Seasonal Matcha Drinks that you have to try

Not another article about matcha… and yet here I am writing one more. If you’re here and the title of this article was interesting enough to click through, then you didn’t come here to read about the usual stuff that’s out there about matcha at the moment – where it’s from, what the health benefits are… You came here because you want some fun inspiration on what to do with that amazing lush green powder. You are looking for recipe ideas for seasonal matcha drinks.

Let’s dig in then, shall we?

When I started the writing process of this article I wondered, when did I actually have my first proper matcha?

In April 2015 I was traveling across Japan for three weeks with two friends. We attended a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto – a touristy and very packed space, where we’ve all been served a bowl of matcha and a traditional sweet treat (wagashi).

That however wasn’t my very first proper matcha (ceremony) that I experienced. During my first time spent in Japan more than 20 years ago, I had attended a tea ceremony as well. Given by one of my Japanese housemates of the shared guesthouse I was staying at the time. She was studying the traditional Japanese tea ceremony and invited us to join a ceremony given by her at a tea pavilion at a Tokyo park; I believe it even was famous Ueno Park. From that time I don’t have any (digital) photos, only analog ones.

During the 2015 trip I’ve had several more opportunities to enjoy matcha, either traditionally served with wagashi, a sweet treat on the side usually made with rice flour and/or red bean paste, or as a matcha latte, matcha ice cream, matcha dango, matcha pound cake… you name it. Japan was and still is all things matcha. In fact Pizza Hut Japan just recently offered a matcha pizza that was only available a short time until late October, according to Tokyo Weekender.

Once I started my way into specialty coffee, which happened around the same time in 2014/2015 – hence that Japan trip also included café hopping in Tokyo -, I’ve regularly would come across matcha. Many specialty coffee shops and cafes were already serving matcha lattes and even matcha tonic, which definitely is a thing (see my recipe below). I’ve found all-things-matcha no matter where I went, London, New York City or Berlin.

Many trips to Japan and other countries in East and South East Asia followed after that. I even spent three months on a Japanese tea farm to learn more about tea from leaf to teacup, including matcha, how it’s grown, processed and prepared.

This article will provide you with my favorite ways of how to enjoy matcha as a beverage using seasonal ingredients that are literally in season right now, which is autumn in the Northern hemisphere. Find three recipes for seasonal matcha drinks below.

For almost all of these drinks I’d recommend a high quality culinary or premium quality matcha, because that comes with a vibrant green color and a rich umami taste.

So, if you’re considering of buying a tin or bag of matcha, but the price kept you from purchasing it so far, this article may be the encouragement you needed to finally give it a go. Because matcha powder is super versatile and fun to use, too.

Ceremonial vs culinary grade

It’s called ceremonial grade, because the highest and best quality matcha powder is used for the traditional tea ceremonies I got to attend in Japan. Nowadays it’s often used to market a more premium quality of matcha, but the name is not telling you if the quality actually is high.

No matter the name, what you really need to keep an eye on when purchasing high quality matcha that you want to enjoy as is, straight and pure from your cha-wan (your matcha bowl), is

Have only the tender fresh and young leaves of the first harvest in spring been used
Have the tea plants been shaded for 3-4 weeks to create the vibrant lush green color and the rich umami flavor
Have all the stems and veins been removed from the leaf in order to only use the best of those young and tender leaves, turning them into what it’s called tencha
Has that tencha been ground with a traditional stone mill, which is very time-consuming, only 40 grams per hour can be made, and makes for a very fine powder that is needed for those tiny bubbles we all love in matcha.

Culinary or kitchen grade matcha

Kitchen or culinary grade is made from the ground – usually using a faster industry-sized ball mill – and unshaded tea leaves of the summer harvest (around June/July) or even the autumn harvest in October.

Cooking grade matcha, as it’s also being called, contains fewer nutrients compared to spring harvest matcha used for ceremonial grade, which also results in a much less vibrant color. That’s a great test to check if you’ve purchased high quality matcha, too – the color.

Culinary grade matcha is typically used as an ingredient in sweet or savory recipes, for smoothies, and matcha lattes. It’s more affordable but with a slightly less refined flavor.

Yusucha vs koicha

Thin or thick matcha, usually used for the ceremonial way of enjoying matcha.

Yusucha: 2 grams of matcha powder, 80ml water, drink straight as is from your matcha bowl.

Koicha: 3-4 grams matcha powder, 40ml water, use for matcha latte or other beverages. All of the seasonal matcha drink recipes below will use a Koicha as their base.

Matcha Latte

The most common matcha beverage nowadays, as for the warm choice of beverage that is. Here are some tips on how to make a delicious matcha latte.

First, start by choosing the right matcha powder. For a matcha latte a high quality culinary grade matcha is sufficient. No need to use a very high quality matcha used for Yusucha here that obviously is higher priced and way too precious to be diluted with milk.

