Made with white chocolate, butter, and cream and dusted with Japanese green tea powder, this decadent Matcha Chocolate (or Matcha Nama Chocolate) is simply irresistible. It’s rich with a truffle-like texture and just the right touch of sweetness.
This Matcha Chocolate, or what we call Matcha Nama Chocolate (抹茶生チョコレート) in Japan, simply melts in your mouth.
As I was testing this recipe, I knew I won’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!
Green tea powder, or matcha (抹茶), has a unique bitter taste to it. The flavor of “matcha” is quite different from the green tea served at Japanese restaurants. Matcha is typically used for making tea at the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This tea tends to be thick and exceptionally bitter, but it goes quite well with wagashi (和菓子), a traditional Japanese confectioneries that are very sweet by itself.
The color of matcha is a bright, beautiful green color, so if your matcha powder doesn’t have that nice vivid hue to it, your matcha is well past its prime. The green tea powder is also quite pricey, especially if it is of tea ceremony quality, but the culinary grade 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.
In Japan, there are many varieties of green tea chocolate in stores, including green tea Pocky’s, Melty Kiss, Kit Kat, and the popular ROYCE’ Chocolate.
When I made ROYCE’ copycat Nama Chocolate two years ago, I received many requests for the green tea version. I love anything with green tea, so I’m really happy to finally share this green tea version with you this year. Right in time for Valentine’s Day!
The cooking process for this recipe is very similar to the regular Nama Chocolate recipe, but white chocolate is used instead of regular chocolate. My only advice for you is to work fast to melt the white chocolate while the cream is warm.
Rich, yet not so sweet, decadent truffle-like matcha green tea chocolate, it is simply irresistible. If you love green tea sweets, this will be the ultimate treat for you.
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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
- 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.
Hi, would like to ask what if the matcha powder doesnt dissolve? is it because the matcha powder is of inferior quality?
Hi Juliet! Do you whisk the mixture? It’s natural that it takes time to get mixed completely (as you see in my video). It will dissolve eventually but you need to whisk quite a bit. Oh, and make sure to sift the powder so there will be no big chunk in the mixture. 🙂
Hi Nami, thank you for your fast and kind reply! will try again according to your advice 🙂
Good luck and hope it will come out well next time! 🙂
I just came across your recipe of 抹茶生チョコレート after coming from Japan with tons of them, wondering how could I survive until my next trip to Japan once I eat them all . I am a lover of Japanese culture (and that includes 和食), and I have to say that this is by far the best Japanese recipes blog I found ever. Thank you very much for sharing them, it’s like having a little bit of Japan here in Spain (and that makes me very happy!)
Hi Eva! Thank you so much for your kind comment! This recipe is very easy to make and ingredients are very simple, BUT you have to have the right ingredients. Please follow the recipe precisely and you will get delicious 生チョコレート! So happy to hear you like my blog and I hope you find many recipes you want to try from my blog. p.s. I learned Spanish in college for 2 years in Japan so that I can visit Spain…but haven’t had a chance to visit yet (and forgot most of Spanish already…:/). One day!
Hi, would like to ask, can i change the white chocolate to dark chocolate?
Well if you like to keep the green tea flavor, dark chocolate is too strong for green tea (color and flavor). I recommend only white chocolate for green tea. 🙂
Made these last night and they are truly divine. Thank you for sharing such an excellent recipe.
Hi MC! AWESOME! So glad to hear yours came out well! Thank you for trying this recipe. Aren’t they addicting? 🙂
Hi Nami, we tried this recipe out and we thought it tasted like sharp cheddar cheese. We’re curious, is it supposed to taste like that? How did yours come out? Granted, we did do something wrong with the milk, but it came out seeming fine, exactly like yours.
We did follow your steps, except where we messed up, but other than that, it was interesting. We liked it, but we couldn’t get over how close it seemed like cheese. The way it felt biting into it, cutting it, even slightly tastes like cheese.
Thank you for this recipe, it introduced us to cooking with green tea. We absolutely loved the color.
Hi Keni-Chan and Rin-Chan! Haha, I’ve never felt it tastes like sharp cheddar cheese. Must be strange feeling looking at the green food (chocolate) tasting cheese. 😀
I wonder if it’s something to do with white chocolate you used or heavy cream… You said “milk” but you mean heavy cream right? It is soft like cheese… this is like truffle but soft version. It’ll melt in your finger if you leave it out too long. Always have to be kept in the fridge.
