This iced grass jelly matcha latte has been one of my favourite ways of enjoying grass jelly at home! It’s lightly sweet, refreshing, and is the perfect treat.

I grew up eating grass jelly a lot with sweetened milk (if I remember correctly, we used sweetened condensed milk) and sometimes with cut up fruit. Apparently it has some health benefits, which kind of makes sense since it’s made from the leaves of Platostoma palustre (also known as Mesona chinensis). To make the grass jelly, the leaves are boiled until the liquid has thickened. Once cooled, the liquid will have a jelly consistency.

Where does Grass Jelly come from?

It’s really common in East Asian and South-East Asian desserts, but it’s usually called sương sáo or thạch sương sáo in Vietnam. I think in Vietnamese desserts, it’s often one of the ingredients for chè, which are Vietnamese dessert soups/puddings. I have a recipe for chè, but this kind doesn’t typically have any grass jelly in it.

What does Grass Jelly Taste Like?

Grass jelly has a subtle herbal flavour and is typically not sweetened when sold in cans. Sometimes, there are powdered kits that you can buy to make grass jelly at home.

Ways to Serve Grass Jelly

You can add more water and more sugar to these powdered kits. This will alter the texture so it’s softer and sweeter. I typically buy grass jelly at the Asian markets, but I haven’t seen the powdered kits where I live before. Granted, I also haven’t looked for them, but I’ll keep an eye out in the future!

This iced grass jelly matcha latte is one of the three ways I made grass jelly in a recent YouTube video! I hope you give grass jelly a try, it’s such a fun texture.

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