The Matcha Table
喫茶去Built with the specialty cafés we love, on Era Ceremonial Matcha from Uji. Learn the bowl first. The rest follows.
Usucha薄茶
Usucha, thin tea, is the standard preparation of the Japanese tea ceremony and the honest way to taste a matcha. No milk, no sweetness, nothing to hide behind. Two grams, seventy milliliters of water, and thirty seconds of attention. Learn this bowl and every recipe below it becomes easier.
Ingredients
- Era Ceremonial Matcha, sifted2g (2 scoops)
- Hot water at 75–80°C70ml
Method
- Warm the bowl with a splash of hot water, swirl, and pour it out. Dip the chasen tines while you do; warm bamboo whisks better.
- Sift 2g of matcha into the bowl. Sifting is not optional. It is the difference between silk and clumps.
- Pour in 70ml of water at 75–80°C. Never boiling; high heat scorches the leaf and turns sweetness bitter.
- Whisk briskly in a W motion from the wrist, not the arm, keeping the tines just off the bottom of the bowl.
- When a fine, even foam covers the surface, lift the whisk slowly through the center. Drink from the bowl while the foam stands.
Made with
Honey Oat Matcha
A smooth and creamy iced matcha balanced with natural honey sweetness. The pinch of salt is not a gimmick; it rounds the honey and lets the matcha stay in front.
Ingredients
- Era Ceremonial Matcha3g
- Hot water at 70°C30ml
- Oat milk190ml
- Honey, to taste15–25g
- Fine saltsmall pinch
- Iceto fill
Method
- Whisk the matcha with the hot water until smooth and frothy.
- Stir the honey and a small pinch of salt into the warm matcha until fully dissolved.
- Fill a glass with ice and pour in the oat milk.
- Pour the matcha over the milk and stir before drinking.
Made with
Blueberry Pie Matcha
A fruity iced latte with homemade blueberry syrup and smooth layered matcha. Cooking the berries with brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon is what earns the word pie.
Ingredients
- Blueberries150g
- Brown sugar20g
- Water30ml
- Vanilla extract½ tsp
- Cinnamon¼ tsp
- Era Ceremonial Matcha3g
- Hot water at 75–80°C30ml
- Milk of choice180ml
- Iceto fill
Method
- Simmer the blueberries, brown sugar, and water until the berries soften and release their juices.
- Add the vanilla and cinnamon, then cook for 5–10 minutes until thick and syrupy.
- Blend until smooth and let cool completely.
- Add the blueberry syrup to a glass, then add ice and the milk.
- Whisk the matcha with the hot water until frothy, then pour over the milk.
Made with
Mango Matcha Latte
A tropical iced latte with sweet mango and smooth layered matcha. Ripe mango does most of the sweetening; the maple only fills the gap.
Ingredients
- Ripe mango flesh½ fruit (80–100g)
- Maple syrup10g
- Era Ceremonial Matcha3g
- Hot water at 75–80°C30ml
- Milk of choice180ml
- Iceto fill
Method
- Blend the mango and maple syrup with a splash of the milk until smooth.
- Fill a glass with ice and add the mango puree.
- Pour in the rest of the milk.
- Whisk the matcha with the hot water until smooth and frothy.
- Slowly pour the matcha over the milk to create layers, and stir before drinking.
Made with
Coconut Cloud Matcha
A light and refreshing coconut matcha layered with creamy cold foam. The coconut water underneath keeps it lighter than a latte; the matcha cream on top is the cloud.
Ingredients
- Coconut water150ml
- Double cream50ml
- Milk of choice20ml
- Era Ceremonial Matcha3g
- Hot water at 75–80°C30ml
- Maple syrup15–20g
- Iceto fill
Method
- Whisk the matcha with the hot water until smooth and frothy.
- In a separate bowl, combine the double cream, milk, and maple syrup.
- Add the whisked matcha and froth until smooth, thick, and pourable.
- Fill a glass with ice and the coconut water.
- Gently pour the matcha cold foam over the top and drink immediately.
Made with
Honey Oat Hojicha
A smooth and creamy iced hojicha balanced with natural honey sweetness. Roasted instead of shaded, hojicha trades matcha's grassy edge for toasted caramel depth, and carries a fraction of the caffeine, which makes this the evening drink on this page.
Ingredients
- Era Hojicha3g
- Hot water at 70°C30ml
- Oat milk190ml
- Honey, to taste15–25g
- Fine saltsmall pinch
- Iceto fill
Method
- Whisk the hojicha with the hot water until smooth and frothy.
