Plain matcha whisked in water is about 6 calories a serving, from roughly 2 g of powder, which puts it right beside plain green tea. Turn it into a latte and the milk sets the number: from about 52 calories with unsweetened almond milk to about 154 with whole dairy, per cup. ⚠
How many calories are in matcha powder?
A 2 g serving of plain matcha powder has about 6 calories, or roughly 6 to 7 depending on the batch. Matcha is dried whole green-tea leaf, so whisked in water with no milk or sugar it is virtually calorie-free, comparable to a cup of plain green tea. The reason it stays so low is the dose: you are drinking about a level teaspoon of powder, not a full serve of food.
Per 100 g the figure is roughly 300 calories, but that basis rarely matters in the cup because you use only about 2 g at a time. ⚠ That per-100 g number comes from branded matcha nutrition labels rather than a laboratory analysis, so read it as approximate. If you want the wider picture of what is in the powder, see our guide to what's in matcha powder.
Does matcha have any sugar or carbs?
Plain unsweetened matcha has no sugar as prepared. Independent USDA FoodData Central branded matcha label data all show zero total sugars, so any sugar in a matcha drink comes from syrups, honey or sweetened matcha mixes, not from the matcha itself.
We do not publish a carbohydrate gram figure for matcha. The same branded labels disagree so widely on carbs that no single number is trustworthy, and for a drink you take at about 2 g a serve the calorie answer above is the one that counts.
Matcha calorie comparison table
Here is the full calorie picture in one place, normalised to a fair serving basis: powder per 2 g and per 100 g, and drinks per 240 ml cup with 2 g matcha, unsweetened.
| Drink / form | Calories | Basis | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain matcha (whisked in water) | ~6 kcal | per 2 g serving | headline near-zero |
| Matcha powder | ~300 kcal | per 100 g | ⚠ branded-label data, approximate |
| Latte, unsweetened almond milk | ~52 kcal | 240 ml + 2 g | lowest |
| Latte, skim dairy | ~88 kcal | 240 ml + 2 g | |
| Latte, unsweetened soy | ~98 kcal | 240 ml + 2 g | |
| Latte, 1% dairy | ~110 kcal | 240 ml + 2 g | |
| Latte, unsweetened oat | ~123 kcal | 240 ml + 2 g | |
| Latte, whole dairy | ~154 kcal | 240 ml + 2 g | highest home build |
| Iced matcha latte | ~52–154 kcal | 240 ml, by milk | ≈ hot; ice adds nothing |
| Starbucks matcha | higher (pre-sweetened) | per size | ⚠ direction only, no figure |
| Strawberry matcha latte | higher again (syrup) | per drink | ⚠ direction only, no figure |
| Black coffee | ~2 kcal | 240 ml | |
| Espresso shot | ~3 kcal | 30 ml shot | |
| Plain green tea | ~2 kcal | 240 ml |
How to read this table: powder figures are per-100 g branded-label values; latte totals are derived unsweetened, as are the iced figures; Starbucks and strawberry rows are direction only, not exact counts; coffee, espresso and green tea are brewed-beverage references. Latte figures are calculated from each milk's calories plus the few in the matcha, not measured drink by drink, and assume no added sweetener. We leave out 2% dairy and coconut milk because no matching reference figure exists.
How many calories are in a matcha latte, and why milk is the biggest factor?
An unsweetened matcha latte runs from about 52 calories with almond milk to about 154 with whole dairy, per 240 ml cup. ⚠ Milk choice is what moves the number, because the matcha itself adds only a few calories and the milk does the rest.
On its own, a cup of milk ranges from about 47 calories for unsweetened almond up to about 149 for whole dairy, with skim around 83, unsweetened soy around 93, 1% around 105 and unsweetened oat around 118 in between. Those latte totals are derived, not measured: they add each milk's calories to the couple in the matcha and assume no sweetener, so a syrup pump or sweetened milk pushes them higher.
If you want a matcha that holds its colour and flavour in milk, that is exactly what a premium grade is built for. Zen's premium-grade Japanese matcha is made to stay smooth and vibrant under milk, so the calories stay in the milk you choose, not in extra powder to cover a flat taste. For the method, see how to make a matcha latte.
How many calories are in an iced matcha latte?
An iced matcha latte has essentially the same calories as the hot version made with the same milk, about 52 to 154 per cup depending on which milk you pour. ⚠ Ice adds nothing, so the figure is derived straight from the hot latte, unsweetened. The catch is what usually comes with an iced version: flavoured syrups or sweet cream, which lift it well above the plain build.
How many calories are in a Starbucks matcha?
