Sparkling Coconut Matcha Float

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Have you ever had sparkling matcha? Easily one of the more surprising things I’ve tried this year 🤯 Moshi sent me a bunch of their sparkling drinks, and with summer right around the corner I turned my favorite one into a float. Scoops of coconut and matcha ice cream, Moshi Sparkling Coconut Uji Matcha poured over the top, then sliced strawberries and strawberry Pocky sticks. It’s light and tropical with a sweet matcha base, and I think you’re going to love it!

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What Makes This Matcha Float So Good

A float is one of those lazy-genius desserts where you do almost nothing and it still feels like an event. Cold creamy ice cream hits cold fizzy liquid, the two start swirling into a soft foamy melt, and every sip is part drink and part scoop. It’s the same two-ingredient move as my red wine ice cream float, minus the booze and about ten times more summery.

The flavor is what sells it though. Coconut ice cream keeps things tropical and mellow, matcha ice cream deepens the matcha, and the sparkling matcha pulls both together while adding that fizz. Strawberries and Pocky on top are half garnish and half snack, and I am absolutely here for it. SO good on a hot day!

What Is a Matcha Float?

It’s a matcha drink with a scoop or two of ice cream floating in it, the same idea as a root beer float or an Italian soda float. Here I lean into matcha twice, using matcha ice cream AND a sparkling matcha drink, so the flavor actually lands instead of getting lost under the dairy. If you’re new to matcha and want the rundown on grades and flavor, my what is matcha guide breaks it all down.

Tips for the Best Sparkling Matcha Float

1. Chill everything first

This lives and dies on temperature, so I’d take it seriously. Freeze your glass for a few minutes, keep the ice cream rock solid until the last possible second, and make sure the sparkling matcha is cold straight from the fridge. Let anything warm up and you’ve got soup before you’ve taken a sip.

2. Ice cream first, fizz second, pour slow

Scoop the ice cream in, then pour the sparkling matcha over it slowly. Matcha and carbonation both foam up fast, and pouring at full speed will send it straight over the side of the glass and onto your counter. Let it settle, then top it off.

3. Use whatever sparkling matcha you can get

I built this with Moshi Sparkling Coconut Uji Matcha, which is why coconut runs all the way through it. They make a ton of Asian-inspired flavors like yuzu, lychee and vanilla, and Asian pear and ginger, and if you want to try them you can use my codes NOMTASTICFOODS10 for 10% off a 12-pack or NOMTASTICFOODS15 for 15% off a 24-pack. Any sparkling matcha works here though, and even plain sparkling water does the job.

4. Decide if you want a drink or a dessert

Four scoops makes this a proper dessert you eat with a spoon. Drop to one or two and it becomes a drink with a creamy top, which is what I go for on a really hot afternoon. Same ingredients, completely different thing, so build it for the mood you’re in.

Make-Ahead Notes

A float is a right-before-you-drink-it situation, so there’s no storing one once it’s built. Assembled floats just melt on you.

What you can prep is everything around it. Slice the strawberries, chill the glasses, keep the cans cold in the fridge, and then you can throw one together the second a craving shows up!

Equipment

• Ice cream scoop
• Tall glass

Ingredients

Makes 1 float.

• 2 scoops matcha ice cream
• 2 scoops coconut ice cream
• 1 can sparkling matcha (I used Moshi Sparkling Coconut Uji Matcha)
• A few fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 strawberry Pocky sticks

Substitutions and Swaps

• The matcha ice cream. Vanilla plus an extra splash of the sparkling matcha still gets you there, it’s just milder. If you can find matcha ice cream though, keep it, because it’s what makes the matcha read as matcha instead of a faint green note.
• The coconut ice cream. Vanilla or strawberry both work and neither one is wrong. Coconut is what makes this feel tropical rather than just sweet, so that’s the one I’d hunt for first.
• The sparkling matcha. Any brand works, and plain sparkling water is a fine swap if you want it less sweet and more refreshing. You lose the second hit of matcha flavor, so lean harder on the ice cream if you go that route.
• The Pocky. Totally optional and mostly there for the look, though I like having something crunchy to eat between sips. A wafer stick or a shortbread cookie does the same job.
• Making it dairy-free. Coconut milk ice cream is easy to find and honestly suits this better than you’d expect, since the whole drink is already leaning coconut.

Instructions

1. Chill a tall glass in the freezer for a few minutes and make sure your sparkling matcha is cold.
2. Add 2 scoops of matcha ice cream and 2 scoops of coconut ice cream to the glass.
3. Slowly pour the sparkling matcha over the ice cream so it doesn’t foam over. Let it settle, then top it off.
4. Tuck a few sliced strawberries around the top and add the strawberry Pocky sticks.
5. Serve right away with a straw and a long spoon, and drink it before it melts.

It’s lighter than a float has any right to be. The sparkling matcha keeps it from going heavy the way a soda float does, and the coconut and strawberry push the whole thing tropical.

This is a hot afternoon drink more than a dessert, and it’s worth playing with. Moshi does yuzu, lychee and Asian pear too, so there’s a version of this for whatever you’re into. 🙌

If you make this, leave a star rating on the recipe card and tell me in the comments what flavor combo you went with. It really helps other people find the recipe, and I want to know which Moshi flavor you’d float next!

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