- Stir the honey and a small pinch of salt into the warm hojicha until fully dissolved.
- Fill a glass with ice and pour in the oat milk.
- Pour the hojicha over the milk and stir before drinking.
Espresso
Every drink in this tab is built on a double shot, so this is the recipe to get right first. The numbers below are a starting point for our beans on any machine; taste, then adjust one variable at a time.
Ingredients
- Freshly roasted espresso beans18–20g
- Filtered waterin the machine tank
Method
- Preheat the machine fully and flush the group head before you start.
- Grind 18–20g to a fine espresso setting, directly into the portafilter, on a scale.
- Distribute the grounds level, then tamp straight down with firm, even pressure.
- Lock in and start the shot with your cup on the scale. Aim for 36–40g of espresso (a 1:2 ratio) in 25–30 seconds.
- Taste. Sour and fast means grind finer. Bitter and slow means grind coarser. Change one thing per shot.
Made with
Iced Americano
The iced americano is the region's true daily driver, and the most transparent drink on this page: nothing but espresso, water, and ice, so the bean does all the talking. This is the drink to order your Guji Hambela for.
Ingredients
- Double espresso36–40g
- Cold water100–120ml
- Iceto fill
Method
- Fill a glass with ice and pour in the cold water.
- Pull the double shot.
- Pour the espresso over the top so the crema settles on the surface, and stir once before drinking.
Spanish Latte
The Spanish latte earned its place on every café menu in the Emirates for a reason: condensed milk sweetens and thickens in one move, and it flatters a chocolatey shot. This is the version we make at home, finished with cinnamon.
Ingredients
- Double espresso36–40g
- Sweetened condensed milk25–40g
- Milk of choice160ml
- Ground cinnamona dusting
- Iceto fill (optional)
Method
- Stir the condensed milk into the hot espresso until fully dissolved.
- For iced: fill a glass with ice and milk, then pour the sweetened espresso over the top.
- For hot: steam the milk to silky microfoam and pour over the espresso base.
- Dust the surface with cinnamon and stir before drinking.
Made with
Iced Date Latte
A naturally sweet latte with dates blitzed straight into the milk. No syrup, no sugar, just fruit doing the work. The most local drink on this page.
Ingredients
- Pitted dates2
- Oat milk180ml
- Double espresso36–40g
- Iceto fill
Method
- Blend the dates and oat milk until completely smooth.
- Fill a glass with ice and pour in the date milk.
- Pull the espresso, pour it over the top, and stir.
Iced Mocha
A mocha built the café way: dark chocolate painted around the glass so it marbles through the milk, the rest dissolved into the hot shot where it belongs, then everything over ice. It should taste like coffee with chocolate depth, never like a milkshake.
Ingredients
- Dark chocolate sauce25–35g
- Milk of choice170ml
- Double espresso36–40g
- Iceto fill
Method
- Drizzle a third of the chocolate sauce around the inside walls of the glass and let it streak down.
- Pull the double shot and stir the rest of the sauce into it while hot, until fully dissolved. Hot espresso is what melts chocolate properly; cold milk never will.
- Fill the glass with ice and pour in the milk.
- Pour the chocolate espresso over the top and stir once before drinking.
Made with
Tiramisu Latte
Tiramisu means pick-me-up, which makes it the most honestly named coffee dessert there is. This is the drinkable version: chocolate-streaked milk and cocoa-bloomed espresso under a whipped mascarpone cream, with a ladyfinger on the rim doing the biscuit's job.
Ingredients
- Dark chocolate sauce10g
- Cocoa powder1 tsp, plus a dusting
- Milk of choice150ml
- Double espresso36–40g
- Whipping cream50ml
- Mascarpone30g
- Sugar10g
- Vanilla extract¼ tsp
- Ladyfinger biscuit1
- Iceto fill (optional)
Method
- Drizzle the chocolate sauce around the inside of the glass.
- Pull the double shot and stir the teaspoon of cocoa into it while hot. Blooming cocoa in hot espresso wakes the chocolate up.
- Add ice if serving cold, pour in the milk, then the cocoa espresso.
- Whip the cream, mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla together until thick but still pourable.
- Float the cream over the drink, dust with cocoa, and rest the ladyfinger on the rim.
- Dip the biscuit as you drink. That is the whole point of it.
