Iced Lavender Matcha Latte
When Starbucks came out with their iced lavender matcha latte last spring, a light bulb went off immediately, because I already had recipes for lavender lattes, iced matcha lattes, and sweet cream cold foam. And so I put them all together, and poof! My very own lavender matcha was born, and wow, I have not been this excited about a drink in a very long time.
It’s totally delicious as an afternoon bevvie, but not too late as matcha does have a significant amount of caffeine, and then you’ll need the sleepy girl mocktail to help you sleep! 😉
Slightly grassy, slightly sweet, slightly creamy…🍵🪻
…and just screams spring in both the delicate floral flavors and the green and lavender hues.
This drink is significantly less sweet and lower in sugar than the Starbucks version so if you’re looking for an exact replica, you’ll need to bump up the sweetness. A grande drink has about 33 grams of sugar and my version has about 9 grams of sugar. So sweeten to your own preference. I don’t love super sweet drinks, so I go a bit lighter, but it’s easy to add.
😋 Seriously delicious: Subtle floral, earthy, and sweet flavors, it’s so delicious!
🛒 Made with simple ingredients: While you will need a few specialty items (lavender syrup and matcha!), everything else is pretty simple.
🍵 Naturally energizing: Matcha has caffeine, so don’t drink it too close to bedtime if you’re sensitive!
🌸 Cafe vibes at home: This is an upscale, specialty drink, but also very easy to make at home. And it’s so pretty!
⏱️ Quick & easy: Just a few steps and it’s ready, especially once you have your syrup made or if you buy it.
🌿 Customizable: It’s so easy to customize the level of sweetness as well as the type of milk you’re using. Use oat, almond, whole milk, or anything in between.
You’ll also want to try my lavender latte, Americano, and brown sugar shaken espresso.
This was so good!! Thank you for the recipe! –Staci
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need some fresh ingredients and pantry staples to make this matcha drink: lavender syrup, food coloring (or not!), heavy cream, matcha, sweetener (optional), and milk.
- Lavender syrup: I’ll show you how to make your own lavender syrup (just 3 ingredients and so easy!) or you can buy it. The homemade syrup is really balanced so that it isn’t too sweet or too floral.
- Food coloring: This is optional if you don’t care about the color of the lavender foam, but mandatory if you want it to have a purple hue.
- Matcha: Use a high-quality, ceremonial-grade matcha powder for the best flavor. Just as high-quality coffee beans will give you a superior cup of coffee, matcha is the same. I like Jade Leaf and Rishi Matcha. You can typically find matcha at natural food stores or online.
Emily’s Tips & Tricks
- Pro tip: Use a matcha whisk, frother, or small blender to fully dissolve the matcha and avoid clumps.
- Shortcuts: If you want to purchase a premade matcha latte (this oat milk one has functional mushrooms!), that is also an easy way to take care of the matcha portion!
- Variations: Once you make this drink, it’s so easy to switch up the cold foam flavors! Try vanilla bean, sweet cream, rose petal, etc.!
Iced Lavender Cream Matcha Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Drink
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This homemade lavender matcha latte is slightly grassy, sweet, and creamy all at once and screams spring with delicate floral flavors and hues.
Ingredients
Lavender Cream Matcha:
- 1 drop red food coloring (optional)
- 2 drops blue food coloring (optional)
- 3 Tbsp. heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp. milk (whole, 2%, or skim)
- 1 Tbsp. lavender syrup (see recipe below or use store-bought)
- 1–2 grams matcha (1/2 tsp – 1 tsp)
- 2 oz. water (between 165-175 degrees F)
- sweetener of choice (optional)
- 6–8 oz. milk of choice
Lavender Simple Syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup dried lavender flowers (culinary-grade lavender buds)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (totally optional, but gives a great lavender vanilla flavor)
Instructions
Lavender Cream Matcha:
- Make lavender simple syrup if making from scratch. (Full instructions below.)
