This quick and easy Green Tea Chai recipe is a creamy, sweet and spicy tea. It's the perfect cosy drink for the colder weather in fall- just nice for those who want a more mellow version of the typical Masala Chai Black Tea!
Why Make This
- Green Tea Chai is a deliciously spiced, mellow pick-me-up: Green tea has less caffeine so it is the perfect invigorating drink that won't give you the jitters! Surprisingly, the green tea goes really well with the aromatic chai but it's a lighter flavor than regular Black Tea Masala Chai, and is great for those who want a lighter-flavored drink! For other interesting Chai flavors, try Chocolate Masala Chai Tea.
- Healthier and good for your budget: While there are many packaged Masala Chai tea blends out there, they're often heaped with sugar so not the best for your health. (Same for Starbucks and other coffeeshop drinks.) Making your own is not only cheaper, you get to control the sugar added too!
- Quick, easy and flexible: Takes about 5 minutes to make if you use my Chai Tea Syrup (15-20 minutes if starting with basic spices) and you can easily change it to your taste. For example, if vegan, just use a dairy-free milk! The ingredients are also easy to find in mainstream grocery stores and no special equipment is needed!
Note: If you prefer matcha to green tea and like creamy drinks, try my Starbucks Matcha Chai Latte here! However, it's not so easy to pre-pack Matcha Chai into tea bags though, as Matcha doesn't dissolve in liquid (it needs to be whisked to form a suspension.)
Or if you're a coffee fan, try Dirty Masala Chai Latte and Yuan Yang milk tea!
Ingredients
Some of the ingredients you'll need are:
- Green Tea: You can buy loose leaf tea or, green tea bags. (Masala Chai is more commonly made with Black Tea so you can always substitute with that if you prefer a stronger flavor in your Chai Latte.)
- Chai Syrup: Using my homemade Chai Spice Syrup makes this Chai Latte super quick and easy to make and reduces any risk of the ginger curdling your milk. The Chai Syrup also lasts for at least a week- a few months in the fridge, so you can make a big batch at 1 go! If you don't have Chai Syrup on hand, you can make your own using cinnamon, green cardamoms, cloves, ginger, sugar, water and other optional spices. (Click the previous link for more details.)
- Milk: Don't skip the milk. In my opinion, it helps to marry what would have been 2 discordant flavors into a harmonious blend! I recommend whole milk as Chai Tea is tastier when rich and creamy. If vegan, almond milk or coconut milk are good alternatives.
For a full list of ingredients, please scroll down to the recipe card.
Note: the exact spice mix in Masala Chai varies from place to place. In my opinion, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom are the main ones and everything else is optional. I've used my favorites in the Chai Syrup, but you can also add Turmeric, Black Pepper, Nutmeg, Star Anise, Mint, Allspice, Holy Basil and more!
Variations
- Matcha Chai Tea: For more health benefits, you can substitute Green tea with Matcha. Matcha is very different from regular green tea though, so click here to learn more about how to work with matcha and chai tea.
- Iced Chai Green Tea: add ice cubes for a cooling drink in summer. Chill the tea before adding the ice cubes. If not, they will melt in the hot drink and dilute it!
- Green Tea Chai with Black Tea: add some black tea leaves to the green tea. I recommend the Wagh Bhakri brand or Typhoo Tea, which you can find online or at your local South Asian supermarket. (If they're pre-packed, simply open the tea bags and repack the contents with the spices.) Alternatively, you can use Darjeeling or Assam. Personally, I like Earl Grey!
- Vanilla Chai: add some vanilla extract (you can use either green tea or black tea for this fusion version of Masala Chai.)
Step-by-step Instructions
- Steep the green tea in hot water around 80C/ 176F for 3-5 minutes. Don't use boiling water or leave it for too long as this may turn the tea bitter.
- Remove the tea bags (or tea leaves, if using.)
Tip: Use an infuser with the tea leaves to make removing them easier!
3. Add the Chai Syrup to the green tea.
Note: if you are not using Chai Syrup, you will need to boil the spices and ginger (see Ingredients above) for 10-15 minutes then use that spiced water to steep the green tea, to taste. Also, you will need to add a sweetener such as honey, maple syrup or 1 of these sugar substitutes.
