Matcha Chocolate (Nama Chocolate) are rich squares of white chocolate and cream flavored with Japanese green tea powder. With a truffle-like texture, they practically melt in your mouth! Follow my recipe and tips to make this decadent Japanese sweet at home.
Matcha chocolate, or what we call Matcha Nama Chocolate (抹茶生チョコレート) in Japan, is a special treat that practically melts in your mouth. As I was testing my Matcha Chocolate recipe, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them, so Mr. JOC took them to work. He told me later, “The green tea chocolate disappeared in seconds.” I promise you, it’s really good!
Read on as I share with you my recipe, tips, and techniques for making these irresistible white chocolate and matcha squares. They may become your new favorite sweet treat!
Table of Contents
What is Matcha?
Matcha (抹茶), is green tea powder made of top-quality tea leaves of Camellia sinensis. The young leaves are shade-grown, then stone-ground into a delicate fine powder. It has a slightly bitter taste to it.
Matcha is typically used for making tea at the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This tea tends to be thick and have a bitter flavor, but it goes quite well with wagashi (和菓子), traditional Japanese confectioneries that are very sweet by itself. This beverage is quite different from hot tea served at Japanese restaurants made from steeping green tea leaves.
The color of matcha is a bright, vibrant green color. If your matcha powder doesn’t have that nice vivid hue to it, your matcha is well past its prime. Green tea powder is also quite pricey, especially if it is ceremonial grade, but culinary grade matcha is good enough for baking and making these chocolates.
As you may already know, green tea delivers a healthy dose of antioxidants and cancer-fighting power. Catechins in green tea are also known to have many beneficial health properties and matcha has greater potential health benefits than other green tea.
What is Matcha Chocolate?
Rich, yet not so sweet, decadent truffle-like matcha green tea chocolate, matcha chocolate is simply irresistible. If you love green tea sweets and desserts, this will be the ultimate treat for you.
In Japan, there are many varieties of green tea chocolate in stores, and they make a lovely gift for matcha fans. These include green tea Pocky’s, Melty Kiss, Kit Kat, and the popular ROYCE’ Chocolate.
When I shared my copycat recipe of ROYCE’ Nama Chocolate two years ago made with dark chocolate, I received many requests for the green tea version. I love anything with green tea, so I’m really happy to finally share this matcha-lovers treat with you. Cheers!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- white chocolate – I use Lindt White Chocolate Swiss Classic Bars
- heavy (whipping) cream – 38% fat content
- unsalted butter
- matcha (green tea powder) – for the chocolate mixture and for dusting on top; it’s fine to use culinary grade matcha here
How To Make Matcha Chocolate
The cooking process for this recipe is very similar to the regular Nama Chocolate recipe, but it uses white chocolate instead of regular chocolate.
- Line a square baking dish with parchment paper.
- Chop the white chocolate bar and butter into small pieces with a knife.
- Add the heavy cream into a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat on the stove. Remove from the heat when bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Do not boil.
- Mix the white chocolate and butter into the warm cream with a rubber spatula until smooth. Work fast to melt the chocolate while the cream is warm.
- Sift and add the matcha into the smooth white chocolate mixture. Mix until homogeneous in color.
- Pour into the baking dish. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Slice into squares, dust with green tea powder, and serve chilled.
It’s best to consume these chocolate squares right away, but you can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2–3 days.
Tips for Making Matcha Chocolate
- Use perfectly dry bowls and utensils. Even a small amount of water or steam can cause the chocolate to seize during the melting process.
- Select white chocolate that contains cocoa butter. High-quality white chocolate will be ivory in color. Some inferior brands contain vegetable fat that make the chocolate white-colored and should be avoid.
- Use heavy cream with 38% fat. Cream has differing fat content. The type with 38% fat is known as heavy (whipping) cream and it’s used to make whipped cream.
- Work fast to melt the chocolate while the cream is warm and before the mixture solidifies as it cools.
FAQs
Why did my chocolate release oil?
This is called separation, and it happens when you get the chocolate too hot. When chocolate gets too hot, the cocoa butter separates from the solids, and there is no way to salvage it (although you can bake with it and it tastes fine).
The best way to prevent separation is to use gentle heat (simmer on lowest heat) and stir frequently. Since we’re not using a double boiler in this recipe, make sure you do not bring the heavy whipping cream to a full boil. Remove from heat as soon as you see bubbles around the edges of the saucepan.
