Matcha gelato

Matcha (抹茶) is a fine powder Japanese green tea that is prepared and served at Japanese tea ceremonies. Although I have never been to a formal Japanese tea ceremony, both my sister and my cousins had tea ceremonies at their weddings to show respect to our older relatives. Green tea ice cream is made by combining matcha into a standard gelato base.

I'm perfectly content to savor the rich matcha flavor in my new gelato creation without ceremony. Homemade matcha gelato has a stronger and more layered flavor than the commercially-produced green tea ice cream. In fact, I just had my first bite of the day... before 7am.

Thai tea ice cream

I love Thai iced tea. One time after ordering in pad thai (and tea, naturally), I poured my tea into my ice cream maker as an experiment. Sadly, the ice and water made the end product too crunchy. For these two flavor variations, I steeped the tea in the warming milk and cream, the same way I make earl grey ice cream.


Thai tea (also known as Thai iced tea) or "cha-yen" (Thai: ชาเย็น) in Thailand, is a drink made from strongly-brewed black tea. Other ingredients may include added orange blossom water, star anise, crushed tamarind seed or red and yellow food coloring, and sometimes other spices as well.



I also like bubble tea and the texture of mini-tapioca balls. I made two batches of Thai tea ice cream: one with candied ginger, and one with tapioca. I love that the tapioca made each scoop of ice cream look like the translucent blue and white bowls used in some Chinese restaurants.


I learned that tapioca doesn't have a great frozen texture, but as the ice cream melts in your mouth, it is as fun to eat as it would be in any pudding or soup.

Chai Ice Cream

Chai is black tea steeped in milk with spices, like star anise, cardamon, peppercorn, cinnamon, and allspice. When making ice cream, the freezing can mellow the flavors. Make sure your flavors are strong when you're brewing the milk tea mixture.



Adding extra spices will enhance the flavor. There's no limit to the different versions you can create.

earl grey

Earl grey ice cream was a hit over the weekend. Some friends picked up on the subtle flavors of the yellow and violet flowers in the loose tea that I used.



I also made some earl grey simple syrup that I used to make some great cocktails. Don't forget to add a splash of bitters to your earl grey cocktails. It'll make the flavors pop.