Depending on if you’re using a matcha whisk (chasen) or not – you can also use different tools such as a hand milk frother – think of an espresso to create a strong matcha. Use slightly less water, almost like making a Koicha.

If you’re using a traditional matcha whisk, start by adding the matcha powder to a bowl or cup and add a little bit of warm water. Using the whisk incorporate the powder and the water, creating a thick paste to avoid clumps. Add more water to reach the amount that you intend to use for your matcha latte.

Find a recipe for my seasonal take on matcha latte in my third seasonal matcha drink recipe below.

Three seasonal matcha drink recipes

1. Matcha Rose Hip Tonic

Rose hips are a seasonal ingredient in many parts of Europe and Northern America coming from the wild rose bushes mainly. The fruit is somewhat sweet, but rather fruity and zesty, and very healthy – tons of vitamin C (more than lemons).

If you’re a matcha fan already you probably came across the chilled matcha beverage of 2025, strawberry matcha soda or tonic. Well, this is my (seasonal) take on this drink.

What you need for the drink

One 300ml Long drink glass
1.5 – 2 tablespoons Rose hip puree*
2 heaping matcha spoons of a high quality matcha (preferably not kitchen grade that you would use for baking a cake for example), whisked with some warm water into a fine paste
Approximately 250ml or more of a good tonic water, I used Thomas Henry, cold

Layer in your glass: rose hip puree, then add Tonic slowly, then pour in the matcha, also very slowly. A quicker pour might end up in a mess. Enjoy!

*Rose hip puree: In an ideal world the puree comes freshly squeezed from the fruit (especially after they experienced some frost out in the wild). The puree straight from the fruit still has tons of vitamin C.

Alas my brilliant idea of defrosting frozen rose hips didn’t work the same way – no sweet puree coming from defrosted fruits over here. The fruit stayed as firm as it was when it went into the freezer.

So as an alternative I made a jam basically. To make the jam use a generous handful of fresh rose hips, cut in half, simmered with some water over low heat, then just like applesauce press through a fine sieve. Add some honey or maple syrup or your preferred choice of sweetener. Store in the fridge until using.

2. Matcha sea buckthorn lemonade

Sea buckthorn, a very tart fruit that belongs rather in the very healthy section of one’s diet, and not into a trendy and maybe somewhat fancy matcha drink. But after having tested that amazing wild fermented soda (recipe below) several times now, it just made sense to combine the two. Even if it is only for the color combo. It tastes incredible, too, trust me.

What you need for the drink

2 heaping matcha spoons of a high quality matcha (preferably not kitchen grade that you would use for baking a cake for example), whisked with some warm water into a fine paste
250 ml wild fermented sea buckthorn soda*
3-4 ice cubes

Start by adding the ice cubes to your 250ml glass. Then pour in the soda, then slowly pour in the matcha paste. Enjoy!

*Wild fermented sea buckthorn soda

For a 0,5l bottle of soda you need: ½ cup of fresh sea buckthorn berries, ¼ cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 cups of water.

Start off by adding the ingredients – mash the berries as best as you can with a spoon or a cocktail muddler – to a wide mouth jar and let sit for approximately 2-5 days on your kitchen counter.

Depending on the temperature in your kitchen fermentation will happen sooner or later. The warmer, the faster. Stir daily and do some taste tests in between, too.

Once you see some decent bubbles, when stirring, and you like the flavor, strain everything through a fine mesh/sieve into a flip-top bottle using a funnel.

Have that very bottle sit on your kitchen counter again for another 3-5 days, burp daily (if there’s only a hizz, then burp every second day) to release the pressure in the bottle.

In the bottle the fermentation continues and will form some more bubbles for your wild fermented soda. If you’re happy with the amount of bubbles put into the fridge (where the fermentation will slow down) until using.

3. Matcha Latte with cardamom spiced quinces

Quinces, another seasonal fruit over here. Too firm to eat straight, so you’d always have to process those fuzzy fellows. Be it cooking or roasting in the oven, or even fermenting them (one of many projects I anticipate doing).

For this seasonal matcha drink I used perfectly ripe pear quinces (there’s also apple quinces) that I got from a small local store.

What you need for the drink

1 cup or glass mug (250ml)
2 tablespoons quince puree of a medium sized quince (rinsed well to get rid of the fuzz on the skin, cooked and mashed, pressed through a metal mesh or sieve, same as you’d do with applesauce)
1/8 teaspoons cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
A dash of turmeric (for the color), optional
Approx. 200ml oat milk, lightly frothed
2 heaping matcha spoons of high quality matcha (whisked with some water to a fine paste)

Mix your quince puree with maple syrup and cardamom, spoon into your cup, slowly pour in the frothed oat milk. Top your beverage with the whisked matcha paste. Admire the look of your beverage, stir and enjoy.