How to Build the Perfect Café-Style Matcha Latte (Hot & Iced)

If you’re offering matcha lattes on your café menu—or planning to—keeping things simple is key. After plenty of in-house testing, I’ve developed a few core recipes that ensure consistent flavour, cost efficiency, and smooth workflow.

This post walks you through my process, observations, and recipes for both hot and iced matcha lattes. Feel free to skip to the recipe sections if you’re short on time!

Why Fewer Sizes Is Better

I strongly recommend offering just one size (12 oz) or two at most for matcha lattes. Larger drinks like 20 or 24 oz can easily exceed the recommended daily intake of matcha and tend to lose their flavour balance.

For iced matcha lattes, 16 oz is the sweet spot. Simplifying your size options helps keep things consistent behind the bar and makes training new staff far easier. Many cafés I work with have already switched to this model and never looked back.

About “Scoops”

All recipes use the Perfect Matcha Spoon for measurement. These hold about 1/3 of a Perfect Tea Spoon, ideal for café-sized drinks:

• 1 Perfect Matcha Spoon = 1.1 g
• 1 full Perfect Tea Spoon = 3.3 g (approx. 7 mL)

Hot Matcha Latte

After testing several variations, the best balance came from equal parts milk and water, using two scoops each of matcha and sugar per 6 oz serving. This delivers a smooth, rich texture with full matcha flavour that scales up perfectly.

💡 Ideal 12 oz Hot Matcha Latte

• 4 scoops matcha (4.4 g)
• 10 g granulated sugar
• 150 g filtered water @ 70 °C
• 150 g milk @ 60 °C

This ratio keeps the flavour consistent and leaves a bit of room for steamed milk expansion.

💸 Product Cost (12 oz)

Approx. $1.35 per drink in product cost, not including cup, lid, or labour.

When setting your retail price, make sure to add in your costs for cups and labour (however you normally calculate them), plus a rough estimate of operating costs like rent and utilities. At minimum, double the product cost to stay profitable.

Here in Edmonton, I typically see 12 oz matcha lattes priced between $6 (standard) and $7 (high end). A 16 oz iced version usually runs about 50¢ higher.

☕ Hot Latte Scaling Reference

⚠️ I don’t recommend serving a 20 oz matcha latte—it’s too much matcha for one drink and throws off the flavour balance.

Iced Matcha Latte

Cold drinks need slightly stronger ratios of both matcha and sugar since cold temperatures naturally mute flavour. Using a 1:1 simple syrup (equal parts sugar and hot water) provides smoother, more even sweetness, and room-temperature water helps reduce ice melt so the drink stays balanced longer.

🧊 Ideal 16 oz Iced Matcha Latte

• 6 scoops matcha (6.6 g)
• 30 g simple syrup (15 g sugar)
• 130 g filtered water @ 16 °C
• 130 g milk @ 4 °C
• 150 g ice

This ratio gives a well-balanced, vibrant flavour that holds up as the ice melts.

💸 Product Cost (16 oz Iced Matcha Latte)

Approx. $1.90 product cost, before factoring in ice, cup, or labour.

🧊 Iced Latte Scaling Reference

⚠️ Stick with the 16 oz iced version—it’s balanced, efficient, and easier to prep consistently.

Final Thoughts

Matcha lattes are simple but nuanced. Using the right ratios and keeping your menu limited to one or two sizes makes a huge difference for both flavour and efficiency.

If you’d like a printable recipe card for your café or bar setup, I can help design one that fits your workflow—quick, consistent, and easy for your team to follow.