A Starbucks matcha is much higher in calories than a plain or unsweetened home matcha, because it is built on a pre-sweetened matcha powder plus milk. ⚠ We are not putting a specific number on it here: the AU and US recipes differ and the official per-size figures still need confirming, so treat this as direction, not a measured total. ⚠ For a lighter take you can build yourself, see the Starbucks-style matcha recipe.
How many calories are in a strawberry matcha latte?
A strawberry matcha latte is higher again, because the strawberry syrup or puree sits on top of the milk-and-matcha base. ⚠ As with the Starbucks version, the exact total depends on the recipe, so we flag the direction rather than a figure. ⚠ The strawberry matcha latte recipe shows how the syrup changes the drink.
Matcha vs coffee: which has more calories?
Unsweetened, both barely register: a cup of matcha is about 6 calories from its 2 g of whole leaf, and black coffee about 2. An espresso shot is about 3 calories, and plain green tea about 2. So the drink you start with hardly counts. What you add decides it: a splash of milk, a spoon of sugar or a pump of syrup is where the calories come from, in matcha and coffee alike.
Is matcha good for a calorie-controlled diet?
Plain unsweetened matcha is naturally low in calories, which makes it an easy choice when you are watching your intake. The honest version is simple: an unsweetened cup costs you almost nothing calorie-wise, so it is a flavourful swap for higher-calorie drinks, and you control the total by what you add. We are not claiming matcha burns fat or speeds weight loss. If you are interested in the wider picture, our guide to matcha's health benefits covers what the research does and does not support.
How to make a low-calorie matcha latte at home
The lowest-calorie matcha latte at home is 2 g matcha with unsweetened almond milk and no added sweetener, about 52 calories a cup. ⚠ Unsweetened soy is the next step up, and dairy climbs from there. There are really only two levers: the milk and the sweetener. Pick a lighter milk and skip the syrup, and the drink stays low without losing the matcha.
Because you drink the whole leaf, a good matcha carries plenty of flavour at that small 2 g dose, so you do not need to sweeten it to enjoy it. Zen's premium-grade Japanese matcha is sourced direct from Japan and cold-stored for freshness, rich in EGCG with up to 3× the catechins of regular green tea, and it whisks smooth enough to drink unsweetened. Pair it with the matcha latte method and you have a low-calorie latte you can make in a minute.
Matcha calorie FAQ
How many calories are in a teaspoon of matcha? About 6 calories. A level teaspoon is roughly 2 g of powder, and plain matcha whisked in water stays close to plain green tea.
How many calories are in matcha powder per 100 g? Roughly 300 calories per 100 g, though you rarely drink that much: a serving is about 2 g. This per-100 g figure comes from branded matcha labels, so treat it as approximate. ⚠
Does plain matcha have sugar? No. Plain unsweetened matcha has no sugar as prepared; the sugar in a matcha drink comes from syrups, honey or sweetened mixes, not the matcha.
How many calories are in an almond-milk matcha latte? About 52 calories per cup with unsweetened almond milk and no sweetener, the lowest-calorie common build. ⚠ It is derived from the milk plus a few calories of matcha.
How many calories are in an oat-milk matcha latte? About 123 calories per cup with unsweetened oat milk, unsweetened. ⚠ Sweetened or barista oat milk runs higher.
Is an iced matcha latte lower calorie than hot? No. For the same milk it is essentially the same, about 52 to 154 calories depending on milk, because ice adds nothing. ⚠ Syrups and sweet cream are what raise an iced version.
Does matcha or coffee have more calories? Barely either. Unsweetened, a cup of matcha is about 6 calories from its 2 g of whole leaf and black coffee about 2, both so low that milk and sugar decide the real difference.
What's the lowest-calorie way to make a matcha latte? Use unsweetened almond or soy milk and skip the syrup, for about 52 calories a cup with almond. The milk and the sweetener are the only real calorie levers.
About the author and how we source these numbers
Written and reviewed for accuracy by Erin Young, founder of Zen Green Tea. She has sourced matcha directly from Japanese farms since 2012, visiting growers on the plantations many times. We normalise every figure to a stated serving size — powder per 2 g and per 100 g, drinks per 240 ml cup — and cite it below against primary sources. Where a latte total is derived rather than measured, or a source omits the serving size, we flag it in the text. We round nothing away.
The calorie numbers on this page trace to public reference databases, not estimates we invented.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central and FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database — branded matcha label data (three independent 100%-matcha entries) plus green-tea figures for the brewed cup, covering plain matcha and any added sugar
- USDA FoodData Central — milk calorie values for almond, soy, skim, 1%, oat and whole milk, per 100 g scaled to a 240 ml cup
- Latte totals — derived by adding each milk's calories to the matcha, unsweetened, not measured drink by drink
- USDA FoodData Central and FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database — brewed-beverage figures for coffee, espresso and green tea
- Cafe drinks — given as direction only; we publish no specific calorie number without a confirmed per-size figure