Matcha hot chocolate is a powerhouse elixir that marries the grassy notes of green tea with the velvety warmth of hot cocoa. This sweet beverage blends well with dark and milk chocolate to produce an irresistible drink with a symphony of flavour.
Additionally, you can splash some whipped cream or sprinkle some marshmallows to make this drink more decadent. So, out of our pure love for all things cocoa, we researched and experimented to create this ultimate recipe.
Our easy matcha hot chocolate recipe will help you achieve a delightful beverage with a smooth, silky and clump-free consistency. You will be engulfed in the beautiful balance of earthy and creamy goodness. Moreover, we went the extra step and figured out how to make it vegan.
So, let's skip that trip to your local café and learn how to make this sinfully indulgent drink in the ease and comfort of your own home.
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Matcha Hot Chocolate Ingredients
Our matcha hot chocolate recipe only requires three simple ingredients: matcha powder, white chocolate and milk.
Matcha
We will be using ceremonial-grade matcha powder to make this hot beverage. Although this grade is a little pricey compared to the culinary-grade powder, we highly suggest using it because it will be used in a beverage. As this is a drink, the quality of the ceremonial-grade green tea will be more pronounced.
Ceremonial-grade powder offers a pure, grassy-sweet flavour with a silky and creamy finish. Furthermore, this fine powder is widely used to make a high-quality matcha latte and traditional matcha. Blending your hot cup with fine ceremonial-grade powder will also ensure your drink is smoother and clump-free. Moreover, you will be able to fully taste the richness and creaminess of the hot beverage with little to no hint of bitterness. Your drink will also achieve the vibrant green that we love.
However, if you use culinary-grade powder, your hot drink will taste slightly bitter with a rougher texture. The colour of the hot cocoa will also have a dull, muddy green colour.
Chocolate
Our recipe uses white chocolate instead of the dark variety. The white variety is mainly derived from cocoa butter with some added sugar, thus giving the Asian fusion beverage a creamier and more buttery texture. You will also get a light green drink with a milky, sweet flavour. Plus, adding this sweet confectionery can balance any bitterness from the green tea powder.
To make matcha white hot chocolate, you only need ¼ cup of white chocolate, 2 cups of milk, and 2 teaspoons of green tea powder.
Alternatively, opt for the dark variety if you prefer a more potent and rich cocoa taste. This variation contains less milk with a slightly bitter flavour. You will also get a deep brown mixture.
When making matcha dark hot chocolate, use ¼ cup of the dark confectionery for 3 cups of milk and 3 teaspoons of green tea powder. Of course, you can always add a tablespoon of sugar later to make it sweeter.
Our matcha hot chocolate recipe also goes well with milk chocolate. However, this alternative contains more sugar, fat, and calories, with only 10 to 50% raw cocoa in its content. Using this confectionery to make matcha hot chocolate will produce a creamier and sweeter beverage than the dark variety.
Mix ¼ cup of milk chocolate with 2 cups of milk and 2½ teaspoons of green tea powder to make the Japanese fusion drink.
In addition, you can also use instant cocoa powder to make hot matcha cocoa. Since this powder is concentrated, you only need 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder for 2 cups of milk. Then, add 2 cups of hot water before whisking both powders until you get a smooth mixture with no dry clumps.
Milk
Our recipe uses oat milk with a nutty and mildly sweet flavour. So, when making matcha hot milk chocolate, you need 2 cups of oat milk for ¼ cup of white chocolate.
Alternatively, you can also replace oat milk with cow's milk. Cow's milk tastes sweeter with a thinner texture than oat milk. So, use 2 cups of cow's milk with ¼ cup of white chocolate and 3 cups of cow's milk for ¼ cup of dark chocolate.
How to Make Matcha Hot Chocolate
You can make matcha hot chocolate in these few simple steps:
- First, you must chop ¼ cup of white chocolate into small pieces. Smaller pieces are easy to melt and blend than larger chunks.
- Put the chopped pieces and 2 cups of oat milk in a saucepan. Heat these ingredients for 4 minutes over medium heat.
- Then, switch to low heat and stir the mixture for 1 minute. After, turn off the stove and keep stirring to remove any lumps. We are looking to get a silky smooth mixture.
- Sieve 2 teaspoons of ceremonial-grade green tea powder into 1 cup of hot water. Whisk this green mixture with a matcha whisk until you get a lump-free and smooth solution. If you don't have access to a traditional whisk, you can use an electric milk frother to blend the green tea powder.
- Finally, mix the hot beverage with the green tea mix in a cup. Stir everything before serving. Add marshmallows or top it with whipped cream for an extra creamy taste.
