Whipped Matcha Coffee
A matcha latte with whipped coffee foam spooned on top. Three distinct layers if you build it right, and roughly the caffeine of two coffees if you drink the lot.
At a glance
- Matcha : coffee foam
- 1:1
- Active time
- 8 min
- Total time
- 9 min
- Makes
- 1 tall glass
- Serve
- Iced, unstirred
- Kit
- Electric whisk
Ingredients
Note: Matcha at 80°C, not boiling. Boiling water scalds the leaf powder and makes it harshly bitter in a way no amount of sugar covers.
Method
-
Whip the coffee foam
Equal parts instant coffee, sugar and hot water in a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk for two to three minutes until it is pale, thick and holds a stiff peak.
It has to be instant coffee. Instant is freeze-dried brewed coffee, so the surfactants that stabilise crema are present and concentrated; ground coffee has no such structure and will never whip. This is the dalgona method.
Whip 2 to 3 minutes -
Sift the matcha
Push the matcha through a small sieve into a bowl. Do not skip this.
Matcha is ground so finely that it clumps through static, and unsifted it leaves bitter green lumps that will not whisk out.
-
Whisk the matcha with 80°C water
Add 60 ml of water at 80°C and whisk briskly in a W or M motion, not a circle, for about twenty seconds until a fine foam forms.
The zigzag suspends the powder; a circular stir just pushes it around the bowl.
Whisk 20 seconds -
Build the three layers
Fill a tall glass with ice and cold milk, pour the matcha slowly over it so it sits as a green band, then spoon the coffee foam on top.
Serve unstirred with a long spoon. The layers hold for several minutes.
Why this works
The layers hold because of density and because the foam is a solid. Cold milk is densest and sits at the bottom. Matcha whisked into 60 ml of water is lighter and poured slowly, settles above it. Whipped coffee foam is mostly air held in a sugar and coffee matrix stiff enough to hold its own shape, so it sits on top as a cap rather than a liquid.
The whipping chemistry is the same as dalgona coffee, and it only works with instant. Instant coffee is brewed coffee that has been dried, so the surfactant compounds that make crema hold are all still there and highly concentrated. Whisking a saturated sugar syrup full of those surfactants gives you a stable foam, essentially a coffee meringue without egg. Ground coffee contributes none of that and will simply sit as wet grit.
Temperature is the matcha rule. Matcha is whole powdered leaf, not an infusion, so everything in the leaf goes into the cup. Water above about 85°C extracts the catechins aggressively and scalds the delicate amino acids, giving a harsh astringent bitterness. Eighty degrees keeps the sweetness and the savoury umami that good matcha has.
On caffeine: 2 g of matcha carries roughly 60 mg and two teaspoons of instant coffee around 60 to 70 mg, so the whole glass lands near 130 mg, comparable to a strong coffee rather than anything extreme. Matcha also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that is reasonably well evidenced to promote a calm, focused state and which appears to smooth out the edge of caffeine. That combination is the main reason people like matcha and coffee together.
Variations
- Dirty matcha: a plain espresso shot poured over a matcha latte, with no whipping.
- Hot: whisk matcha into steamed milk and spoon the foam on top.
- Less sweet: the foam needs the sugar to hold, so sweeten less by using less foam.
- With vanilla syrup in the milk.
Made it?
Ratings are the most useful thing you can leave. They tell me which recipes need another pass.
No ratings yet. Be the first.
Questions
Can I use ground coffee for the foam?
No. Only instant whips. Instant is dried brewed coffee, so it holds the concentrated surfactants that stabilise the foam. Ground coffee has none of that structure and will sit as wet grit.
Why is my matcha bitter?
The water was too hot or the powder was not sifted. Use 80°C, never boiling, and always push the matcha through a sieve first. Culinary grade is also noticeably more bitter than ceremonial.
How much caffeine is in it?
Around 130 mg for the whole glass: roughly 60 mg from 2 g of matcha and 60 to 70 mg from two teaspoons of instant coffee. That is comparable to a strong cup of coffee.
Why will my layers not separate?
Usually the matcha went in too fast. Pour it slowly over the back of a spoon onto the cold milk. The foam needs to be stiff enough to hold a peak or it will sink through.
What is dirty matcha?
A matcha latte with a shot of espresso poured over it. Same pairing, no whipping, and much faster to make.