- Sift matcha into bowl or mug. Pour water over and whisk, making an “M” shape until fully dissolved. (You can also use hand frother if you don’t have a matcha whisk)
- Stir in sweetener if using. (See note below)
- Fill a glass with ice and pour milk over the top. Pour matcha over milk and stir to combine if desired.
- In a small glass, combine heavy cream, milk, and lavender syrup. Froth mixture for 15-25 seconds until light and foamy, but not forming stiff peaks. You want to be able to pour it.
- Top iced matcha with lavender cold foam. Sip!
Lavender Simple Syrup:
- Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, stir in lavender flowers and let cool.
- Strain out lavender flowers with a fine mesh strainer (I used a coffee filter), and your lavender simple syrup is ready to use. Store the syrup in the refrigerator for about 3-4 weeks.
Notes
- Purple color: The lavender syrup I linked to does have a light purple color, so you may not need the food coloring and if you don’t care if the lavender foam is purple, you could also omit it completely. I used Watkins food dyes without artificial dyes, which gives a subtle color. Different food dyes will have different strengths so you may need to play with it.
- Storage: Best enjoyed immediately. Do not store for later as foam will deflate.
- Ingredient notes: Use a high-quality, ceremonial-grade matcha powder for the best flavor. Just as high-quality coffee beans will give you a superior cup of coffee, matcha is the same. I like Jade Leaf and Rishi Matcha. You can typically find matcha at natural food stores or online. You have so many milk options! I love a matcha latte with almond milk, but you can use dairy, oat, soy, or any other milk alternative that you like.
- Sweetness: I personally don’t like my matcha very sweet, but if you like some sweetness to balance out the grassy, earthy flavors, add some lavender syrup or sugar to the matcha when you’re making it.
- Prep ahead: Once you make the syrup, you’ll be ready to make this drink at a moment’s notice.
- Special tools: Hand held milk frother or cold foam maker (which will make it for you!), canned oat milk matcha latte.
- Serve with: Ricotta toast, protein overnight oats, creamy scrambled eggs.
- Nutrition: The nutrition facts are an estimate using unsweetened almond milk as the main matcha latte milk and will not reflect any additional sweetener or different milk.
FAQs
It is definitely inspired by the Starbucks drink, but does taste a bit different and this version has a lot less sugar. As written, it’s not quite as sweet but you can adjust based on your sweetness preference, as well as balancing out what type of milk you use. Oat milk is typically sweeter than some other kinds of milk.
The Starbucks version also uses lavender powder instead of lavender syrup like we’ve done here. The powder they use is made up of sugar, salt, natural lavender flavor, and some natural color. They also use a matcha powder, which is made of sugar and tea.
I think this version is a little more on the subtle side, the Starbucks version tasted super fruity – it almost reminded me of a cereal like fruity pebbles or something?!
You’ll obviously love this lavender syrup for latte drinks like this one, but you can also use it in cocktails, mocktails, or lemonade.
Yes! You can make it in the same way, but add the lavender syrup to the matcha and steam your milk instead of serving it over ice. You may not need the cold foam, but you can make it if you like!
More Starbucks Copycat Recipes
If you like this Starbucks lavender matcha, you will probably love these other copycat recipes as well!
About the Author
Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer, nutrition expert, and founder of My Everyday Table. She specializes in creating easy, healthy recipes that help busy parents feed their families well every single day, without the stress. With a degree in Nutrition and over 20 years of experience, Emily shares family-friendly meals that are practical, nourishing, and full of flavor. Learn more about Emily’s approach to everyday cooking and nutrition here.
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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It kind of looks intense (hard!) but it’s really pretty simple and once you have the syrup, it’s easy to make the drink! I love it.
So glad I gave this a try. And making the simple syrup was so easy. I actually drizzled some of the syrup on my toast. Made for the perfect breakfast.
Oooooh, so fancy!!! What else did you have on the toast?
This was so good!! Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Staci! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Thank you so much for this wonderful, delicious and easy recipe! I just love it and am so happy to be able to make it at home!