Nonalcoholic Matcha Cocktail with Yuzu and Tonic

You want a sparkling drink without alcohol, where the matcha doesn't disappear behind the fruit. This nonalcoholic matcha cocktail starts with about 1 tsp (2 g) tea shaken in about 1 1/3 fl oz (40 ml) cold water. Add yuzu, syrup, tonic, and ice: one tall glass is ready in 6 minutes.

Add the tonic last to keep its bubbles. Taste it before your next batch if you're thinking of using less syrup; sweetness varies from one bottle to another. For a change without tonic, chilled matcha drinks offer other textures.

• Preparation 6 minutes
• Resting none
• Cooking none
• Total time 6 minutes
• Servings 1 tall glass
• Tools a small jar with a lid, a measuring cup, a tall glass, and a spoon

Nonalcoholic matcha cocktail ingredients

• About 1 tsp (2 g) matcha
• About 1 1/3 fl oz (40 ml) cold water to mix the matcha
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) yuzu juice
• 2 tsp (10 ml) simple syrup
• About 3 1/3 fl oz (100 ml) chilled nonalcoholic tonic
• 3.5 oz (100 g) ice cubes

How to assemble the nonalcoholic matcha cocktail

1. Pour about 1 tsp (2 g) matcha and about 1 1/3 fl oz (40 ml) cold water into a small jar.
2. Close the jar and shake for 30 seconds, until the powder is dispersed with no visible clumps.
3. Pour 1 tbsp (15 ml) yuzu juice and 2 tsp (10 ml) syrup into a tall glass.
4. Add 3.5 oz (100 g) ice cubes, then slowly pour in about 3 1/3 fl oz (100 ml) cold tonic.
5. Pour the matcha mixture over the tonic and stir once with a spoon.
6. Serve at once, while the drink is still sparkling.

Shake the matcha before opening the tonic. You can then assemble the drink without losing the bubbles while you mix the powder. Keep the bottle well chilled and open it at the last moment.

Which matcha stands up to yuzu?

For this matcha mixture, tasted with water before the tonic and yuzu go in, we choose our Jade matcha powder. Its subtler notes will be harder to pick out in the sparkling drink. The recipe also works with another matcha you enjoy with water.

How can you vary the fruit and keep it alcohol free?

For a raspberry version, replace the 1 tbsp (15 ml) yuzu juice with 1 tbsp (15 ml) unsweetened raspberry coulis. Strain it if you want a clearer drink. For peach and lychee, replace the yuzu with 1 tbsp (15 ml) lychee juice and add 0.7 oz (20 g) peach purée.

We'd use just one fruit at a time: the tonic and matcha already have their place. Peach makes the drink pulpier than the yuzu version. All these variations remain alcohol free.

Our tip. Pour the green matcha mixture gently over the chilled tonic and stir just once. The drink will keep its sparkle until the first sip.

Allergens. None of the listed ingredients is a common allergen; check the tonic and syrup labels.