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Author:
Franco Salzillo
Green tea is in vogue, and for several good reasons. For starters, green tea is super healthy — it’s jam-packed with antioxidants that work at many levels in your body. Actually, powdered green tea or matcha is one of the foods with the most antioxidants on the planet.
Green tea is also tasty! Especially when enjoyed ice cold. It’s herbal and refreshing — it just feels good. Well, today, we’re using organic matcha powder to create one of the most colorful items in Starbucks’ secret menu, the iced green tea Frappuccino.
Interestingly, this drink is based on a regular creamy, vanilla-scented Frappuccino, but instead of relying on coffee for the caffeine kick, it has a teaspoon of matcha. Yes, matcha has caffeine.
Here’s the deal. Matcha is a bit expensive. It’s powdered tea leaves, after all. This makes Starbucks use a matcha-sugar blend for its green drinks and not pure matcha. At home, we can use authentic matcha and sweeten our tea to taste, so our Frappuccino is not only as good as the real thing but also a bit better.
A little goes a long way when it comes to using matcha, so we only need a heaping teaspoon of the green powder per cup.
Keep in mind I’m using whole milk for this drink because that’s the most common milk in Starbucks, but by all means, use any milk or milk alternative you want. Almond milk is deliciously compatible with matcha, so try it and see if it works for you.
As with any other Frappuccino, the blender will do all the work, so have yours in hand, and please make sure it can handle ice. Not all blenders are as powerful as the industrial ones baristas have in Starbucks.
Of course you can. The recipe below calls for an ounce of simple syrup, which is basically sugar and water.
You can use a tablespoon of granulated instead, and obviously any other sweetener, from monk fruit extract to stevia. It’s no biggie.
A final tip. For the best results, make sure the ingredients are cold before blending them, especially the milk or milk substitute.
The secret behind a creamy, icy green tea Frappuccino is keeping those ice shards undiluted. Once the drink waters down, it loses some of its charm.
In a blender, add the milk, vanilla extract, simple syrup (or sugar), matcha powder and ice.
Blend until smooth.
Top with whipped cream.