3. If you want your Green Tea Masala Chai to be hot, you'll need to gently heat up the milk in the microwave or over the stove.
4. Pour the milk into the Green Tea mix. Serve with some cookies on the side and enjoy!
Tip: Before pouring in the milk, froth it up using an immersion blender, milk frother, whisk or just shake vigorously in a sealed mason jar. Alternatively, you can assemble the complete drink then pour it from cup to cup, to create the foam the traditional way! (This is called "pulling" the tea.)
Optional: to make cafe-style Green Tea Chai Latte, sprinkle some cinnamon powder on top of the foamy milk!
How to Store
I recommend making Masala Chai Tea fresh, right before you want to drink it.
However, if you like to batch make, you can store any extra in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
How to Reheat
Warm it gently on the stove, or in the microwave (blitzing in 15-minute intervals, then stirring, till hot through.)
You will need to froth the reheated drink again to get it foamy.
Expert Tips
Tip #1: If you want to make 100% pre-packed Green Tea Chai Latte as food gifts for Christmas, pack some green tea leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, coriander seeds and some milk powder into a tea bag.
Tip #2: To make this Masala Chai Green Tea even more delicious, top a hot Chai Latte with cold foam or cold whipping cream- the contrast between the cold topping and the hot drink is delicious!
Tip #3: To make it extra creamy, you can use evaporated milk or condensed milk.
Recipe FAQs
If you use ginger in your Masala Chai Green Tea, doing so may curdle the milk. Ginger needs to be boiled to deactivate the enzyme that curdles milk.
Green Tea, as well as the Masala spices, all have health benefits. Masala Chai, for example, has a lot of anti-oxidants. However, Masala Chai tea also has lots of milk and sugar. If you use too much sweetener and milk, it won't be good for your health! For those who want help benefits, I recommend skipping the sugar and milk, but then... to be honest, it won't really be a Masala Chai tea!
More Fall Recipes
Enjoyed this Green Chai recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY liked this warming and aromatic Latte, a comment would make my week! Thank you and have a great day!
Green Tea Chai
Equipment
- Tea infuser Optional, if using tea leaves
- Heat-proof mug
- Another mug/ bowl or mason jar to froth up the milk Optional, if you want a frothy latte-style drink
Ingredients
- 1½ Cups Hot water
- 2 Green tea bags Substitute: green tea leaves
- 2 T Chai Syrup Or to taste. Click here for the Chai Tea SImple Syrup recipe. Substitute: Cinnamon, Green Cardamom, Cinnamon , Ginger and 1 of these sweeteners brown sugar, maple syrup. sugar substitutes or sugar. See Notes on additional optional spices.)
- 1½ Cups Whole Milk Froth it before pouring into the tea if you want a latte-style drink. If you want a piping hot drink, gently heat the milk on the stove or in the microwave (15-second intervals, stirring in-between till hot.) Substitute: oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk etc if vegan (make sure the sugar in your simple syrup is bone char free!)
Instructions
Brewing the Chai Green Tea
- Steep the green tea in hot water around 80C/ 176F for 3-5 minutes. Don't use boiling water or leave it for too long as this may turn the tea bitter.Remove the tea bags (or tea leaves, if using.)
- Tip: Use an infuser with the tea leaves to make removing them easier!
- Add the Chai Syrup to the green tea. See notes if not using Chai Syrup.
Assembling with milk
- Pour the milk into the Green Tea Chai. Serve with some cookies on the side and enjoy! Tip: Before pouring in the milk, froth it up using an immersion blender, milk frother, whisk or just shake vigorously in a sealed mason jar. Alternatively, you can assemble the complete drink then pour it from cup to cup, to create the foam the traditional way! (This is called "pulling" the tea.)
- Optional: to make cafe-style Green tea Chai Latte, sprinkle some cinnamon powder on top of the foamy milk!
Notes
Nutrition
If you've enjoyed this Masala Chai-Green Tea blend recipe, I'd love to see photos or videos on social media!
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