The quick answer
Mash 80–100 g of fresh strawberries into a puree and spoon it into a glass with ice. Whisk 2 g of matcha (1 teaspoon) into a smooth paste, then top with 180–240 ml of cold milk. That is one iced strawberry matcha latte in about 5 minutes. Want it without milk? Use cold water instead for a plain iced matcha.
A note on the numbers below: the amounts, temperature and timings here are standard recipe convention, reviewed for accuracy by Erin Young — reliable starting ranges you adjust to taste, not a single lab-measured rule. The calorie figures are the exception: those come from USDA food data.
How do you make an iced strawberry matcha latte?
Three layers: strawberry, matcha, milk. It takes about 3–5 minutes and makes one glass.
- Make the strawberry layer. Mash 80–100 g of fresh strawberries (roughly 4–6 berries) into a rough puree and spoon it around the base of a tall glass.
- Add ice. Fill the glass with ice over the strawberry.
- Whisk the matcha. Sift 2 g of matcha (1 level teaspoon) into a bowl and whisk it with 30–60 ml of water at about 70–80 °C into a smooth, lump-free paste. Or cold-whisk it for a fully iced drink. Use up to 4 g (2 teaspoons) for a stronger matcha flavour.
- Build the drink. Pour 180–240 ml of cold milk over the ice and strawberry. Pour the matcha paste on top so it streaks through the pink, then stir before drinking.
Every amount here is a standard recipe convention rather than a fixed rule. Treat them as reliable starting points and adjust the strawberry, matcha and milk to your taste.
How do you make the strawberry layer?
You have three routes, and they trade speed for sweetness. Use 80–100 g of fresh strawberries mashed into a puree, or 1–2 tablespoons of strawberry syrup or jam. Fresh puree is the least sweet and tastes the most like real fruit. Syrup and jam are faster but add more sugar.
- Fresh puree — mash 4–6 ripe strawberries with a fork; add nothing, or a pinch of sweetener if the berries are tart.
- Syrup — quickest, and pours clean down the glass for that café look.
- Jam — loosen 1–2 tablespoons with a splash of water so it spoons out evenly.
Frozen strawberries work too: thaw them first, then puree. Whichever route you pick, the strawberry goes in first so it settles at the bottom for the layered pink-and-green look.
How do you make plain iced matcha? (the base, no milk)
If you want the matcha on its own, skip the milk and strawberry. Whisk 2 g of matcha (1 teaspoon) with 30–60 ml of water at 70–80 °C into a paste. Top with 180–240 ml of cold water over ice. That is a plain iced matcha in 3–5 minutes, and it makes one glass.
Plain water-based iced matcha is virtually calorie-free — without milk or sugar it is essentially just the matcha. It is also the base every version builds on, so it is worth getting right. For a step-by-step on the unsweetened base, see our sugar-free iced matcha recipe. Add milk instead of water and you have an iced matcha latte. Add the strawberry layer and you are back to the pink drink.
A fine-pronged whisk gets matcha smoother than a spoon ever will. That matters most in a cold drink, where lumps do not dissolve. Zen's matcha tea set pairs the whisk, scoop and bowl, so you can measure the dose by the teaspoon and whisk out the lumps in one go.
What's the matcha-to-water-to-milk ratio?
One drink, in grams and teaspoons:
| Component | Standard drink | Stronger drink |
|---|---|---|
| Matcha | 2 g (1 tsp) | 4 g (2 tsp) |
| Water (to make the paste) | 30–60 ml at 70–80 °C | 30–60 ml at 70–80 °C |
| Cold milk (strawberry latte) | 180–240 ml | 180–240 ml |
| Cold water (plain iced matcha) | 180–240 ml | 180–240 ml |
Recipe convention, reviewed by Erin Young — starting ratios, not a measured optimum. One level teaspoon of matcha is about 2 g.
The only real variable is the matcha: 2 g (1 teaspoon) for a standard drink, 4 g (2 teaspoons) if you want it to cut through the milk and strawberry. The milk or water volume stays the same either way.
Which matcha should you use?
Grade is about flavour and cost, not health. Matcha runs from culinary (robust, made for baking, and it can taste bitter or dull) up to ceremonial (the most delicate leaf, made to be sipped with water alone). For an iced strawberry matcha, a premium grade is the sweet spot. Ceremonial is overkill here: its delicacy is wasted once you add ice, milk and strawberry. A cheap culinary can stay bitter and dull even through milk. You want smooth quality that still holds up over ice and milk, without paying the ceremonial price premium.
That is exactly the grade we make. Zen's Premium Grade matcha is a single premium Japanese matcha, sourced directly from farms in Japan. It is smooth enough to taste great over ice and robust enough to hold its own against the strawberry. You control the strength one teaspoon at a time. If you want the full breakdown of grades before you buy, read our complete matcha buyer's guide.
How do you make it taste like the Starbucks strawberry matcha?
The Starbucks version layers a sweet strawberry base under iced matcha and milk, so copy the ratio and you are most of the way there. Spoon 80–100 g of strawberry puree (or 1–2 tablespoons of syrup for the sweeter, closer match) into the glass and add ice. Top with 180–240 ml of cold milk and a 2 g (1 teaspoon) matcha paste. Their default is sweeter than a fresh-fruit version, so the syrup route lands closest.
For the plain (non-strawberry) café copycat, see our Starbucks matcha latte recipe.
Can you make it dairy-free?
