By now I’m sure you have all seen videos of us using matcha ice cubes in our iced matcha lattes and you may be wondering how to make them. Since the weather is getting warmer out, we thought this would be a great opportunity to post a matcha ice cubes recipe guide and also briefly talk about why you might want to start using matcha ice cubes in your latte. Without further ado, let’s get started!
What are matcha ice cubes?
First, we can start by briefly discussing what matcha ice cubes are. These are essentially matcha frozen cubes made by freezing matcha tea in an ice cube tray. To change the shape of these matcha ice cubes, you just need to change the shape of the ice cube mold you freeze them in, so now you may see all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Although not all of these are technically matcha ice CUBES, we still call them that for simplicity, even if they are shaped like letters of the alphabet.
What are the benefits of matcha ice cubes?
Regular ice cubes can be great when it comes to keeping your drink cold, but there is one big problem. When these ice cubes melt, they water down your matcha latte. One of the biggest things to avoid when preparing a matcha latte is to avoid using too much water. This can dilute the flavor and makes it so that you end up with a worse drinking experience.
After putting all the work into making the best matcha latte, its a shame to just water it down with ice cubes. The solution is to actually use matcha ice cubes. These matcha ice cubes are just as good at keeping your drink cold, but when they melt they actually make the drink more flavorful!
Another benefit to these matcha ice cubes is that it can allow you to make matcha lattes much more quickly. What you can do is prepare a tray of these matcha ice cubes the night before and then in the morning, just put a couple of them into your thermos and pour in your favorite plant based milk. In just a few seconds you will be all set to head out for the day. As the ice cubes melt, they will add matcha flavor to the oatmilk or soymilk, and brew your matcha latte over time. Instead of getting less flavorful, the latte will actually get more flavorful as the matcha cubes melt!
The matcha ice cubes are as versatile as they are cool. Once you have a few made up in your freezer, you really can add them to just about anything. Weather you are trying to add some matcha flavor to smoothie or latte, or you simply just want a better way to keep your matcha tea cold, the matcha ice cubes will open up a whole new world of possibilities for you. In the next section, we are going to walk you through the matcha ice cubes recipe, and how you can adapt the recipe to fit your needs.
Matcha Ice Cubes Recipe
When it comes to a matcha ice cubes recipe, the steps are very simple. Let’s do a brief overview, and then we can walk you through more slowly. First, you need to make matcha tea, then you need to pour it into an ice cube tray and then you can freeze it overnight. There are only 3 basic steps in this matcha ice cubes recipe, but we can go over each one in further detail.
Making matcha tea for matcha ice cubes
What You’ll Need:
-Ice Cube Tray
-1 Cup of water
-4 grams of latte grade matcha powder
-Sifter
The hardest part about the matcha ice cubes is just making the matcha tea itself. This only takes a minute or two, so don’t be too intimidated! For this, we are going to need about a cup of total liquid to fill 12 ice cube slots in the ice cube tray, so we’re going to tweak the normal matcha recipe a bit to produce a higher volume of matcha tea.
All you have to do is sift 4 grams of matcha powder into a bowl or a measuring cup if you have one. Once the powder is inside, you can then pour in 1 cup of cool water and start mixing.
For the mixing, you don’t have to worry too much about the foam, just make sure that the powder and the water are mixed in evenly and there are little to no clumps. To deal with the clumps, sometimes it helps to add a little bit of water in at first and create the paste and then add the rest in. When the matcha is in a paste, it’s easier to find and smooth out any clumps that may form.
After the matcha tea has been mixed up, the most difficult part is over and you are ready to move on to the next step!
Pouring the matcha into the matcha ice cubes tray
Now that you have your matcha tea, you can pour it into the ice cube tray. Once you start getting used to this recipe, you can mix in milk or sugar into the ice cubes depending on how you like it, but for now we are just going to focus on making them with plain matcha.
When it comes to the ice cube tray, you can really get creative. We have seen all sorts of designs for ice cube shapes, and some of our favorites are the letters as well as the extra big ice cubes. Mix and match depending on which you like most.
1 cup of matcha tea should be enough to partially fill up 12 ice cubes. Remember that water expands when it freezes so you don’t want to fill it all the way up. Instead, you can fill it up to around 3 quarters and the ice should expand the rest of the way. Once all the sections are filled, you are ready to freeze your matcha cubes!
Freezing the matcha ice cubes
The freezing process should only take a few hours, but sometimes it’s easier just to leave it in overnight and then you can start your day with these wonderful matcha frozen cubes. Most ice cube trays nowadays are flexible, so you should have no problem getting them out, but if they seem like they are stuck, you can just give it a little bit of time to thaw out.
You can now use these matcha ice cubes for whatever you want. Use them in your matcha lattes, or even your mixed drinks. It can also just be nice to have matcha in a solid form like this so you can easily add it to things, the only limit is your creativity!
Are these the same as Instant Matcha Cubes?
While these matcha ice cubes do allow you to make great tasting matcha in a matter of seconds, they shouldn’t be confused with the instant matcha cubes. This is another product we found that is a huge innovation in matcha technology.
These instant matcha cubes are made out of freeze dried ceremonial grade matcha tea, and they allow you to make great tasting matcha in seconds. All you need to do is stir them into water and you can instantly prepare Japanese green tea.
With the instant matcha cubes, you don’t need to worry about getting the temperature or the ratio right, you don’t even need special tools. All you need is some water and you are ready to go! You can even just prepare the tea in your water bottle when you are traveling.
Best Matcha to Use for the Matcha Ice Cubes
When it comes to making the matcha ice cubes, you have 2 options. You can either use the high quality, ceremonial grade matcha or you can use the lower quality latte grade matcha. This decision comes down to what you are using the matcha cubes for.
If you are planning on adding them to a matcha latte, a smoothie or something that involves a lot of other flavorful ingredients, you should use the latte grade matcha. We have found that when most people are using matcha ice cubes, it’s for their iced matcha latte so it’s more than likely that this is going to be the one you use.
If you are planning on adding the matcha ice cubes to mixed drinks or just adding it to some cold matcha tea to cool it off, you may want to go for the more premium stuff. The higher quality matcha tends to be naturally smooth and sweet, which is what you want when you are not adding any sweeteners to the tea.
I hope you have found this short guide helpful! Whatever you end up making with your matcha ice cube creations, I hope you enjoy the recipe. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, a direct message or an email and we’ll do our best to answer you as soon as we can. Until then, we’ll see you next time!
