Matcha de Olla from Home

I've spent my entire life hating on matcha, only to find out that I've just had BAD matcha. Once I had a taste of a matcha latte with ceremonial grade matcha, my life was changed.

I was never a morning person until about 2 years ago, so coffee was always my go-to in the mornings. When I was a teenager, I used to love a good ol' frappuccino. Then, as I got older, I graduated to lattes and shaken espressos until I started feeling so jittery and anxious that it felt like I was having a heart attack. I could drink a coffee at 8 a.m., and my heart would still be racing at 10 p.m.

I'm trying this new thing where I actually listen to my body (what a revelation...and you'll understand my sarcasm as you learn more about me), so it's safe to say: I don't drink coffee anymore.

There's just nothing like a nice drink when you wake up and to keep you going throughout the day. And there's nothing like being the only one at a coffee shop with your best friends explaining why your day is so fucked by coffee every single time. Maybe it's just FOMO. Either way, that's how I stumbled upon the matcha de olla.

Matcha de olla is a combination of a matcha latte and a café de olla, which is a spiced Mexican coffee usually cooked in a clay pot. A traditional café de olla is spiced with cinnamon and a dark sugar called Piloncillo. I love a good cinnamon sugar flavor profile, so mixing that into a matcha latte is the perfect drink for me.

A matcha latte is just a combination of matcha and milk. Matcha powder comes in two different forms: ceremonial grade (for drinks) and culinary grade (for cooking/baking). Ceremonial-grade matcha is really easy to make, and the directions on the back of this pouch were easy to follow. I this matcha set to easily make these drinks. Here's how I make my matcha de olla:

Ingredients for matcha de olla:

• 1 tsp. matcha powder (ceremonial grade)

• 1/4 cup of water

• choice of milk and amount of milk

• 4 tbsp. brown sugar cinnamon syrup

• sprinkle of cinnamon powder is optional

1. Sift the matcha powder into a small bowl. I've also sifted the cinnamon with matcha powder before, and it turned out great. It just depends on how much cinnamon you like.

2. Pour the water into the small bowl.

3. Whisk the matcha powder and water together until all powder is dissolved.

4. Pour matcha into a cup.

5. Add brown sugar cinnamon syrup to the matcha. I use 4 tbsp. of the syrup, but you can use as much or as little as you want. It just depends on how sweet you like your matcha lattes.

6. Add milk and the sprinkle of cinnamon powder to your liking and enjoy!

Ingredients for brown sugar cinnamon syrup:

• 1 cup of water

• 1 cup of brown sugar (light is sweeter than dark)

• 2 cinnamon sticks

1. Turn the stovetop on medium/medium-high heat. Start heating a small pot.

2. If you want a stronger cinnamon flavor, place cinnamon sticks and water into a small pot. Bring water to a boil. Then, place brown sugar into the boiling water and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water.

3. For a more subtle cinnamon flavor, pour water, brown sugar, and cinnamon sticks into the pot at the same time. Stir ingredients until sugar is completely dissolved in the water.

4. Stir occasionally and allow the solution to come to a boil.

5. Once the syrup starts to boil, turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

I usually use this amount of brown sugar cinnamon syrup within the week, and I've never had a batch longer than that. I would guess the shelf-life of the syrup is longer than the week and around the same shelf-life of simple syrup (1 month).

I hope you enjoy this drink as much as I do!