Homemade Starbucks Iced Chai Latte with Matcha Cream Cold Foam

Making a homemade iced chai tea latte with matcha cold foam is as simple as topping a regular iced chai with a creamy layer of matcha cold foam–just like Starbucks.

The secret to recreating this matcha chai latte at home is to get the cold foam just right.

In this recipe, I show you exactly how to make matcha cold foam without any fancy (and pricey) equipment so it’s as creamy and fluffy as the real thing from Starbucks.

If you’ve never had this matcha with chai duo before you may have noticed it on the temporary Starbucks “remix” menu.

This popular Starbucks chai customization is favorite among tea drinkers and it tastes so good! It’s easy to make at home and, dare I say, it tastes pretty close to the original.

RELATED: Iced Chai Latte with Matcha Cold Foam: A Starbucks Duo Worth Trying

Why You’ll Love this Matcha Cold Foam with Chai Recipe

• If an iced chai latte with matcha is your go-to Starbucks order, making a copycat at home saves time and money.
• This Starbucks secret menu drink is easy to whip up in your own kitchen with just a few readily available ingredients and a few minutes.
• Making a homemade iced chai latte with matcha cold foam means you can make it just the way you like, with as much chai or matcha as you want.
• This recipe makes the equivalent of a Starbucks grande size latte, but it’s easily multiplied for as many drinks as needed.

Ingredients

• Chai Tea Concentrate
• Milk
• Ice
• Heavy Cream
• Vanilla Syrup
• Matcha Powder

Chai Tea Concentrate: For a quick chai tea latte, use store-bought chai black tea concentrate, like Tazo. Another delicious option is homemade chai tea concentrate.

Just be sure to use concentrated chai since the tea is combined with milk at a one-to-one ratio. This way the chai flavor is nice and strong.

Milk: This matcha cold foam latte uses milk two ways: to make the iced chai latte and to thin the cold foam a touch (we’re not going for whipped cream).

Use any milk you like for the latte–dairy or non-dairy.

The standard Starbucks iced chai recipe calls for 2% milk, but plant-based milks such as oat or almond are popular substitutes.

Ice: About half the cup is filled with ice cubes, so using filtered ice ensures the latte tastes as best as possible.

If you don’t have filtered water, I recommend using a Brita filter pitcher. All your coffee and tea drinks will taste better!

Heavy Cream is an absolute must for making copycat Starbucks sweet cream cold foam.

The heavy cream is what gives cold foam its rich whipped cream flavor and thick consistency. There’s really no substitute for it.

Vanilla Syrup: All flavored cold foams at Starbucks begin with vanilla sweet cream cold foam which is a blend of heavy cream, 2% milk and vanilla syrup. Another flavored syrup or ingredient like matcha is then blended in.

Vanilla syrup is readily available at stores (usually in the coffee aisle) or you can pick up a bottle of authentic Starbucks vanilla syrup from a barista.

Another option is to make this easy vanilla syrup recipe.

Matcha Powder: All Starbucks matcha drinks are made with sweetened matcha powder.

To make matcha cold foam, you can use sweetened matcha powder or your favorite matcha tea.

I prefer to use a quality matcha like Ujido matcha green tea since the cold foam is already sweetened with vanilla syrup.

How to Make a Starbucks Iced Chai with Matcha Cold Foam at Home

Making a Starbucks iced chai tea latte with matcha cold foam at home is a simple three-step process: make the matcha cold foam, make the iced chai latte, combine the matcha and chai.

Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.

1. Make the Matcha Cold Foam

To make matcha cold foam, whisk heavy cream, a splash of milk, vanilla syrup and matcha powder in a cold bowl that’s been chilled in the freezer for a few minutes. (I also chill the whisk.) Set aside.

To achieve thicker cold foam, return the bowl with cream in it to the freezer for 1-2 minutes then whisk again. See tips below for more ways to make cold foam at home.

2. Make the Iced Chai Latte

Combine chai tea concentrate and milk of your choice in a cup that has a 16 ounce capacity or larger.

Add ice to the latte, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the top of the cup for the matcha cold foam.

3. Combine Matcha and Chai

Slowly pour the matcha cold foam on top of the iced chai. Some should rest on top of the chai latte while some slowly cascades into the drink.

Expert Tips for Making Fluffy Matcha Cream Cold Foam

Making matcha cold foam is a matter of adding air to the matcha heavy cream mixture and whipping it until it’s fluffy, but not quite as stiff as whipped cream.

Starbucks uses a professional Vitamix blender equipped with an aer disc container. This equipment is expensive, but the good news is, you can make thick cold foam at home by hand, with these tips.

Start with a cold bowl and whisk.

As Hiland Dairy explains, “its the fat in cream that helps trap the air bubbles that make it light and fluffy. If the cream gets too warm, the fat melts and the air escapes.”

So pop your bowl and whisk in the freezer for a few minutes (ideally 10-15 minutes) before making the matcha cold foam.

Return bowl and matcha cream to freezer for thicker cold foam.

If your matcha cream isn’t thickening as much as you like, I’ve found that putting the bowl of already-whisked matcha cream in the freezer for a few minutes, then whisking again, works every time.

Remember, it’s the cold fat that traps the air and transforms the matcha sweet cream into cold foam.

Make matcha cold foam using a cold jar and frother.

If you don’t have a whisk, another method to make cold foam is to shake it in a sealed jar followed by a frother. Be sure to use a cold jar that has extra space (and air) in it and shake vigorously to incorporate the air.

To make it thicker, return the jar to the freezer for a couple of minutes then froth it with a handheld or electric frother, like this Breville milk frother.

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