Tired of spending your hard earned money on expensive barista brewed drinks? Not to worry! This Starbucks Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino recipe will show you how to whip up your very own concoction at home!
Contents
For 1 Serving of Green Tea Frappuccino
Add all the ingredients except for matcha and whipped cream to the blender.
Place a sieve or strainer over the blender. Pour the matcha on top and sift it in so that there are no lumps.
Blend for at least a minute so that all the ingredients have had time to mix. Once the frappuccino has thickened and the ice has been chopped up enough, you can stop.
Pour the green tea frappuccino into a tall glass. Top off with whipped cream. You can also sprinkle some sweetened matcha powder on top as well.
To get this homemade green tea frappuccino just right, here are some things that you should know about the ingredients:
You will often find the terms "green tea frappuccino", "matcha frappuccino" and "matcha green tea frappuccino" used interchangeably. And, both these terms do essentially describe the same drink. However, you should know the difference between green tea and matcha.
Matcha is technically a green tea. Unlike most regular green tea leaves, though, matcha green tea leaves are grown in the shade. As a result, they contain more chlorophyll giving them that bright green color.
The other difference is that when you drink green tea, you simply steep the leaves in hot water. Then, the leaves are removed and consume the remaining liquid. With matcha, though, the entire leaf is ground up into a fine powder. This is then mixed with water (or milk) and consumed whole.
Like green tea, matcha does contain caffeine. In fact, it actually contains even more caffeine. This is something that you should be mindful of when making your drink.
You can now find products labeled as green tea powder. These aren't always matcha - you should always read the label carefully to ensure that you are getting the right product. In reality, green tea powder and matcha are entirely separate ingredients.
Not a lot of people know that all Starbucks matcha drinks contain sweetened matcha powder. This is what makes the Starbucks green tea frappuccino so palatable to the masses who aren't used to drinking green tea.
Thus, the above green tea frappuccino recipe also contains the sweetened version. However, if you can't find matcha powder that is sweetened, then feel free to use the traditional matcha powder.
You should know that regular matcha can taste a bit bitter. Therefore, you may want to add a bit more sugar or sugar syrup to your Starbucks green tea frappuccino. If you are trying to cut down on the sugar content, though, this isn't an issue.
In this recipe, there is quite a bit of matcha powder added in. This works well if you really enjoy the taste of matcha and want it to be prominent. If you don't, though, you can try a smaller amount first - about a teaspoon or so and then gradually increase it until you get to a strength that you are happy with.
The reason that you should use whole milk in this green tea frappuccino is because it adds creaminess to it. You will not get the same effect if you use skimmed milk. If you would like to be even more decadent, you can even use ice cream. Just make sure to cut down on how much sugar that you are adding, if so.
If you are a vegan, lactose intolerant, or just don't drink dairy milk, then you can naturally substitute a plant based milk. Soy milk will work best here, although oat milk may add a certain creaminess to the green tea frappuccino.
It's not the best idea to add almond milk as this beverage is on the thinner side. Thus, your Starbucks green tea frappuccino may not be as thick or as creamy as you would like it to be. The same goes for coconut milk, although you could certainly try coconut cream or full-fat cooking coconut milk. Just know that the flavor of coconut may overpower the flavors of the green tea frappuccino recipe.
As mentioned, xanthan gum is an optional ingredient. Nevertheless it can be useful in improving the texture of the drink. This is what will make it smooth and creamy. If you do skip the xanthan gum, you will not be necessarily missing out on anything. Nevertheless, it does make your green tea frappuccino taste like the real thing.
If you plan making quite a few copycat Starbucks recipes, then why not invest in a Starbucks frappuccino creme base. This adds flavor and texture, although not quite as much as the xanthan gum. Nevertheless, this ingredient will give it a delicious boost.
This syrup is just equal parts of boiling water and granulated sugar mixed together until the sugar is melted. The main benefit here is that the syrup blends in with the cold ingredients of the frappuccino far more easily. Thus, the sweetness is distributed more evenly.
Can't be bothered with making simple sugar? Well, then opt for powdered sugar instead. It will mix just as easily with the ingredients. Of course, if you are only left with regular sugar then use that by all means!
This is a great way to add sweetness and flavor to the green tea frappucinno. You will find plenty of this flavor in the Starbucks version.
Another option is to use vanilla syrup instead. Or, you can just flavor your simple syrup with the flavor instead. Either way, you should definitely include this ingredient in this easy recipe for green tea frappuccino.
If you decide to use vanilla syrup, reduce the amount of sugar or sweetened syrup that you use. Otherwise, you may end up with an overly sweet drink on your hands.
A lot of blenders can't handle ice. Thus, using smaller ice cubes can help to overcome this problem. If you have a powderul blender, though, then feel free to use regular sized cubes. However, you may want to halve the amount used.
When you top with whipped cream is when you put the final touches to the perfect drink. Make sure that it is sweetened whipped cream for that extra cream.
There you have it - your very own recipe for this delicious drink. All that you need to do now is whip it up yourself!
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