Yes — swap the dairy for 180–240 ml of any plant milk and the method is identical. Oat gives the closest creamy body, almond keeps it lightest, and coconut adds its own flavour.
The milk you choose sets most of the calories. An unsweetened fresh-strawberry version runs about 82 kcal with almond milk up to 184 kcal with whole dairy per glass. Almond is the lightest of the swaps; oat lands near the richer end at about 153 kcal. The full per-milk table is in the caffeine-and-calories section below.
Why is my cold matcha lumpy or bitter — and how do I fix it?
Two fixes cover almost every case.
Lumps come from adding matcha straight to cold liquid. Sift the powder first, then whisk it with just 30–60 ml of water into a smooth paste before you add ice or milk. Paste first, cold liquid second. A fine whisk beats a spoon here.
Bitterness usually means the water was too hot. Use water around 70–80 °C, not boiling, or cold-whisk the paste. Boiling water scorches matcha and makes it bitter, so let a just-boiled kettle cool for a minute first. In a strawberry latte the fruit and milk also soften any edge. A good paste plus not-boiling water is usually all it takes.
How much caffeine and how many calories are in a strawberry matcha — and what does it taste like?
Caffeine. An iced or strawberry matcha has roughly 60–130 mg of caffeine, set by how much matcha you use. Expect about 60–66 mg for 1 teaspoon (~2 g) and 115–130 mg for 2 teaspoons (~4 g). That range is computed from matcha's per-gram caffeine and the powder dose, not measured for this specific drink. The milk, water, ice and strawberry do not change it; only the matcha does. For the full picture, see how much caffeine is in matcha.
Calories. An unsweetened iced strawberry matcha latte with fresh strawberries runs about 82 kcal (almond) to 184 kcal (whole dairy) per glass. The milk sets most of it; the fresh strawberry adds only a little and the matcha barely any:
| Milk (≈240 ml, unsweetened) | Calories per glass |
|---|---|
| Almond | ~82 kcal |
| Skim | ~118 kcal |
| Soy | ~128 kcal |
| 1% dairy | ~140 kcal |
| Oat | ~153 kcal |
| Whole dairy | ~184 kcal |
Per glass, fresh-strawberry (unsweetened) version; USDA FoodData Central milk + strawberry values, scaled and summed to the ~240 ml milk + ~90 g strawberry serving. Using strawberry syrup or jam instead of fresh fruit adds sugar and pushes it higher than these figures. For matcha calories on their own, see matcha calories.
Taste. Strawberry matcha is sweet-tart berry over a grassy, umami matcha base. The strawberry softens matcha's natural bitterness and the milk rounds it out. If you are curious about matcha beyond the recipe, our matcha health benefits page covers the wider picture, and our how to make matcha green tea guide covers the plain base prep.
Iced strawberry matcha — FAQ
How much caffeine is in an iced strawberry matcha? Roughly 60–130 mg, depending on whether you use 1 or 2 teaspoons of matcha. That is computed from matcha's per-gram caffeine and the dose, not measured for the drink — milk, ice and strawberry do not change it. More detail on matcha caffeine.
How many calories are in an iced strawberry matcha latte? About 82 kcal with almond milk up to 184 kcal with whole dairy per glass, unsweetened with fresh strawberries — the milk sets most of it. Syrup or jam adds sugar and pushes it higher.
What does strawberry matcha taste like? Sweet-tart strawberry over a grassy, umami matcha base. The berry softens matcha's natural bitterness and the milk rounds it out, so it reads as fruity and creamy rather than green.
Can I use frozen strawberries or freeze-dried powder? Yes. Thaw frozen strawberries first, then mash them into a puree as usual. Freeze-dried strawberry powder works too — stir it into the milk or rehydrate it with a splash of water, and adjust the amount to taste rather than by a fixed weight.
Is the plain iced matcha the same as an iced matcha latte? No — the plain version uses 180–240 ml of cold water and no milk, so it is lighter and grassier. Add milk instead of water and it becomes an iced matcha latte.
Can I make it ahead, and will it separate? It is best made fresh, and matcha does settle as it stands. If you make it ahead, keep the matcha paste and the strawberry separate from the milk, then build and stir (or re-shake) just before drinking.
Is strawberry matcha healthy, and how much sugar does it have? The unsweetened fresh-strawberry version is mostly milk and fruit, from about 82–184 kcal per glass depending on the milk. Sugar depends on the route: fresh puree adds the least, while syrup and jam add more.
What milk is best for a strawberry matcha latte? Taste and calories both matter: oat is creamiest, almond is lightest at about 82 kcal, and whole dairy is richest at about 184 kcal per glass. Any milk uses the same 180–240 ml.
About the author & sources
Written and reviewed for accuracy by Erin Young, founder of Zen Green Tea, sourcing matcha directly from Japanese farms since 2012. The recipe amounts, temperatures and timings are working conventions she has reviewed; the calorie and caffeine figures trace to the sources below.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central — per-milk and fresh-strawberry calorie values (almond, skim, soy, 1%, oat, whole; strawberries raw), scaled and summed to a per-glass range
- PMC9792400 — per-gram matcha caffeine, used to estimate the drink's caffeine from the powder dose
The method, dose, ratio, temperature, volume, strawberry-amount, timing and grade figures carry no external citation by design — no authoritative source fixes a single recipe convention. They are working conventions reviewed by Erin Young and flagged as such wherever they appear.