hot Water - Whether you're making an iced or hot vegan matcha latte, you'll need a little bit of hot water to dissolve the matcha powder.
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
What is Matcha?
Matcha is a green tea powder which is made by finely grinding the leaves of certain green tea plants. Matcha is often described as having a mild, grassy taste with sweet, nutty and bitter undertones. To prepare matcha, you whisk the matcha powder with hot water until it's fully dissolved and smooth. Then you can either add more water for plain matcha tea or add milk for a matcha latte.
How To Choose the Best Matcha Powder?
The first step when choosing matcha powder is too look at the color. You want to select one with a vibrant, deep, green color. If the color is yellow-ish, brown-ish or a darker green, that indicates the matcha is low quality, made from old leaves which grew towards the bottom of the plant or leaves that weren't properly shaded.
The second quality to look at is the texture and feel of your matcha powder. High quality matcha should have a fine, silky feel while low quality matcha will be coarser in texture.
Another test you can perform if you happen to have two or more brands of matcha on hand is to place a small spoonful of each on a table. Use your finger to pull some of the matcha down into a line on the table. If the line is uninterrupted and smooth, then that indicates your matcha is high quality. If the line is broken and sandy in texture, then the matcha is probably low in quality or even fake.
🔀 Variations & Substitutions
🥥 Coconut Matcha Latte - Use coconut milk (hello full fat!) for a rich, decadent latte!
🍓 Strawberry Matcha Latte - Crush some fresh strawberries into a paste and place that on the bottom of your matcha latte for a fun, textured, fruity drink.
🧋 Boba Matcha Latte - Add in some brown sugar boba to your vegan matcha latte for that chewy boba texture that everyone loves!
☕️ Matcha Espresso Fusion Latte - Copy Starbucks and combine espresso and matcha into one, caffeine-rich drink!
🫖 Equipment
- Matcha Whisk - Traditionally, matcha is prepared using a bamboo whisk which you move back and forth in a "W" shape to ensure your matcha latte is lump free. This is a great tool to have on hand if you are a matcha fanatic or want to make your matcha latte the traditional way. However, you can also use a hand-held milk frother, an immersion blender or a small, circular whisk.
- Electric Kettle - Obviously you can choose to boil your water however you like best, but I am a big fan of electric kettles. They heat water so much faster than stove-top kettles, making it that much easier to prepare your dairy-free matcha latte.
🍵 How to Make Vegan Matcha Latte
Step 1: Place your matcha powder and boiling water into a small bowl and whisk them together until no clumps remain.
Step 2: Pour the matcha mixture over non-dairy milk. For iced, use cold milk and add ice cubes. For a hot matcha latte, warm up your milk (and froth it if desired) before adding your matcha mixture.
🫙 Storage
I've never stored matcha latte in the fridge before because I personally like to enjoy mine fresh. However, if you enjoy iced vegan matcha lattes, you could make a double or triple batch and store the extra in the fridge for 1-2 days. Just don't add the ice until you're ready to enjoy your drink. If the matcha mixture and the non-dairy milk separate while in the fridge, just shake everything together well before enjoying.
✔️ Expert Tips
👉 If you're new to matcha, you may want to start with ½ teaspoon of matcha powder instead of the full 1 teaspoon. At this point I like to use 1 ½ teaspoons of matcha, so you'll probably grow to like the taste even more the more you make this vegan matcha latte.
👉 If you're lazy like my husband and I (or should we say efficient!), we almost always just add all of the ingredients into a wide mouth liquid measuring cup and blend everything together at once using an immersion blender. It works great and cuts out a few steps!
👉 Before you add your matcha mixture to your non-dairy milk, make sure you've whisked out all of the clumps. Drinking clumpy matcha lattes isn't very fun!
❓Recipe FAQs
This all depends on what milk you're using and whether you're using a matcha powder that is mixed with milk powder. If you make your matcha latte at home and use traditional matcha powder, you can make dairy-free lattes simply by using a non-dairy milk.
