Boba Guys Strawberry Matcha Latte Recipe
Two years ago, we visited San Francisco where we were introduced to Boba Guys. The moment we tried it, we were hooked! Unfortunately, there are no Boba Guys in Canada where we live so we look forward to visiting the States to try it. Seeing as we won’t be travelling anytime soon due to the pandemic, we decided to make one of our favourite drinks there at home! In today’s post, we’ll be sharing Boba Guy’s Strawberry Matcha Latte Recipe.
What is Boba and who is Boba Guys?
Boba is a fast growing drink trend in America that first originated in tea shops in Taiwan. It has now taken America by storm and is gaining popularity very rapidly. To summarize, boba is traditionally the tiny, chewy black balls you find at the bottom of the drink that is made from tapioca.
Boba Guys is a tea shop that specializes in tea drinks and capitalized on the boba trend. They have locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New York. Recently, they published their Strawberry Matcha Latte Recipe from their book that has taken the internet by storm.
We have fallen in love with the drink and have been making it almost every day. We will be sharing their recipe with you today.
Tools you’ll need to make this drink
Boba Guy’s Strawberry Matcha Latte recipe is fairly straight forward. However, there are a few tools we recommend when making this drink:
Good quality matcha
Not so much a tool as it is a key ingredient. There’s a lot of matcha powder available on the market but they come in various quality and in various grades. Do not confuse green tea powder with matcha powder, they are different!
There are two main grades of matcha: Ceremonial Grade and Culinary Grade. Ceremonial grade is considered “Premium” and the highest quality and should be enjoyed as is without mixing it in with anything else. Therefore, for our application purposes, we recommend purchasing a “Culinary grade” matcha powder. We used this matcha powder we bought off of Amazon.
Blender
To make the Strawberry Puree, you’re going to need a blender to pulverize the strawberries into a chunky puree. We use a Vitamix blender but any blender will do.
Bamboo Matcha Whisk (Chasen)
Traditionally, matcha is made with a special bamboo whisk (chasen) that helps mix the matcha powder and water while introducing a lot of air to help make the drink frothy. It is said that this method really helps release the aroma and essence in the foam on the surface. If you don’t have a matcha whisk, you can just use a regular whisk.
Tips & Tricks to Make this Drink
The key to successfully making this instagram-able drink is to ensure that the matcha, milk, and strawberry puree layers remain separate. Here are some of our tips & tricks when making this drink.
Use hot water to dissolve the matcha powder
Nobody wants to taste lumps of bitter matcha powder in their drink! Use hot water when dissolving your matcha powder and whisk vigorously to ensure the matcha has no clumps and is fully dissolved.
Have lots of ice
One of the key tricks to ensure you get those distinct layers in the drink is to gently pour the milk and matcha slowly onto the ice. The ice essentially slows down the milk and matcha from hitting the layer underneath so that they don’t mix into one another when you first prepare this drink.
Keep your strawberry puree a bit chunky
This is more of a textural preference. We find that by not completely pureeing your strawberries, you get a nice strawberry chunky texture at the bottom of your drink for a pop of sweetness. If you don’t like this texture, just puree it all the way.
Milk Alternatives
If you’re lactose intolerant or perhaps would like a vegan option for this drink, you can easily substitute milk with soy milk, almond milk, or any other milk alternative of your choice 🙂
Give this recipe a try! If you like it, please comment below and tag us on Instagram @cookingwithteamj.com! If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also enjoy these recipes:
Boba Guys Strawberry Matcha Latte Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree (recipe makes 3 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups cold filtered water
- 1 cup raw cane sugar (can substitute with white granulated sugar)
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
Strawberry Matcha Latte
- 1 1/2 tsp matcha powder
- 3 1/2 tbsp filtered water, heated to 170F
- 3oz (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) strawberry puree (use recipe from above)
- 8oz (by weight) ice cubes
- 3/4 cup milk*
Instructions
- 1. First, make the strawberry puree. Combine water, sugar, and strawberries in a blender and blend until the mixture is pureed but still slightly chunky. This recipe makes 3 cups of strawberry puree but you will only need 1/3 cup for the strawberry mtacha latte. Reserve the rest of the puree in the fridge – good for about a week. I recommend letting the strawberry puree chill in the fridge for about an hour before use to allow the sweetness of the strawberry to develop.
- 2. Place the matcha powder in a bowl and add 1 tbsp of hot water. Whisk vigourously to make a paste. The consistency should be thick. Then, add the remaining 2 ½ tbsp of hot water and whisk vigourously until remaining clumps disappear.
- 3. In a tall glass of your choice, pour in your strawberry puree.
- 4. Add the ice, followed by the milk. Try to pour the milk slowly onto the ice cubes so that it slowly drips down to your strawberry puree – you don’t want to pour too quickly or directly to the bottom of the glass as you want to maintain separate layers between the milk and the strawberry puree.
- 5. Now, slowly pour your matcha over the ice milk, aiming for the ice cubes again to keep layers cleanly separated. Serve immediately!
How long can the strawberry puree keep in the fridge?
7 days. Any longer and it may not be as good anymore.