5-Minute Matcha Affogato

Easy Matcha Affogato Ice Cream Float

If you love matcha lattes and are looking for a quick and easy dessert recipe, then this matcha affogato is for you.

A Matcha Affogato puts an Asian twist on a simple Italian dessert recipe by pouring warm matcha over vanilla ice cream in place of espresso shots.

Affogato is Italian for drowned, and the espresso or matcha, drowns the ice cream or gelato into a creamy treat that you can partially eat with a spoon and finish off by drinking.

Why You’ll Love this Dessert

Only three ingredients – A homemade matcha affogato could not be easier to make. You just need matcha green tea powder, filtered water and ice cream.

Delicious sweet treat – If you love a good, creamy matcha latte, nothing beats high quality matcha tea poured over vanilla bean ice cream. Like an ice cream float, you’ll start off eating this sweet treat with a spoon, but finish it off by drinking the melted creamy mixture that remains.

Easily Customized with other flavors – While a traditional espresso affogato is served with vanilla gelato or ice cream, nothing says we have to stick to that for our matcha affogato. Matcha pairs well with all sorts of ice cream flavors, from strawberry to chocolate and more.

Love matcha and vanilla ice cream? Try this 3-ingredient matcha milkshake recipe for another easy and delicious treat.

Matcha Affogato Recipe

Ingredients

• Matcha Powder
• Hot Water
• Vanilla Ice Cream

Matcha Powder – Matcha is the star of the show in this dessert, so use a good quality matcha similar to what you’d use for making lattes.

I always use ceremonial matcha from Japan which has a bright green color, like encha matcha. A good rule of thumb for this recipe is to use a matcha that you enjoy drinking. Just steer clear of cheaper varieties which are often dark green and more bitter.

For people that don’t like matcha or say it’s too grassy, that’s usually because it’s not quality matcha and/or the water is too hot.

Keep in mind ceremonial matcha costs more than typical grocery store matcha, but very little is used per drink.

For this affogato, you certainly don’t need the most expensive matcha since the sweet ice cream will dominate the subtle nuances in the matcha.

Hot Water – Matcha is made by whisking the green tea powder with hot water.

For the best-tasting matcha, make it with filtered water. You can use bottled water or a Brita water filter pitcher.

Additionally, it’s important to not use boiling water. Matcha leaves are delicate and water that’s too hot causes them to taste bitter.

Only heat the water to 160-175 °F. I use the “delicate” temperature button on my Cuisinart electric tea kettle.

Vanilla Ice Cream – A classic Italian affogato pours espresso over vanilla ice cream which is exactly how I like to make matcha affogatos.

My favorite ice cream to use is vanilla bean. This way when the matcha “drowns” the ice cream it tastes like a decadent matcha latte.

Instructions

1. Heat water to 160-175 °F. Sift the matcha powder into a small bowl using a fine-mesh strainer to remove any lumps. Add the heated water to the matcha and whisk until smooth and frothy. You can use a traditional bamboo whisk, electric matcha whisk or shake the matcha and water in a cocktail shaker.
2. Scoop ice cream into a small cup or bowl and pour the warm matcha shot over the ice cream.
3. Garnish the matcha affogato with a sprinkle of matcha powder, if desired. I like to serve with a Pocky matcha biscuit stick.

Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.

Recipe Notes

Whisking the matcha: To get any lumps out of the matcha powder, sift it through a fine mesh strainer before adding water. You don’t need a bamboo matcha whisk, known as a chasten, to make matcha. The goal is to make it slightly frothy and free of lumps.

I make matcha with a matcha aerolatte whisk. It’s pretty much like a handheld milk frother, but it’s for matcha.

You can also just put the matcha and water into a drink shaker and shake it until it’s smooth.

Pouring the matcha over the ice cream: There’s no need to cool the matcha down before pouring it over the ice cream.

A regular affogato has hot espresso poured over it. Just like a shot of hot espresso, the warm matcha shot melts some of the ice cream.

Matcha Affogato Flavor Ideas

In Asian culture, matcha tea is often served with a sweet food.

Complementary foods to serve with matcha are often fruity or chocolate. So you can imagine how delicious a shot of matcha would be poured over scoops of flavored ice cream. Here are some ideas.

Strawberry Matcha Affogato – Matcha shots poured over strawberry ice cream. Garnish with fresh strawberries or strawberry Pocky sticks.

Chocolate Matcha Affogato – Drown a scoop of chocolate ice cream with matcha. Garnish with dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Or serve with Japanese chocolate Pocky sticks.

Green Tea Matcha Affogato – This variety is green tea-based, through-and-through. Just pour the matcha over a scoop of green tea ice cream.

More Delicious Matcha Recipes

• 3-Ingredient Matcha Milkshake
• Homemade Banana Matcha Smoothie
• Easy Strawberry Cream Matcha Latte
• Layered Strawberry Matcha Latte
• Homemade Starbucks Iced Chai Latte with Matcha Cream Cold Foam

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