Homemade Sakura Matcha Latte
A unique and delightful twist to your iced matcha latte
This iced sakura matcha latte recipe combines the irresistible flavor of matcha with the delicate sweetness of cherry blossoms.
And it looks lovely, creating a perfect springtime treat!
In this blog post, I’ll guide you through the steps of making your own sakura matcha latte at home, so you can enjoy this enjoyable drink anytime you want.
What you’ll need
Notes about ingredients and alternatives
Matcha
Feel free to use culinary grade matcha for this recipe: while it also tastes great with ceremonial matcha, usually culinary grade matcha is fine enough to make lattes.
Warm water
You may use room temperature water as well, but in my experience, it’s easier to prepare matcha and sakura concentrate when using slightly warm water (not boiling water, but something around 60-80°C (140-176°F).
Sweetener
You can skip the sweetener, but I find adding a teaspoon makes rounds up the flavors beautifully.
Also, adding sugar or an alternative to the top layer makes layering easier!
Just take into considerations that if you are using sweetened cherry blossom powder, you may reduce the amount of sweetener.
Feel free to use any neutral tasting sweetener you like, like regular sugar or xylitol.
I usually use xylitol or erythritol.
But remember that xylitol isn’t suitable for pets, but nor is sakura either (so your dogs should stay away from this latte!).
Milk
Any type of milk you like goes well in this recipe.
My favorites for this latte are dairy milk, cashew milk or almond milk.
Ice cubes
This sakura matcha latte only get the pretty layers when you use ice cubes.
This means, if you don’t mind the matcha, milk and sakura all combining together, you won’t need them.
If you don’t enjoy chilled drinks (I personally don’t), you can carefully remove the ice cubes once the drink is assembled.
If you don’t shake your glass, the latte will stay layered(-ish) for some time, enough to enjoy the drink and its pretty looks.
Sakura powder
I use this unsweetened sakura powder, but I’m aware that it may be difficult to order it from outside Europe.
In case you can’t get sakura powder (it’s a quite rare ingredient!) you could substitute it for pureed strawberries: it will taste different but it will still be delicious.
When using strawberry puree, I recommend putting it on the bottom.
The assembling order would be: strawberry puree – ice – milk – matcha.
Instructions
Time needed: 5 minutes
How to make iced sakura matcha latte
- Make matcha
Combine 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder with (optional) 1 tsp. of sugar and 3 Tbsp. of warm water.
- Make sakura concentrate
Combine 2 tsp. sakura powder with 3 Tbsp. warm water and set it aside.
- Assemble
For a layered look, put the matcha concentrate in a glass, then fill with ice cubes and pour over the milk carefully.
Top with the sakura concentrate.
Aiming at an ice cube makes it easier for the drink to stay layered.
Tips
You could also invert the order to assemble the drink:
- sakura concentrate at the bottom
- then the ice cubes and milk
- matcha at the top
This also looks great and in fact, it might be easier to layer the drink this way.
But I personally prefer having the cherry blossom on the top because it allows me to appreciate the fragrance of sakura better while drinking.
To compensate this, I recommend drinking using a straw having the sakura on the bottom.
Otherwise, the scent of matcha overpowers the cherry blossom, in my opinion.
Sakura Matcha Latte Recipe
Equipment
- Handheld milk frother Totally optional – it just makes the process of making matcha and sakura concentrate quicker
Ingredients
- ½ tsp. matcha powder I use culinary grade for this recipe
- 3 Tbsp. warm water
- 1 tsp. sugar or xylitol (feel free to adapt to your taste)
- 4-5 ice cubes
- ⅓ cup milk (around 75 ml.)
For the sakura concentrate
- 2 tsp. sakura powder
- 3 Tbsp. warm water
Instructions
- Prepare the matcha by combining it with 3 Tbsp. warm water and sweetener.
- Prepare the sakura concentrate by combining sakura powder with 3 Tbsp. warm water.
- To make a layered drink, assemble in this order: matcha concentrate at the bottom – ice cubes – milk – sakura concentrate
Notes
I had read that Sakura powder is also healthy, so I love this idea of combinations Sakura Powder and matcha. And the colors are just so beautiful for spring!