I hope if you try next time it will come out tasting like green tea chocolate! 😀
Hi Nami,
Thank you so much for sharing this lovely recipe — I tried it a few weeks ago and it was very well received. So delicious! I especially liked this ‘easy cut’ way of making truffles. 🙂
This week, I thought I would try a little experiment with your recipe. I wondered: can it be done with coffee? The answer is, yes! I followed the same recipe, but added instant Espresso powder instead of the matcha. Originally, I added 3 ‘good’ teaspoons of coffee powder to the cream as it heated. After adding part of the white chocolate, a taste-test hinted that more coffee flavour was needed so I risked adding the dry powder at that stage and it still blended beautifully. I ended up using 5 teaspoons altogether, but I like a strong coffee. Less could be used, according to preference. So far, I’ve left the truffles plain, but I envision making them at Christmas with a light dusting of cocoa… or topping with crushed roasted hazelnuts… or perhaps a drizzle of white or dark chocolate… I also plan to try a coffee version with your chocolate truffle recipe. 😉
Again, どうもありがとう ^_^
Hi Elizabeth! You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Coffee! How awesome! And thank you for sharing your experiment in detail with me and other readers. I love coffee in all kinds of desserts, and this is something I’d love to try!
どうもありがとう!!
You’re most welcome! 🙂
Just a little extra note, in case anyone reading has trouble finding an instant Espresso powder (I know I couldn’t get it locally until last year). The Nescafé Instant Espresso that I used is a very fine powder — hence the reason it blended into the chocolate like the matcha did (I didn’t even need to sift it). If only a regular instant coffee (i.e. the coarse granules) is available, then dissolve all of the coffee granules in the cream before adding the chocolate. I’ve checked other coffee truffle recipes on line and this is what was recommended when using an ordinary instant coffee. 🙂
Thank you so much for your precise directions! I love detail info like this. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi, may i know where to get good matcha powder?
Hi Ivy!
I currently use Season with Spice’s green tea powder. Other brand I use is Maeda-en brand. Here’s more info.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/green-tea-powder-matcha/
Hi Nami!
I discovered your recipe through Pintrest, and I couldn’t be more excited about it! This chocolate looks divine! I was wondering if you could make it with dark chocolate instead of white? I know you wouldn’t get that incredible vivid green colour, but I was wondering if it is an option?
Thanks so much!
Hi Lauren! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. 🙂
Sure, you can use dark chocolate, but you won’t probably see the green tea color at all. Actually I’ve never made with dark chocolate and hard to tell what it will be like. Usually Japanese matcha treats use white chocolate for green tea and I assume the main reason is to keep the matcha flavor and fragrance. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for your response Nami! I actually dove right in and made a batch last night. I is heaven!!! And went over so well with the ladies in the office! I was wondering if you have tried freezing it and if it is still nice once thawed again? I was thinking this would be perfect to pre-make and bring out if guests stopped by 🙂
So happy to hear you liked it! Actually I learned that you can freeze it! It should be okay for up to 3 months. But for the best quality, it’s better when you make it fresh. 🙂
Hi, Nami!
Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!
My brother had a layover in Japan once when he was flying to Korea, so he bought some chocolates while he was waiting at the airport. That was the first time I tried Matcha Nama chocolate, and the Royce Nama chocolate– they were both delicious and I was so pleasantly surprised, because I’ve never been able to find such intense, pure matcha chocolates in the U.S! Needless to say, I was ecstatic to come across this recipe!
Please check out my post! 🙂
http://www.cookingwithyoon.com/add/2014/4/23/green-tea-matcha-chocolate
I really hope to travel to Japan one day– can’t wait to try all of the green tea confections; I’ve only recently tried the matcha kit-kats, because our local H-mart just started to carry it; they were a-mazing….!!
Sorry Yoon! I completely missed this comment! Thank you for trying this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Probably I’m the only one having this question:
2tbsp + 2 tsp of matcha BOTH should go into white chocolate mixture or 2 tsp are reserved for dusting when finishing?
