A combination of sweet Indian chai coupled with matcha foam makes a chai matcha latte. Indian black tea leaves ( chaipatti) are brewed with a combination of spices like ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon to obtain a sweet chai, which is then mixed into matcha foam. A soothing and relaxing hot tea latte made by combining the two best Asian tea flavors.
Jump to:
- 🥘 Ingredients for making chai matcha latte
- Equipment
- 🔪 How to make matcha chai latte?
- 🍵 How and when to serve chai matcha latte?
- 🫙Storage and reheating instructions
- 💭 Pro Tips for making a perfect chai matcha latte
- ❓Frequently Asked Questions
- Suggested tea recipes
- 📝 Recipe Card
- Chai Matcha Latte
- 📋 Nutrition Facts
What is chai matcha latte?
Chai is not a sheer drink in India, it is an emotion. It is a way of life. Matcha to Japan is what chai is to India. Matcha is a Japanese green tea powder made by grounding the dry green tea leaves into a super fine powder.
Starbucks did a great job by combining these two tea flavors. I have taken the inspiration from them to create this healthier version of chai matcha latte.
A combination of sweet Indian chai coupled with matcha foam makes a chai matcha latte.
Why will you love this recipe?
- For the love of Chai. If you like Indian chai, you will also enjoy this hybrid tea.
- Yes, for the matcha. Matcha is a thing in itself. It has stimulating effects and boosts your energy levels.
- Health benefits. Matcha tea is filled with antioxidants, that help in reducing heart disease risk and assisting in weight loss. This recipe uses ginger, clove, star anise, etc. All these spices have a lot of health benefits. This chai matcha latte also acts as an herbal tea that is good for your health in all totality.
- Delicious. Yes, will please all chai and matcha lovers alike.
- Easy to make. This is a quick and easy drink to make.
- You can also make it cold and enjoy iced chai matcha.
- Use plant-based milk like oat milk, coconut milk, or almond milk to make it a vegan chai matcha latte.
🥘 Ingredients for making chai matcha latte
Matcha
You need good grade matcha powder to make a good matcha latte. Matcha is the Japanese green tea leaves, dried and ground to make the super fine powder. Ceremonial grade matcha powder is of bright green color and supreme quality, but equally expensive. It is made from the most tender and baby tea leaves.
It is ideal to use culinary-grade matcha powder. This grade of matcha is mostly used to make a latte.
Indian Black tea/ Chaipatti ( CTC)
You can use rich and bold Assam black tea or more lighter and delicate Darjeeling tea. For making masala chai in India, the most common choice is loose black tea leaves. You can use
masala chai tea bags that are already infused with spices and herbs.
I will be using Chaipatti and the most commonly used spices in making chai. Chaipatti is made by CTC ( Crushing tearing and curling) of black tea leaves. Indian chaipatti is also referred to as CTC tea.
Chai vs masala chai
Chai is an everyday tea that is made at least twice a day in every Indian household. It usually does not contain spices and herbs, but masala chai is made using spices like cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, mace, ginger, cardamom, star anise, tulsi (Indian Basil), etc.
Sugar
Sweetener is not optional. You can use cane sugar or vegan sugar if you are vegan. You can also use honey or maple syrup to sweeten the chai matcha latte.
Whole milk
Starbucks use heavy cream in their iced matcha latte with chai for topping. But I have made this latte matcha recipe a bit healthy. I will be using whole milk. You can use plant-based milk like soy or oat milk, coconut milk, or almond milk if you follow a vegan diet.
Spices, herbs, and condiments
Chai made on a day-to-day basis usually has the following spices:
- Fresh ginger roots: you can use fresh ginger roots and dry ginger spice.
- Green Cardamom or the smaller cardamom is used most often to spice and flavor tea. In my Indian household, cardamom and ginger are what I use on my day to day basis to make chai. Rest other spices are optional. Other spices that you can add to chai are:
- Clove: Use 1 clove for 2 cups of tea.
- Star anise: Use 1 per 2 cups of masala chai.
- Cinnamon powder or cinnamon sticks can be used.
- 2 ground black pepper berries per cup of tea.
- Fresh tulsi leaves or tulsi extract.
Equipment
A bamboo whisk (Chasen) is designed to break the matcha clumps and froth them. Alternately you can use a milk frother, or simply use a mason jar to shake the matcha. I am using a hand mixer with a conventional whisk to froth the milk. You can also use a mason jar to shake and froth the matcha.
🔪 How to make matcha chai latte?
Step 1 Making chai
There are two ways to make chai. First is the conventional Indian way as it is made in Indian households. And second is a more western influenced way, where chai is made using tea bags. I will be touching upon both methods.
Making chai the Indian way
This type of chai is made using CTC chaipatti in every household in India. It starts in a saucepan. Bring a cup of water to boil in a saucepan. Then add sugar, crushed ginger, and cardamom pods, followed by chaipatti and cinnamon powder.
I used cinnamon powder; you can use cinnamon sticks. Bring everything to a boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes at low heat. Turn off the heat and strain it through a metal sieve. Set aside.
Making chai using the chai teabags
First, boil water in a kettle or a pan to 2120F or 100 0C. Turn off the heat and pour 1 cup of boiling water into a cup.
Put the chai teabag of black tea in the cup and cover. Let the tea steep for 3 minutes and then uncover. Remove the tea bag and chill the brewed tea until you are ready to assemble the caramel bubble tea.
If you are not using tea bags, but using tea leaves, add one teaspoon of leaves to the tea infuser and pour in the boiling water. Let the tea leaves steep for 3 minutes. Then strain the tea and keep it aside.
