Matcha has been having a very big moment over the past few years, and as an avid fan of this earthy green tea drink, I’m happy to say there’s little sign of its popularity slowing down any time soon. As it becomes an even bigger part of many people’s daily routines, there appear to be more inventive flavour combinations popping up, comprising fruity blends, dessert-inspired drinks and more. From vibrant purple ube vanilla matcha lattes to earl grey, lavender and CBD, or blondie cookie butter flavours, I’ve made it a personal mission to try as many as I can.
The latest one to catch my eye? PerfectTed’s new banana bread matcha latte, created in collaboration with Instagram duo Sophia Tuxford and Cinzia Baylis-Zullo, better known as The Girls Bathroom.
Available exclusively in Tesco from yesterday (5 October), the limited-edition ready-to-drink can turns the pair’s long-running love of banana bread into a creamy matcha latte. It combines PerfectTed’s ceremonial-grade matcha with oat drink, banana flavour and warming cinnamon notes, making it sound like the liquid equivalent of a freshly baked loaf. I would personally serve this chilled with some ice, though it is designed to drink on-the-go straight from the can.
Banana bread has been a major food trend in its own right – that failsafe bake we all go to when in need of some comfort – so pairing it with matcha feels like a fairly inevitable, and rather delicious, next step. And PerfectTed is far from the only brand to experiment with mixing banana and matcha – Bird & Blend Tea Co. already sells a banana matcha blend designed for lattes and smoothies, while both Blank Street Coffee and Starbucks have added banana bread matchas to their menus over the past two years. I’ve even been lucky enough to try a genius banana bread matcha horchata at the famous Aguamiel in London. Tesco café itself has also been experimenting with more seasonal flavour combos, with its autumn menu featuring an apple pie and custard iced matcha with ceremonial grade matcha from PerfectTed.
For anyone who prefers to do their matcha mixing at home, PerfectTed’s wider range includes vanilla, strawberry, blueberry, pistachio and citrussy yuzu powders, alongside its original ceremonial-grade matcha. There are also oat matcha lattes in original, vanilla, blueberry and strawberry, plus a growing line-up of matcha energy drinks in flavours including juicy peach, very cherry, strawberry and lemon lime.
So, if banana bread is your bake of choice and matcha your daily drink, this might just be the collaboration you’ve been waiting for.
Make your own dream drink from scratch with our homemade matcha latte recipe and customise with different flavourings. We’ve also got plenty more banana bread and matcha-inspired drinks and bakes. Also read our olive review of the best matcha tea powders to buy.
