I Am Addicted To Crack (Thanks Indiana!)

And by crack I mean green tea lattes from Starbucks sans syrup. Their matcha already has sugar mixed into it, I don't see the need for the syrup - it really just makes my teeth hurt. The man (and one of my favorite baristas) thinks they taste like grass, I think they're awesome.

Alas, my relationship with said crack is sometimes strained for one of two reasons: 1) I'm unemployed and broke and the $3.77 could be spent on groceries or gas, and 2) I'm trying to be productive and going to Starbucks = leaving the property = not being productive (unless I'm also going to upload several blog posts and look for jobs online).

Thankfully, on the days that I don't go into town, I don't need to be without my crack. I make one at home.

It's actually pretty easy to make foamy milk (notice I did NOT say 'steamed') at home. My Dad heats milk up in a saucepan and stands over it with a whisk and twirls the whisk meticulously to make a nice foamy milk for every latte he has every day (this adds up to oodles. Just so many cups of coffee....). Or he did until I got him a nespresso. The best gift I've ever given him. Especially since they weren't that popular when I got it for him and they were a good $20 cheaper.

There's also the microwave option.

I don't have a microwave, and I'm not going to stand over a saucepan with a whisk. I'm just not going to do it.

This is my solution:

Utensils. Not shown: spoon.

Heat milk on the stove. While milk is heating, add desired amount of matcha and sugar to jar with a lid. A new lid. Not last year's jam's lid. You'll thank me later when hot green milkiness stays in the jar instead of spewing out all over the place.

Add a teensy bit (like a tablespoon or so) of hot milk to the jar, and stir/smoosh with a spoon to get rid of any lumps. You can also swizzle with a whisk, but that defeats the purpose of making it this way - you could have just done the whole thing on the stove with said whisk. You can also ignore this steps if you don't mind getting some small lumps of green tea at the bottom of your jar. I don't care and usually don't want to get a spoon dirty.

Pour the hot milk into the jar. Close the lid. Firmly. Check to make sure it doesn't leak. (If it does, just wrap a kitchen towel around the band and hear me chanting "I told you so" in your ear as you curse last year's jam's lid). Shake like hell.

Enjoy!

Crack. Not very green, as my matcha is not very new.

Where do I get matcha powder? Honestly - from my mom. She lives in Vancouver and has better access to Asian goods. Asian grocery stores usually carry it, and you can get it online from amazon and tea companies and the like. Beware of tea aisles in conventional supermarkets - 'matcha teabags' are a trend. A trend that makes no sense to me, whatsoever, btw.