Thank you for your answer 🙂
Hi Diana! Thank you so much for noticing this mistake. Yes, you’re exactly right! I updated the recipe. Thank you!!!
Hi Nami-
Thank you for posting this!! I made it and it was delicious!!! My family said so too!! I also made your kabocha and ground pork and your herb chicken with shio Koji. All were fantastic and healthy. And easy too! Thank u soooooo much!!! I LOVE the recipes and your website! I Will show my friends and sister. I have a request when u have time – I am looking for a recipe for the rice cooker – you know, the kind where you put everything in the rice cooker and cook all together.
I hope I will see it one day!
Thank u again!
Sandra
Hi Sandra! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, and I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoyed it! Also, thanks for trying other recipes too. I’m really glad you enjoy my blog. 🙂
What kind of rice cooker dish you’re talking about? Are you talking about takikomi gohan (mixed rice) dish, or more like other dishes that you use a rice cooker as a cooking device?
dear mam
fierst time i hear about green tea chocolate
i wiil try it
thank you zeena
Hi Zeena! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
These taste amazing! Just like green tea MeltyKiss~ Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe 🙂
Thanks so much Theresa! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi Nami! Today i’ve tried making this matcha nama choco. I did, in a way, succeed making it but the mixture didn’t seem to set in the fridge! It was all sticky and too soft that I couldn’t even lift it out of the glass container and the mixture got stuck to the parchment paper The taste was incredible as well as the color, just the solidity didn’t seem right.
What if I used Lindt white chocolate containing both cocoa butter and vegetable oil? Not a problem, I suppose?
What if I used Heavy cream that is described as “Light, for COOKING and DOES NOT WHIP”? Would that be the cause of the problem?
I really hope you could respond to me before Sunday since I need to make it again and give it as a gift to my boyfriend 😀
Thanks again, Nami!
Hi Allie! Although I’ve never came across to this problem before, I have read that this is a common mistake. As I mentioned in the Note section in the recipe, you need the right ingredients for this recipe. The heavy cream has to have higher fat content; “light” cream will work. Need the kind that can whip. Also, for chocolate, NO vegetable oil. It has to be cocoa butter.
Hope next batch will work! You can make hot chocolate drink out of the failure one. Good luck!
Yeah it does contain cocoa butter …. and vegetable fat as well 🙁 it’s a pity that I couldn’t find Lindt white chocolate that contains only cocoa butter just like yours in Australia. I’ll try looking for some other brands though
Allie, I didn’t carefully check if mine has any vegetable oil or not. Usually low quality chocolate has vegetable oil, but didn’t expect Lindt has it. I might be wrong – mine may have contain some. I just can’t confirm as I don’t have it with me… But do get the right cream. 🙂
http://www.lindtusa.com/shop/white-chocolate-swiss-classic-bar
According to the Nutrition facts, this Lindt White classic doesn’t contain vegetable fat 🙁 I have no idea why it does in Australia *sigh*
I’ll use the right whipping cream with the white Lindt I bought to see if it works, hopefully!
Thanks for checking Allie! I wonder why… 🙁 I hope the oil doesn’t separate when vegetable oil is in it. Maybe other brand might be better. Good luck!
Oh Nami! Im over-excited to tell you this! I’ve succeeded with the second batch 😀 really, it’s not the problem with the chocolate, just the cream!!! I didn’t get the right one last time. And my experience has proven that the chocolate doesn’t need to be 100% vegetable fat-free. As long as there is indeed cocoa butter in there, chocolate with a bit of veggie fat would work too. Thanks again for this amazing recipe Nami, and your website is just simply wonderfu!!! ありがとうございます with a lot of love <3
Hi Allie! I’m soooo happy to hear it was successful, and thank you very much for your feedback! Glad to find out the issue was just the cream! Hope you enjoyed the chocolate, and どうもありがとう! 🙂
This looks amazing! I am definitely going to try and make these one day. I don’t have any good quality ingredients for any of the recipes you have on here in the area that I live, but I will buy them if I come across them. Your website is amazing and I am so glad to have found it. I look forward to making these and other delicious treats in the future!
Hi Sabrina! Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m glad you enjoy reading my blog. 🙂 Hope you like recipes that I posted. Thank you for writing! xo