Recipe: matcha mango fizz, the summer drink that looks better than it should
Mango and matcha is a summer pairing that looks better in the glass than either does alone: gold at the bottom, green through the middle, fizz on top. It takes five minutes, it needs no blender if your mango is ripe, and at about 48mg of caffeine it is a better afternoon drink than a soft drink or an iced coffee.
Ingredients, one tall glass
One scoop of Mello Mushroom Matcha. 60ml of water at about 75 degrees. Half a ripe mango, diced, or 80ml of mango juice or puree with no added sugar. 120ml of chilled soda water. A glass of ice. Optional: a squeeze of lime, a teaspoon of honey if the mango is underripe, mint to finish.
Method
Sift the matcha into a bowl or wide mug, add the warm water and whisk in a W motion until smooth and lightly foamed. Put the diced mango in the bottom of the glass and press it down a little with a spoon, or pour in the juice. Fill with ice. Pour the matcha shot over the ice slowly so it sits above the mango rather than mixing straight through. Top with soda water. Add lime and mint if you have them. Stir just before drinking, or leave it layered and let people do it themselves.
The layering trick
Dense things sink. Mango puree is the heaviest, the matcha shot is next, and the soda is lightest, so pouring in that order and going slowly over ice keeps the three bands visible for a few minutes. It is entirely cosmetic and it is the reason this drink gets photographed.
Adjusting it
Sharper: a good squeeze of lime, which also stops the mango browning in a jug. Sweeter: a ripe mango does it on its own, otherwise a teaspoon of honey stirred into the warm matcha shot. Less fizz: half soda, half cold water. Stronger: two scoops, about 96mg of caffeine. A frozen mango version blitzed with ice makes a slushy that suits a hot day, though the layers disappear.
A jug for a barbecue
Four scoops of matcha whisked with 240ml of warm water. One large ripe mango blitzed with the juice of a lime. Combine in a jug with 500ml of cold water and keep in the fridge for up to two days. Pour over ice and top each glass with soda so it stays lively. Do not add the soda to the jug ahead of time; it will be flat within the hour.
Nutrition note
A serve of the matcha blend with water is under 5 calories. Half a mango is about 50 calories with naturally occurring sugar. Soda water adds nothing. The whole glass is roughly 55 calories with no added sugar unless you add honey, which is about 20 more.
Caffeine and timing
About 48mg a glass, which is roughly a third of a cafe double shot. Caffeine's half life of five to six hours means a 3pm glass leaves about 12mg at 10pm. Our sleep and half life article has the arithmetic, and our matcha comparison explains where the blend sits against plain matcha.
What is in the matcha
A ceremonial style matcha with six mushrooms listed as one blend on the pack. The mushrooms do not change the caffeine or the taste of the fruit; what each has been studied for is on our research pages.
The caveat
Anyone with a mushroom allergy should avoid the matcha. Anyone with another food allergy should read the allergen declaration on the back of the pouch. Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or managing a medical condition should check with a GP or pharmacist before adding a mushroom extract. Mello Mushroom Matcha is $49.99 for 30 serves, ships free Australia wide and carries a 30 day money back guarantee.