Matcha Mojito

This gorgeous green Matcha Mojito is verdant, earthy and a fun twist on a classic cocktail. Perfect for entertaining!

I love a good mojito. They're sweet (but not too sweet), citrusy, herbaceous, refreshing, and best of all, easy to make!

This past Christmas, we decided to start a new family tradition of making an entire meal from a different cuisine. It was such a fun way to get everyone involved, to try new recipes, and to make new memories.

This year, we chose a Cuban theme. Mojitos are a classic Cuban cocktail, so my older brother spent a good part of Christmas afternoon mixing up fresh drinks for everyone.

I gotta tell you guys, they were SO. GOOD. Easily my favorite drink we've made at home recently. I may or may not have had two huge glasses in less than 30 minutes. (Don't worry – we had a HUGE feast to balance out all the rum ;))

Since then, we've definitely been on a mojito kick. While we love the classic recipe – rum, sugar, lime juice, mint and soda water – we thought it would be fun to add an herbaceous twist with brewed matcha tea.

The end result is a gorgeous green cocktail that tastes just as good as it looks! This makes for a lovely summer drink, or a fun St. Patty's project, if you're into that.

How to make a matcha mojito

Choose your matcha

Matcha has a complex, full-bodied, vegetal flavor profile. There are significant differences between different grades and varieties of matcha.

Ceremonial matcha, for example, has a very fine texture and mild, grassy taste and is best simply mixed with hot water for drinking. Culinary grade matcha, on the other hand, often has a stronger, more bitter flavor and is meant for use in food and beverage recipes.

We used premium grade culinary matcha for this cocktail, which is widely available both in stores and online. It's not cheap, but you'll only be using a small quantity in each application. This recipe, for example, only uses ¼ teaspoon for two drinks.

Brew matcha in hot water

Before adding the matcha to this cocktail, you'll first have to brew the tea. (Unfortunately you can't just add it right to the drink - it won't mix!)

To do so, bring water almost to a boil. Add ¼ teaspoon of matcha to a shallow mug, pour 4 oz of water in and whisk vigorously until the tea is frothy. Optional: you can sift the matcha into the mug if desired. You can also use a matcha whisk, but a regular whisk works fine in this recipe.

Once brewed, set aside and let cool. You'll be adding the brewed matcha to a cocktail shaker with ice, so it's best to let it cool to room temperature as to not melt the ice.

Muddle mint, sugar and lime

Grab two highball glasses, a bunch of fresh mint leaves, a lime and demerara sugar.

What is demerara sugar, you ask? It's a coarse, large-grain raw cane sugar with a pale brown texture. It's widely used by mixologists for its rich flavor, and it's often made into a syrup.

You really can taste the difference, so we suggest using when possible. However, demerara sugar can be difficult to find. Possible alternatives include turbinado sugar, light brown sugar or granulated sugar.

Add sugar and ten mint leaves to each glass and gently muddle until the leaves start to break up. Then, add lime juice and continue muddling until sugar is dissolved.

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Don't have a muddler? Use the handle of a wooden spoon instead.

Shaken, not stirred!

Next, grab a cocktail shaker, fill it with ice and pour in your cooled matcha and rum. Shake vigorously to the count of ten, then pour into glasses filled with crushed ice and muddled mint/lime/sugar mixture.

Top off with a splash of club soda, give it a stir and enjoy!

Optional: feel free to garnish with more fresh mint, lime slices and fresh raspberries for extra sweetness.

Matcha mojito mocktail version

To make an equally delicious nonalcoholic version of this matcha mojito, follow the instructions in the notes section of our recipe card. It's quite similar to the regular cocktail (without the rum, of course), with some slightly different ingredient quantities.

Other cocktail recipes you might like

• Guava Rum Cocktail
• Blackberry Cucumber Vodka Cocktail
• Long Island Iced Tea
• Bourbon Peach Basil Smash
• Lemon Lavender Mint Julep
• Mango Chili Turmeric Margaritas

If you make this matcha mojito recipe, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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