Matcha On My Mind: Sip This Japanese Green Tea Cocktail

 

You guys, did I mention how absolutely positively ecstatic I am to finally be going to Japan in May? Cuz I AM! Seriously, it's been at the tip-top of my Bucket List destinations as far back as I can remember. Ever since Michael and I booked our tickets last month, I've been going bonkers with cooking and researching all sorts of Japanese eats, which is where this next recipe comes into play.

With matcha on my mind, I crafted this gorgeous green cocktail for POM Wonderful in honor of St. Paddy's Day, but to be honest it's a fantastic sipper that you can enjoy year-round. (As you can tell by the photo, I much prefer some Sugarfish sushi to corned beef and cabbage, but you could do that too if you'd like.)

The idea for a matcha cocktail first came to me while enjoying a similar drink over at Gracias Madre in West Hollywood, an awesome vegan Mexican restaurant that serves a boozy boba cocktail made using matcha.

Matcha is a finely milled green tea powder that's used in Japanese tea ceremonies. It's traditionally a higher grade tea leaf that's shade grown and hand-ground, meaning it is a bit more expensive, but oh-so-complex in flavor. It can be consumed as tea, as an addition to smoothies and lattes, and can even be used in baking, as mentioned by Bon Appetit earlier today.

In traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, matcha is typically frothed with a bamboo whisk called a “chasen.” To make things simpler for the home cook, I made my matcha base in a blender. (Apologies to the tea purists out there. Just workin' with what I've got.)

Oh, and in case you're curious, the styling is done with an awesome eco-friendly line called Coyuchi, who so graciously sent me some of their goodies to play with. How adorable are these chambray napkins? I mean come on!

Here’s how it’s done:

Ingredients

For matcha:

1 tbsp ceremonial grade matcha powder

1.5 cups coconut milk

For cocktail:

1 oz vodka (we used True Organic Vodka for this recipe)

2 oz POM Pomegranate Honey Green Tea

1 oz coconut milk

.5 oz coconut nectar or agave syrup

2 shakes orange bitters

about 1 cup ice cubes

candied ginger for garnish

Method

First make your matcha by placing matcha powder and 1.5 cups coconut milk in a blender, then blending on high for 2 minutes. Place the blended matcha in a Mason jar or Tupperware for storage. (You’ll have some leftover depending on how many cocktails you make, so this’ll make for easier cleanup and storage.)

Place the cocktail ingredients in a Boston shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail coupe and garnish with candied ginger. Enjoy!