Why did my chocolate seize?
Seizing happens when moisture is introduced to melted chocolate. This can be even a tiny amount of liquid or steam. It happens all of a sudden from a smooth bowl of liquid chocolate to a lumpy, grainy mass of chocolate.
To fix seized chocolate, stir in vegetable shortening, 1 tablespoon per 6 ounces of chocolate, until fully incorporated and the chocolate loosens. You could also whisk in 1 teaspoon of boiling water and at a time until the chocolate becomes smooth, but the chocolate will become diluted.
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Matcha Chocolate
Video
Ingredients
- 14 oz white chocolate (you‘ll need 4 Lindt White Chocolate Swiss Classic Bars and measure the weight to get 400 g; see Notes)
- ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream (see Notes)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder)
- 2 tsp matcha (green tea powder) (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires 4–5 hours or overnight of chilling time. Gather all the ingredients. You will also need 1 8- x 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
- Chop 14 oz white chocolate into small pieces so it will melt quickly.
- Cut 2 Tbsp unsalted butter into small pieces.
- Add ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream into a small saucepan and bring it ALMOST to a boil over medium heat. Keep an eye on the cream; when you see bubbles around the saucepan, remove from the heat.
- Immediately add the white chocolate and butter. With a rubber spatula, mix all together.
- The mixture will start to solidify, so melt the chocolate and butter while the cream is still warm.
- Once the mixture is smooth, sift and add 2 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) into the mixture.
- Mix and combine together until the color is homogeneous.
- Into a prepared the baking dish lined with parchment paper, pour the green tea chocolate mixture.
- Tap the baking dish a few times on the kitchen countertop to remove any air bubbles. Flatten the surface with the rubber spatula if necessary. Refrigerate for 4–5 hours or overnight.
- Lift the parchment paper to remove the green tea chocolate from the baking dish. Run the sharp knife under hot water to warm up the knife and wipe it dry completely.
- Slice the 8- x 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) chocolate block into 4 smaller squares, then cut each square into 9 small pieces.
- Dust 2 tsp matcha (green tea powder) on top of the chocolate. Store the chocolate in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve chilled.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for 2–3 days, but it‘s best to enjoy it sooner.
Notes
- Make sure the bowls and utensils you are using are perfectly dry. Even a small amount of water/steam can “seize” the chocolate melting process.
- When buying white chocolate, make sure that it contains cocoa butter because some inferior brands contain vegetable fat. White chocolate should be ivory-colored (white chocolate made with vegetable fat is white-colored).
- The fat content for heavy (whipping) cream is 38%, which is used to whip cream.
- Separation (oil came out of the chocolate) happens when you get the chocolate too hot. When chocolate gets too hot, the cocoa butter separates from the solids, and there is no way to salvage it (although you can bake with it and it tastes fine). The best way to prevent separation is to use gentle heat (simmer on lowest heat) and stir frequently. Since we’re not using a double boiler in this recipe, make sure you do not bring the heavy whipping cream to a full boil. Remove from heat as soon as you saw bubbles around the edges of the saucepan.
- Seizing happens when moisture is introduced to melted chocolate (even a tiny amount of liquid or steam). It happens all of a sudden from a smooth bowl of liquid chocolate to a lumpy, grainy mass of chocolate.
Nami….I tried to make this today and i failed terribly! i followed step by step but for some reason the green tea seems not to mix with the mixture and later its just a lot of green oil on top…it’s kind of gross. i dont know what i did wrong? i got the lindt white chocolate. only thing is i got heavy cream. is that the reason?
i also want to know even though the mixture is now very lumpy and grainy…is it still edible? this recipe might look easy to make but it’s actually not that easy hahaha
Maybe yours got actually seized if it became lumpy and grainy – probably somehow water/steam got into the chocolate. It can be a tiny bit of water from your hand, utensil, pot…steam… The recipe is simple but handling chocolate in general needs a little more attention I guess. It’s very common and I’ve done this mistake a few times in the past (and threw away chocolate – I didn’t know then that I can still use it).