How to Make It Vegan
You only need to switch and tweak a few ingredients to make a vegan matcha hot chocolate. For instance, you can replace white chocolate with vegan white chocolate or vegan cocoa powder. The vegan white alternative also contains cocoa butter, tapioca starch, sugar, and organic vanilla flavouring. If you use this vegan alternative, you can still enjoy the creamy, milky taste of the original version. Furthermore, you can also use this versatile confectionery to make a delicious snack like matcha chocolate.
Meanwhile, vegan cocoa powder contains almost 90% raw cocoa, added with some sugar. Using vegan cocoa yields a hot beverage that tastes like the dark variety. Mix ¼ cup of vegan cocoa with 2 cups of oat or coconut milk when cooking. If your vegan matcha cocoa tastes bitter, add one tablespoon of sugar to make it sweeter.
We have already decided to use oat milk as a plant-based alternative in our recipe. We use oat milk because it is creamy and tastes sweet and mildly nutty. However, you could also use coconut milk to add more richness and a tropical element to your hot beverage. In fact, if you have any leftover coconut milk, you can also make other delicious desserts like vegan matcha ice cream.
How to Make Matcha Hot Chocolate Bomb
These delightful toppings are basically small, edible balls filled with squishy marshmallows. Furthermore, when added to the green tea, you will get glossy, delicious orbs with a flavourful glaze and a creamy aftertaste. When melted, they taste simply divine.
Ingredients and Tools
To make a matcha hot chocolate bomb, you need ½ cup of chopped white chocolate and ¼ cup of whipped cream or mini marshmallows. The bomb will be mixed with the green tea oat latte that you will make separately.
You also need a silicone mould to achieve the spherical shape. Unlike metal moulds, silicone moulds can withstand high heat better and are easy to clean. Lastly, you will also need some aluminium foil that will be used for fusing the two halves of the choco bomb to make a whole sphere.
Steps
- First, melt the chopped chocolate pieces in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mix to remove any lumps.
- Then, use a spoon and fill the empty mould with the melted sauce. You can also use a brush to spread the sauce to form a layer. Ensure each layer is thick enough so they don't easily break when you join them later. Then, place the mould in a freezer for 15 minutes.
- Once the layers have completely frozen, carefully remove these cup-shaped confectioneries from the mould. Separate the ones you will use for the bottom parts from the upper.
- Afterwards, fill half of these bombs with 1 to 2 tablespoons of whipped cream and a few pieces of marshmallows.
- Heat a sheet of aluminium foil in a clean saucepan for about 1 minute. Place the empty half on the warm foil. You will find its edges will melt slightly. This will help 'glue' each half into a sphere. Then, carefully join these empty parts with the filled bottoms.
- Put these sweet balls in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes until they have solidified. You can enjoy them by dropping them into your oat milk green tea latte!
Green tea oat latte
When making these sweet spheres, we don't mix in the green tea powder. This is because you will get clumps when you melt the confectionery with milk. Furthermore, these two ingredients will separate during freezing. So, we prefer to instead make a green tea oat latte and then add the sweet spheres into it.
To make the green tea oat latte, you need 2 teaspoons of ceremonial-grade green tea powder and 2 cups of oat milk. First, pour the milk into a saucepan. Heat it over medium heat for 5 minutes. Then, add the powder while stirring the mix continuously. Keep stirring until everything blends.
When serving, place 1 to 2 of the sweet balls in a mug and pour this milky green drink on them.
Matcha Hot Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white chocolate
- 2 tsps ceremonial-grade matcha powder
- 2 cups oat milk
- 1 cup hot water (up to 80°C)
Instructions
- Cut the white chocolate into tiny pieces. Add the milk and pieces to a saucepan. Heat everything over medium heat until there are no lumps.
- Then, sift the green tea powder into the hot water (up to 80°C). Whisk the mix until you get a smooth texture.
- Finally, mix the hot beverage with the green tea solution. Stir the delicious concoction well and serve.
Notes
- Using a spoon to blend the green tea powder with hot water may result in lumps that are hard to dissolve in water. So, use a fine-mesh strainer to sift the powder. Then, mix the green tea using a bamboo whisk to get a smooth and frothy mixture.
- Do not use boiling water to whisk the green tea powder as it will cause the matcha to turn bitter. Instead, use hot water that is ideally 80°C or lower.
- Ensure to watch the heat level and avoid boiling the milk. Most oat milk can burn above 60°C, compromising its taste, texture, and nutrients.
- To make a matcha hot chocolate bomb have a look at our instructions in the article.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.
If you enjoyed our matcha hot chocolate recipe and want more decadent, nutritious and indulgent beverages, follow us on Instagram @honestfoodtalks. We'll give you all the deets on the hottest drink recipes.
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