Many cafés in Australia now serve matcha lattes — TenTo, Edition Roasters and Higher Ground, to name a few. We’re also seeing more dedicated matcha cafés pop up, including Matcha-Ya, Oh!Matcha and Matcha Mate. Now, an alcoholic twist has arrived on bar menus.
Matcha cocktails are served at Sydney’s JAM Record Bar, Good Luck Restaurant Lounge and Aster. Brisbane’s Tenya Japanese served a spicy margarita last year and, in May this year, Melbourne’s Hochi Mama offered matcha martinis.
Matcha is powdered green tea, introduced to Japan in the 1100s by a Buddhist monk returning from study in China with tea seeds, reports Britannica. The monk established a way to prepare tea that honoured the beauty found in the world.
“Matcha brings a unique depth of flavour to cocktails, offering earthy and slightly bitter notes that balance well with both sweet and citrus elements,” says Mattia Arnaboldi, director of bars at InterContinental Sydney, home to rooftop bar Aster.
As Merivale hospitality group’s creative cocktail lead James Irvine puts it, matcha brings a lot to the party. It’s also incredibly versatile. “It can be used in the applications above but also works well with syrups, fats, bitters or garnishes,” he says.
Merivale venue JAM Record Bar serves a matcha fizz, made with vodka, yuzu, white chocolate and green tea spirit. The drink is emulsified, fizzed and garnished with more matcha as a dusting garnish which creates a textural mouthfeel.
At Good Luck Restaurant Lounge, another Merivale spot, you’ll find a matcha Kit Kat on the menu, which Irvine says hones in on a bartending technique in vogue — milk punching.
“The matcha is more prevalent in this serve [than at JAM] as matcha tea is used as the dilution of the cocktail in the base,” Irvine says. “Once fortified, the matcha is curdled into coconut milk, using fresh yuzu juice — essentially making a coconut and yuzu ricotta. By doing so, the cocktail is completely clarified.”
The result? What Irvine describes as a crystallised cocktail with an unreal body and a profound balance of weight, acidity and flavour.
Aster serves a matcha cocktail called Earth with tequila, cucumber and capsicum. Matcha powder is mixed into a foam that’s placed a thumb-width above the rest of the drink. As the foam condenses, it drips matcha into the drink.
“The herbaceous and spicy notes are balanced by the fresh flavours, all complemented by a subtle cloud of matcha for a unique, sensory experience,” says Arnaboldi. “The vibrant green colour of matcha also adds visual appeal.”
Matcha cocktails aren’t new, says Arnaboldi. They were a trend a few years ago but they’ve made a strong comeback and he believes they’re here to stay, thanks to their versatility in drinks.
“From a bar perspective, matcha offers not just a distinct flavour but a unique twist for guests,” he says. “People are now accustomed to seeing matcha in cafés so finding it in cocktails adds an exciting element.”
Irvine also points out the increasing awareness of matcha’s health benefits and its presence on social media as reasons behind the rise of matcha cocktails. It’s a no-brainer matcha made its way to cocktails.
“Like all flavour profiles and ingredients, I believe that bartenders are incredibly talented at creating signature serves with validity and in the case of matcha, I think it’s shown it’s a mainstayer through its popularity, versatility and the fact it’s absolutely delicious,” he says.
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