You can read more about it here: http://candy.about.com/od/workingwithchocolate/a/chocmistakes.htm
Hope that helps. Don’t give up! 🙂 I’ve been through and now I’m very careful about water with chocolate. 🙂
Hi Shaona! I updated the recipe with new Note section as a few people have trouble with seizing the chocolate. However, in your case, it looks like the chocolate was overheated and separation happened. Make sure not to bring the heavy whipping cream (or heavy cream – same thing) a full boil. As soon as you see the bubbles around the edges of the saucepan, remove from the heat (please see the video).
Hope this helps. 🙂
Thanks Nami. I will keep trying until I succeed! =)
I’m not sure what I did wrong but after I put in the chocolate and stir for a bit, the mixture goes from smooth to grainy. It’s like it’s separating. I went ahead and added the butter then lastly the matcha anyway. I ended up being unable to get it smooth at all. Does anyone know why it separated?
Hi Mei! From your description, it sounds like your chocolate is seized. This happens when the pot or your utensil is wet (I mentioned details it in my Note section in the recipe). Even small amount of water could cause this.
Please read details here: http://candy.about.com/od/workingwithchocolate/a/chocmistakes.htm
Make sure all utensil, pot, your hand… everything is not wet when you deal with chocolate. I hope this helps. 🙂
Hi Nami!
Hmmm.. that’s what I thought too, but I had rinsed my pot beforehand and then turned the heat on to evaporate all the water. I let the pot cool before using it so it should be dry. I rinsed my spatula and left it to dry for a good couple of hours while I did something else, should be dry too. I didn’t touch the chocolate with my hands, chopped it on wax paper and transferred it that way. Knife was also dry. I was very careful to keep things dry. I attempted making Green Tea Nama Choco’s twice, but both times I failed the same way T^T
Could the problem be with the cream being too hot when I mixed in the chocolate? I think I could have kept a closer watch on the cream…
Hi Mei! So sorry for my late response. I failed to flag your comment (email) and I just discovered it in my inbox. I apologize for my late response. Yeah, that could be right – maybe the separation could have happened. I removed it as soon as I see the bubbles around the edges, so it’s not full boil. Also a kind of chocolate could be a reason too. One of the readers who tried the recipe changed the chocolate and it worked perfectly. Hope this helps. 🙂
I have a quick question about this.
I am planning to make this for V-Day this Friday and going to make a lot.
Is it okay to make it before and store it?
If so, how would store it? Refrigerator?
And how many day until it goes bad?
Thank You!
Hi Nash! Yes, you can make ahead. I wrote in Step 12 that you can keep in refrigerator for 2-3 days. 🙂
Thank you!
I have another question about this. Is it possible to make White Nama chocolate just by skipping the Green Tea portion?
And what should I do if the chocolate sticks to the paper?
Hi Nash! Sure, you can skip the green tea powder if you like. However I haven’t made it just white chocolate. I hope the recipe still works without it. It should, but I haven’t tried yet… 🙂
This’ll be the first recipe I try with the green tea matcha I won 🙂
Hi Theresa! AWESOME!! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Is this recipe as sweet as the green tea chocolate on kit kats and pocky?
Hi Nancy! It’s really up to what kind of chocolate you use since there is no additional sugar involved. 🙂
Hi Nami, did you use salted or unsalted butter here? Thanks!
Hi Shaona! I recommend using unsalted butter for cooking and baking so that you can adjust the salt later on if you need to. I updated the recipe with “unsalted”. Thank you for pointing that out. Hope you enjoy this recipe. 🙂
I have only recently discovered matcha as a cooking ingredient and i’m completely in love with it. Just as the roasted sesam seeds give your “Sesam Cookies” an unique nutty and complex flavor; the matcha in the “Green Tea an White Chocolate Cookies” give perfumed taste and aroma to these, which turned out to be my favorite recipee. Thanks a lot for sharing this and so many other wonderful recipees!
Hi Raquel! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy matcha! You will love these chocolates. 🙂
Hi Nami,
This green tea color looks amazing! I can’t wait to make some of these and tell you how they turn out. I notice that the powder you used in the video is different than the “season with spice” matcha. I was wondering if they taste different or would it matter? The “season with spice” seems lighter and you said it should be vibrant and I just want some suggestions before I make the purchase.
Thanks for amazing recipes! I am officially a fan.
