If you ask five cafés how much matcha they use in a latte, you’ll probably get five different answers.
I’ve seen everything from one gram to five grams.
Personally, I think most cafés should start somewhere around 3g per standard latte and adjust from there depending on the quality of the matcha, the cup size and the flavour profile they’re looking for.
Good matcha shouldn’t need huge quantities to make itself known.
One of the mistakes I often see is trying to compensate for poor-quality matcha by simply adding more powder. That usually makes the drink more bitter without necessarily making it any better.
Dose is also hugely important commercially.
Take a 100g tin of matcha.
At 2g per drink, you theoretically have:
50 servings.
At 3g per drink:
33 servings.
That is a significant difference.
Moving from 2g to 3g isn’t just a flavour decision. You’ve increased your matcha cost per cup by 50%.
That’s why I always encourage café owners to establish a proper recipe rather than allowing each barista to decide what looks about right.
For a standard latte, I’d typically start with:
3g matcha
A small amount of water
Whisk thoroughly until smooth
Add steamed milk
Then taste it.
If you’re serving a smaller 6–8oz drink, you may find that 2g–2.5g of a good matcha is plenty. For a larger drink, 3g or slightly more may work better.
The important thing is to find the point where the matcha still comes through clearly without making the drink unnecessarily strong or expensive.
Water temperature matters too.
Boiling water really isn’t your friend here.
You don’t need to attack matcha with water straight from the kettle. Slightly cooler water will generally give you a smoother cup and help avoid bringing out unnecessary bitterness.
Then there are flavoured matcha drinks.
If you’re adding vanilla, strawberry, pistachio or another strong flavour, you obviously need enough matcha for it to remain noticeable.
But before simply increasing the dose, I would first ask whether the syrup or flavouring is overpowering the drink.
The best matcha latte should still taste like matcha.
Ultimately, there is no rule saying every café has to use exactly 3g.
But there absolutely should be a recipe.
Your baristas should know it.
Your costing should be based on it.
And your customer should get the same drink whether they visit you on a quiet Monday morning or in the middle of a busy Saturday afternoon.