Barista oat milk works beautifully in non-dairy matcha lattes. If you don't have barista oat milk, another kind of barista non-dairy milk would work. You can even use plain non-dairy milk instead of the barista edition, but your matcha latte won't be as creamy and the milk won't froth well if you're making a hot matcha latte.
This depends on where you are ordering your matcha latte from. If you are ordering a matcha latte from Starbucks and ask for almond milk, your matcha latte will be dairy-free.
No, Starbucks Matcha does not have dairy in it. So if you want to order a dairy-free matcha latte from starbucks, be sure to ask for almond, oat or coconut milk. If you don't specify what milk you want, they will automatically use cow's milk.
If you ask for almond, coconut or oat milk when ordering a Starbucks Matcha Latte, then your matcha latte will be completely dairy free! There is no dairy in the Starbucks matcha powder.
👍🏼 More Vegan Latte Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Matcha Latte
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon matcha powder*
- ¼ cup hot water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla simple syrup or to taste
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk barista oat milk if possible
Optional
- handful of Ice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the matcha powder and hot water until the matcha is smooth and dissolved. Add in the liquid sweetener and whisk again to combine.
- Pour the non-dairy milk into a glass cup and add a handful of ice. Pour the matcha mixture over the milk and stir everything well to combine.
- If you're making a hot matcha latte, first warm up your milk in a saucepan. Pour the warm milk into a mug and then pour over the matcha mixture. Stir if desired.
Anonymous says
What an easy, quick and energised drink!! Many other recipes of matcha latte are wonderful but too fancy, this one will be my-go to! Thanks so much for inspiring us:)
Faith VanderMolen says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!
masala girl says
love the match latte! do you like it better hot or iced? frothed milk is my fav part of any drink 🙂 i ususally use my hand blender. i rarely get drinks out, and it's hit or miss with frothing dairy free milks, which is a bummer!
Faith says
Glad you like it! Currently I've been loving it hot, even though it's pretty hot here! Our house is chilly so it's a nice warm beverage. I froth my homemade soy milk and that works great, but I haven't tried with too many other non-dairy milks, except for Trader Joe's Almond milk which worked! Thanks so much for your comment!
Oscar says
Was it iHerb that you mentioned previously that will ship internationally??? And was there a discount code? Thx!
Faith says
Yes, iherb is the best! I mentioned a discount code in THIS post, but I'm not sure if it's still good, but definitely try it out!
Oscar says
I'm sad b/c they only allow 4 pds per order to my country. I had 15 items and had to eliminate more than half of them 🙁
Maybe Amazon would be better.
Faith says
Ah really?!! So sorry I couldn't help. I hope you can find another way to get the food you want!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
I have made numerous matcha lattes, but I've never really knew what I was doing and they've always been a little off. Too sweet, not sweet enough, not enough froth, you know. So I can't wait to retry with your ratios! And the paste trick, I've never heard that before. But since it feels like summer here, I might have to go for an iced version 🙂
Faith says
Ah, I hope how I make it works for you! And it's definitely delicious iced...perfect for summer!
Sarah says
One of my favs I love matcha lattes! My favorite way to make them is with homemade Vanilla Almond Cashew Milk and sprinkle with a little cinnamon on top! Under the weather and being cold I should go whip one up. Cheers, happy Meatless Monday, thank you for linking up with us.
Faith says
Wow, I bet that homemade milk would make it absolutely amazing! So creamy and sweet:) Thanks for hosting Sarah!
Kat says
I loveeeeee matcha lattes!! I myself just discovered matcha like 2 weeks ago [I used to buy the lattes from Starbucks until I figured out all the chemicals they add!] and Ive been making homemade matcha lattes like crazy. I love them iced too!
Faith says
YAY! So good right?! I know, the Starbucks ones are definitely delicious, but chock full of extra unnecessary ingredients. Thanks for sharing Kat!