Lime & Matcha
Even though I’m more of a winter/warm spices person, every now and again we need a little reminder of Spring.
Even though I’m more of a winter/warm spices person, every now and again we need a little reminder of Spring. In that spirit, today we have a banger:
lime & matcha
The sweetness and acidity from the lime mingle with the bitterness of the matcha to make a drink that puts you in a springtime field in the countryside, lush with healthy leaves of grass gently billowing in the wind.
Tl;dr: It taste good.
Keep in mind this is an iced drink, and if you make it hot your milk will curdle and you’ll have a pretty awful time.
For the syrup
1 cup sugar
5/8 cup water
15 small limes, or 10 lemon-sized ones
We’re going to need about 1/2 cup lime juice and the zest from all of the limes
On medium heat:
melt the sugar and water with lime zest, then
add in the lime juice as it hits a boil.
move to low-medium heat, and lightly simmer for 35 min.
You really can make this with whatever citrus, but the amount will have to change thanks to the acid type and concentration1.
For the drink
crushed or nugget ice
1-2 tsp matcha/cup (YMMV, read the bag!)
our fresh lime syrup
vanilla syrup (simple syrup if you don’t have)
Make the matcha according to bag instructions with a whisk. If you don’t have a matcha whisk + setup, it might be clumpy and bitter. You can steam it or quickly blend it to reduce clumpiness, but the bitterness will still be there.
Fill a cup with the nugget ice about 80% of the way, and then pour the matcha to the ice line.
Mix in about 1oz lime syrup (2 tbsp), taste, add vanilla to assuage the leftover bitterness up to about .75oz, less if the vanilla is good. Add a bit more lime syrup on top as the lime flavor will need to shine. This is a sweet drink, but a delicious one. If sweet isn’t for you, add less vanilla.
Garnish with a fully peeled avocado lime zest.
For a less aggressive lime drink, check out Jeffery Morgenthaler’s lime cordial.