Step 2 Making matcha and milk foam
Heat 1 cup of milk in a microwave or a saucepan. Take ¼ cup of milk and mix matcha in it.
The best is to use a matcha whisk called Chasen. But all of us who do not have a bamboo whisk can use a milk frother, or electric whisk, or a mason jar.
Then add the remaining milk and vanilla extract. Use a hand mixer with a tiny whisk to create matcha foam.
Alternately, you can also add matcha milk into a mason jar. Close the lid tightly. Shake it for 2-3 minutes to create foam.
Step 3 Assemble the chai matcha latte
Into your teacups equally divide the sweet chai. Then add the matcha milk that we foamed. Give a gentle stir and serve the matcha tea latte hot.
🍵 How and when to serve chai matcha latte?
Chai latte makes a great late afternoon drink when you are feeling enervated. It will give you an instant boost in energy. There is no rule, enjoy when you need a mood lift.
🫙Storage and reheating instructions
You can serve it hot or iced. The most served version is an iced chai matcha latte. There is no question of storing the chai matcha latte. It is best served fresh. It barely takes 5-7 minutes to prepare depending upon the equipment you use for frothing the milk.
But if it got cold and you want a hot comforting cup, do not hesitate to reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds.
💭 Pro Tips for making a perfect chai matcha latte
- Use ceremonial or culinary-grade matcha powder for making a latte.
- Replace CTC chaipatti with chai spiced teabags. There are a few brands offering masala chai teabags.
- If you are new to matcha, consider increasing the sweetener in your tea. As there are two types of tea used in this latte and the Indian CTC tea is a strong tea.
- You can also make the chai match latte iced also. Let the chai cool and use cold milk in the latte.
- To make it vegan, use coconut sugar and plant-based milk like oat milk or soy milk.
- The best is to use a matcha whisk called chasen. But all of us who do not have a bamboo whisk can use a milk frother, or electric whisk, or a mason jar.
- It is best served fresh. But if it got cold and you still want a hot comforting cup, do not hesitate to reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
It is a hybrid tea that is a combination of the two best tea flavors in the world; Indian chai ( spiced sweet tea) and Japanese matcha. It is sweet and creamy with a hint of ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon coupled with the subtle taste and aroma of black tea and matcha bringing everything together.
It is a matcha latte with chai twist that you must try. It is very close to the Starbucks matcha with chai.
Chai tea is usually an herbal tea, which simply means a concoction of health-benefiting herbs in a tea. It is known to boost heart health and aid in weight loss.
Yes, these two tea flavors do love each other. They work very nicely together in a latte.
Suggested tea recipes
- Caramel Milk Tea
- Lychee tea: Sweet fruit-scented tea recipe
- Honeydew Milk Tea | Honeydew Boba
- Strawberry Milk Tea: Boba Tea with fresh Strawberries!
- Peach Milk Tea: Peach Flavor Bubble Tea
- Mango Bubble Tea: Homemade Mango Milk Tea
I hope you will love this combination of matcha with chai. If you liked this chai matcha latte, leave a rating. Share your results and opinions in the comment section below. Also, subscribe to never miss a recipe.
Till then,
Make it delicious and quick!
📝 Recipe Card
Chai Matcha Latte
Ingredients
Ingredients for making sweet chai
- 1 teaspoon chaipatti CTC tea
- 3 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1- inch fresh ginger root crushed
- 2 green cardamoms crushed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder or a cinnamon stick
Ingredients for making matcha foam
- 1 tablespoon matcha
- 1 cup whole milk oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
Step 1 Make chai the Indian way
- Bring a cup of water to boil in a saucepan. Then add sugar, crushed ginger, and cardamom pods, followed by chaipatti and cinnamon powder ( or sticks).
- Bring everything to a boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes at low heat.
- Turn off the heat and strain it through a metal sieve. Set aside.
Step 2 Making matcha and milk foam
- Heat 1 cup of milk in a microwave or a saucepan.
- Take ¼ cup of the milk and mix matcha in it. Then add the remaining milk and vanilla extract.
- Use a bamboo whisk to froth the matcha milk. Or use a hand mixer with a tiny whisk ( or milk frother) to create matcha foam. Alternately, you can also add matcha milk into a mason jar. Close the lid tightly. Shake it for 2-3 minutes to create foam.
Step 3 Assemble the chai matcha latte
- Into your teacups equally divide the sweet chai. Then add the matcha milk that we foamed. Give a gentle stir and enjoy hot or warm.
Notes
- Making chai using the chai teabags If you are not using tea bags, but using tea leaves, add one teaspoon of leaves to the tea infuser and pour in the boiling water. Let the tea leaves steep for 3 minutes. Then strain the tea and keep it aside.
- I used cinnamon powder; you can use cinnamon sticks.
- Use ceremonial or culinary grade matcha for making a latte.
- Replace CTC chaipatti ( black tea)with chai spiced teabags. There are a few brands offering masala chai teabags.
- If you are new to matcha, consider increasing the sweetener in your tea. As there are two types of tea used in this latte and the Indian CTC tea is a strong tea.
- You can also make the chai match latte iced also. Let the chai cool and use cold milk in the latte.
- To make it vegan, use coconut sugar and plant-based milk like oat milk or soy milk.
- The best is to use a matcha whisk called chasen. But all of us who do not have a bamboo whisk can use a milk frother, or electric whisk, or a mason jar.
- It is best served fresh. But if it got cold and you still want a hot comforting cup, do not hesitate to reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds.
📋 Nutrition Facts
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