Hi Katie! Thank you! I use Season with Spice matcha. Their website shows the green tea powder which looks a bit lighter in photos, but they have good quality matcha. If you use poor quality matcha, the final outcome will not have nice green tea color and taste/flavor is a bit different. 🙂
Hi, I just tried to make this green tea chocolate. Everything is looking good until I mix the green tea powder because there are some kind of oil coming out from the mixture. Did I fail to make the chocolate?
Hi Allison! I’m so sorry for not responding till now. I usually flag emails (comments) with question, but somehow yours were not flagged and I didn’t realize till now. I apologize for my very late response.
So did the mixture became smooth after the oil coming out from the mixture? Or was it completely separated and oil part didn’t blend well with the mixture? Were you able to put it in the container and refrigerate properly?
The mixture was still blend together after mixing with the chocolate and butter. But as soon as I putting in the green tea powder, I see a thick layer of green oil flowing out from the mixture and the mixture start to break apart. In the end, I did put it in the container and refrigerate it. It came out good but I was wondering if I put too much green tea powder or the green tea is no good.
Hi Allison! Thank you so much for getting back to me! I assume you add green tea powder after you combined butter and the chocolate well. Maybe while you are adding green tea powder, oil got separated from the mixture? Was your mixture looked like mine (see video) when you added the green tea powder? My mixture didn’t change much after adding green tea into the chocolate. What kind of green tea did you use? Should be 100% pure matcha, not ones with sugar etc (that’s for drinking)… just in case. Hope the chocolate was good though, despite this issue. 🙂
And one more thing – I was thinking about it and forgot to mention about the white chocolate. Make sure to use good white chocolate as inferior ones have vegetable fat, instead of cocoa butter. I updated the recipe with that info as well. 🙂
Hmmmm…any advice what I may have done wrong? I halved the recipe, followed the instructions. It looked pretty good after I mixed the white chocolate and butter. But after I sifted in the green tea and mixed, I noticed it started looking watery, not as solid as yours. It’s in the fridge now…but not looking quite right…I’m not sure if it will solidify as it should.
Hi Anne! We discussed earlier but just wanted to check in to see how the final result was. When you pour, the mixture should be runny, so yours should be okay. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi Nami, RUNNY!! Yes, that’s what mine looked like. I didn’t see yours looking runny in the video so I thought I did something wrong. The green tea taste for mine was too light – I may need to add more matcha, as I used a different brand of white chocolate (Godiva). Is it supposed to stay relatively soft even with refrigeration? I was thinking it would be hard, like chocolates you buy off the shelf. Will be trying to make a yummier (and prettier) batch tonight!
Hi Anne! Yes, “Nama Chocolate” is supposed to be soft like truffles, not hard chocolate. Yeah could be the chocolate brand. Good luck with another batch tonight! 🙂
Hi Nami,
The video tutorial was very helpful. Love the vibrant color of the green tea powder. The matcha chocolates look like marshmallows.
Thank you Candice! 🙂 I agree, the vibrant green tea color is so gorgeous. I love the taste and color of matcha. 🙂
Ohh…so excited to try this! 🙂
Thank you Patty! Hope you will enjoy this! 🙂
Love green tea and white chocolate, what a perfect combination! Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you for checking out the recipe, Angelica! 🙂
Love this idea and look deliciousness! cant wait to try this out!
Thank you Marléne! Hope you like this recipe! 🙂
Aloha Nami! I was thrilled to see that you posted this Green Tea Chocolate recipe! I was just thinking about Valentines Day and how I wanted to make something special for my husband! You have saved me a lot of pondering! I know now exactly what to make!
I do love all your recipes and use them often. My husband and friends think that I am a awesome cook because of you! 🙂
Thank you so much for making cooking fun!
Aloha Christiane! Aww I’m so happy to hear you’ve been trying my recipes. Thank you! Have fun cooking Japanese foods! 🙂
Hi i am so grateful i found your recipe. I just made this today, and i refrigerated it. I am wondering… what does freezing vs refrigeration do for this recipe?
Hi Joy! Nama Chocolate is supposed to be refrigerated all times and it’s also sold refrigerated at the store to keep the fresh cream quality. Not sure about freezing it…
I made your regular mama chocolate as well a tweaked version of this. Instead of matcha I used freeze dried strawberries crushed into a fine powder and got a lovely pink. Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
I love your recipes, thank you!
Hi Grace! Wow, what a great idea using freeze-dried strawberries! Thank you very much for trying this recipe and sharing your tip with us!