The Stirring Mistake That Causes Clumpy Matcha

A delicious matcha latte has many amazing qualities: It's earthy, creamy, and full of caffeine (although less than coffee). But one trait you'll never find in a well-made matcha latte is a clumpy consistency. Part of the ritual of making one of these beverages is mixing the concentrated green tea powder in a little water as much as possible before adding in other elements like milk and a sweetener.

To figure out the best way to do just that, we turned to Jee Choe, coffee and tea sommelier at Oh, How Civilized. According to Choe, there's one key method to avoid here. "A common mistake is trying to stir the matcha in water or milk," she said in an interview with Tasting Table. "Matcha is finely ground tea leaves, which means it'll never dissolve in a liquid. Stirring it just moves it around, leaving big clumps instead of breaking apart the matcha." In addition to the fact that it won't result in a sufficient suspension, stirring your powder won't create the nice froth that you typically see poured over glasses of milk and ice.

So, if you shouldn't stir your matcha, what should you do? As Jee Choe went on to explain, "the key is to whisk or shake it vigorously so it suspends in the liquid." When it comes to whisking, the best option is a bamboo whisk. Think twice before using a metal version, since these devices have less wires than the strands on the bamboo varieties. This means that metal whisks are less likely to succeed at breaking up your matcha into smaller pieces and whirling it into a suspension with an airy consistency. Once you have your bamboo tool ready, you'll first want to sift your powder into a wide bowl to get rid of any initial clumps. Then pour it in a little bit of hot (but not boiling) water. Scrape any dry powder off the sides, and whisk everything together following a zig-zagging "M" shape. This may feel a little stiff the first time you try it, but it's the best way to bring air into your mixture and create that froth.

If you don't have a whisk, you can shake your matcha. Pour the sifted powder and the same amount of warm water into a jar, secure the lid, then shake it for about 30 seconds. The motion should be enough to properly suspend your powder. When you're all done, you can pour the mixture over a glass of ice and milk for an iced latte, no hot water needed.