Iced Lavender Matcha Latte

There’s just something nice about having a nice cup of iced tea in the summer time, especially when it’s sweltering hot outside and you’re trying to find some relief in the shade. I’m all for pairing some matcha with something floral, especially if it winds up tasting good and the lavender and matcha combination did not disappoint!

Iced Lavender Matcha Latte – Serves 1

2 teaspoons matcha
100ml warm water
1 tablespoon Lavender Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
200ml milk
Ice

In the matcha preparing vessel of your choice, prepare the matcha powder with water.
Once mixed, stir in Lavender Simple Syrup.
In a glass, add ice cubes, followed by sweetened matcha.
Top with milk product of your choice (I use unsweetened organic soy milk).
Garnish with lavender buds.

It takes a bit of effort to make that Lavender Simple Syrup – but it’s so worth it to get that floral flavour into your drinks! I use the same Lavender Simple Syrup in my London Fog (Earl Grey Latte) recipe.

Lavender Simple Syrup Recipe & Directions

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lavender buds

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Allow mixture to come to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off heat and allow the simple syrup to cool.
Pour simple syrup into a jar or container, use a sieve to strain out lavender buds.

Store Lavender Simple Syrup in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.

If you make this Iced Lavender Matcha Latte, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!

Pineapple Ginger Matcha

Now if you’re a fan of Starbucks, you may be familiar with their Pineapple Matcha Drink. It intrigued me and I’ve had it two or three times so far, but I find that it’s never properly made (clumpy matcha!) and can be a bit too sweet. But I really enjoy the flavour combination because it’s delicious and definitely makes me feel like I’m somewhere else which is currently important to me (and a lot of other people) because it’s summer and I think we all had different plans for this year than what has unfolded so far.

Luckily, it was super easy for me to figure out what they put in it, since their website provides a list of ingredients. So I knew that they used a pineapple ginger syrup, matcha, coconut milk and ice – how hard could it be, right? I’m a fan of making simple syrups – I use them a lot in my drink recipes because they’re so easy to make. This isn’t any different, because with a little bit of know-how, and a touch of fresh ginger, you too could be sipping on a made-at-home Pineapple Ginger Matcha… all without going through the drive thru at your local coffee shop and without ordering delivery!

Pineapple Ginger Matcha – Serves 2

½-1 tablespoon Ginger Pineapple Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
4 teaspoons matcha¹
250ml hot water²
500ml unsweetened coconut milk
Fresh pineapple, for garnish³
Ice

¹ I used Whisk Premium Matcha’s Everyday. You can use the matcha of your choice, but I would steer away from matcha blends or sweetened matchas.
² Heat to the instructions for your particular matcha; usually it’s not boiling.
³ Don’t sweat it if you don’t have fresh pineapple on hand, canned would work just as well!

Pineapple Ginger Simple Syrup Recipe

1 cup water
1 cup sugar¹
½-1″ fresh ginger root²
Pineapple core, cubed³

¹ I used granulated white sugar.
² I used an approximately ½” piece of fresh ginger root.
³ For a fresh pineapple, the core is generally quite hard to eat because it’s so fibrous, but it has a lot of flavour! So I cut out the core, cubed it, and tossed that into my sauce pan for the Pineapple Ginger Simple Syrup.

Prepare Pineapple Ginger Simple Syrup

Put all ingredients together in a small sauce pan over low heat.
Allow the syrup to come to a simmer and allow it to cook until it takes on a nice golden colour.
Strain out solids as you pour the simple syrup into a clean container.
Allow to cool before use.
Store in the fridge.

Prepare Pineapple Ginger Matcha

Add ice to your glass.
Add Pineapple Ginger Syrup, you can always add more if it’s not sweet enough to your liking.
Prepare matcha – I shook up approximately 125ml water with my matcha in a shaker cup for each serving, pour into glass.
Fill the rest of the glass with your coconut milk.
With the garnish, cut a small slit in the pineapple wedge so it can sit on the rim.
Admire the pretty layers before taking a straw to the drink to mix it up.

If you make this Pineapple Ginger Matcha, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!

Matcha Soda

While some coffee shops have taken to offering the #PSL on their menus again, I am still holding onto the idea of summer. Even though it rained last night, I’m still hoping for a warm September because it’d be really nice to still get to enjoy the patio and iced drinks on the regular.

Matcha is one of those drinks that I’ve grown to love. I think part of the issue is that I’ve definitely have had matcha that doesn’t taste good, and then I had matcha that does. This is definitely one of those good ones. I wanted to make a tasty drink to have at home, something that could be iced, and I’ve been really enjoying sparkling water lately… So mixing my want to drink matcha and my need for iced, bubbly drinks meant that a Matcha Soda was born! And quickly had. This is so easy to make at home, you could easily eyeball the amounts instead of measuring it out and just make it to your taste – so simple! And if you layer it, the Matcha Soda looks impressive and will look great on your Instagram!

Matcha Soda – Serves 1

2 teaspoons matcha
150ml water (cold)
1-2 teaspoons simple syrup¹
250ml sparkling water
Ice cubes

¹ Simple syrup is super easy (simple!) to make. Put a 1:1 ratio of granulated sugar and water in a sauce pan and allow it to reach a simmer on your stove top. It’ll thicken into a sweet syrup after you take it off the heat and allow it to cool. I used about 2 teaspoons of simple syrup in my glass of Matcha Soda. Store your excess simple syrup in a jar in the fridge to enjoy – it’ll keep for a bit, but I usually use mine up within a week.

To start, add some ice to your glass.
Add some of the simple syrup (you can always add more later if it’s not sweet enough).
Add water and matcha into a jar, tighten the lid and shake!
Pour matcha on top of the ice.
Pour in the sparkling water.
Admire the layers!

If you make this Matcha Soda, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!