Matcha powder brings tea flavour and a soft green colour to this creamy vodka cocktail. Coconut milk and simple syrup soften the tea without requiring a matcha liqueur. This is DrinkSpin's powdered-matcha home version, with no egg white or specialty liqueur.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz (45 ml) vodka
- 1 oz (30 ml) unsweetened full-fat coconut milk, stirred smooth
- 1/2 oz (15 ml) simple syrup
- 1 g matcha powder (about 1/2 level tsp)
- 1 oz (30 ml) hot water, about 175 F / 80 C
- A tiny pinch of matcha powder, for garnish (optional)
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Chill a coupe. Sift the matcha into a small bowl, add the hot water, and whisk until smooth.
- Let the matcha mixture cool briefly. Stir the coconut milk in its container so the cream and thinner liquid are combined before measuring.
- Pour the vodka, coconut milk, simple syrup and prepared matcha into a shaker.
- Add plenty of ice and shake for about 15 seconds, until chilled and lightly foamy.
- Strain into the chilled coupe, using a fine strainer to catch any remaining tea clumps. Finish with the optional tiny pinch of matcha.
Serve in
Chilled coupe or cocktail glass
Preparation notes
- Unsweetened coconut milk and sweetened cream of coconut are different ingredients. Using the latter with the full syrup measure makes a much sweeter drink.
- For basic simple syrup, dissolve equal volumes of sugar and hot water, then cool before using. Prepared syrup keeps assembly quick.
- The tea must be dispersed before shaking. A cocktail shaker chills the drink but does not reliably break apart dry matcha clumps.
- The autumn restaurant versions that inspired this selection use different ingredients, including matcha liqueur. This recipe is not a restaurant copycat. It contains both alcohol and caffeine.
Recipe references
- P.F. Chang's autumn matcha-cocktail announcement. Seasonal context; the restaurant uses a different liqueur-based recipe.
- Weber Ranch on matcha cocktails. Additional context for the tea-and-coconut cocktail format.
Image: AI-generated recipe illustration. See our recipe and image policy.
