Lemon Juice
Andrew Chau & Bin Chen's Matcha Palmer
- Prep time 10 minutes
- Makes makes 1 glass; 2 cups lemonade and 1 cup matcha cold brew
Author Notes
The classic Arnold Palmer is lemonade and iced tea—standard iced tea, which usually means black tea. But Arnold Palmer played on the green, after all, so we think he'd appreciate a grassy matcha with his lemonade. We love to make our lemonade with Meyer lemons, which are a variety that is a cross between lemons and mandarin oranges; they have a less tart, slightly sweeter juice. If you just have regular lemons, it'll still be great (though you may want to add a little more sugar to balance the sourness). Or try the variation below using yuzu, the super floral Japanese citrus.
You have to be super careful when layering this drink—make sure to "hit the ice" because there isn't a whole lot of density difference to keep the liquids separate.
Variation: To make a yuzu lemonade, replace half the lemon juice with yuzu juice.
Hit the Ice: When you pour the matcha for the top layer, do it carefully, and always "hit the ice," as we say. Hitting the ice, instead of dropping the shot right in, gives the tea something to deflect against, slowing it down and spreading it in a clean horizontal layer. The good bobaristas always take time to hit the ice.
Reprinted from The Boba Book. Copyright © 2020 by Andrew Chau and Bin Chen. Photographs copyright © 2020 by Christopher Testani. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. —Food52
Ingredients
- Matcha Palmer
-
2 to 4 tablespoons
toppings of your choice, such as tapioca chia seed pudding, fresca konjac jelly
-
5 ounces
(by weight) ice cubes
-
4 ounces
Lemonade (recipe follows)
-
7 ounces
Matcha Cold Brew (recipe follows)
- Lemonade
-
2/3 cup
filtered water, cold or room temperature
-
2/3 cup
freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (from 4 to 5 medium-size lemons)
-
2/3 cup
white sugar
-
Matcha Cold Brew
-
1 1/2 teaspoons
matcha powder
-
7 ounces
(3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) cold filtered water
Directions
- Matcha Palmer
- Put the toppings, if using, in a glass, and add the ice and the lemonade. Gently pour in the matcha cold brew, aiming for the ice cubes to create the layering effect.
- Lemonade
- In a small pitcher, stir together the water, lemon juice, and sugar. Make sure the sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside or store in the fridge for up to a week.
-
Matcha Cold Brew
Place the matcha powder in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the cold water. Whisk vigorously to make a thin paste. Then slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup cold water and whisk vigorously until any clumps disappear.
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