Chai vs. Matcha: History, Flavor, Benefits and More
Matcha and chai are nothing new — in fact, both have been around for hundreds of years. However, over the past decade, both drinks have become more and more mainstream. Nowadays, you can order either one in the Starbucks drive-thru.
Where did these flavorful teas come from, and what are their benefits? More importantly, which one is better? Read on for the answers to all of these questions and more.
Quick Comparison
Chai Tea |
Matcha |
| History: Originated in India and has a heartwarming tradition of hospitality. |
History: Originated in China and has a meditative tradition of spirituality.
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Production: Is made by combining masala spices with black tea. |
Production: Is made by crushing specially-grown tea plants into a powder.
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Benefits: Supports healthy digestion, heart health, energy, and joint health. |
Benefits: Encourages digestion, balanced mental health, healthy gut microbiome, energy,
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Flavor Profile: Warm, sweet, and comforting. |
Flavor Profile: Fresh, nutty, and earthy.
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Versatility: Can be used in iced coffee, dirty chai lattes, chai-flavored ice cream, and more. |
Versatility: Can be used in matcha lattes, smoothies, desserts, and adventurous entrées. |
What Is Chai Tea?
Chia is a tea-based drink that basically embodies the coziness of autumn weather. Its rich spices, warm aroma, and feel-good flavor make it a favorite year-round, but especially as the weather gets colder.
This tea is made by mixing certain spices with black tea. Usually, it’s served with milk and sugar to make a sweet and hearty drink.
You can order a chai latte at pretty much any coffee shop, but commercial chai pales in comparison to the richness of traditional chai. This is because commercial chai is usually made with chai-flavored syrups, while traditional chai is made with real spices and freshly brewed tea.
What Is Matcha Tea?
Matcha is a type of green tea that’s made by grinding tea leaves into a powder. This powder is then mixed with hot water to create traditional matcha.
The leaves used to make matcha come from the same plant that makes black tea. The difference is that plants intended to make matcha are grown in the shade to increase chlorophyll and caffeine, and the leaves are harvested much earlier than black tea leaves.
There are two main tiers of matcha. Ceremonial-grade matcha is the highest quality of matcha, and it’s made from only the youngest leaves on the matcha plant. This gives ceremonial matcha a rich, sweet taste and a bright green color.
Culinary-grade matcha, on the other hand, is of a slightly lower quality. This type of matcha is made with slightly older leaves and may have a more grassy, bitter taste.
History and Culture
In order to truly understand the nature of the matcha-chai faceoff, we need to understand the history of each. It’s also important to understand how each drink has been shaped by the culture around it.
History and Culture of Chai
The origin of masala chai is steeped in mystery, but tradition generally concurs that it was created by an old king thousands of years ago. The recipe originally included rich Indian spices like ginger and cinnamon, and it was first made as a healing Ayurvedic drink.
Chai as we know it started to make an appearance in the mid-1830s, when Britain started growing tea in India due to the warm climate. Indian locals started making traditional masala chai as a way to make tea more affordable.
Tea was expensive, and most locals couldn’t afford a plain cup of tea. When combined with milk and spices, they could make their tea last longer.
Nowadays, masala chai is one of the most popular drinks in India. It’s sold on street corners the same way coffee is in the United States, and you can find chai vendors in the train stations throughout the country.
Chai is also a big part of Indian hospitality. Although the chai you’ll find on the street is delicious, there’s nothing like embracing the warm tradition of enjoying homemade chai in your host’s own kitchen.
History and Culture of Matcha
Matcha originated in China Japan in the 1100s, when monks used it to help support focus during their meditation sessions. Matcha gradually became more popular, and soon everyone in Japan was drinking it.
The drink soon became the central part of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This Zen ceremony was designed to be the culmination of the Japanese wabi-sabi movement, which embraced the beauty of imperfection and normalcy.
In these ceremonies, participants would thoughtfully whisk matcha powder with hot water using specific tools and whisks. Meanwhile, they would look at simple art, use crude bowls to prepare their matcha, and gaze out over carefully manicured gardens. The entire experience was deeply meditative and spiritual, and it is still practiced today.
This ceremony involved wandering through immaculate gardens and thoughtfully making matcha with a bamboo whisk. The goal of the ceremony was to focus and meditate on the beauty of imperfection.
How It’s Made
Matcha and chai might both be made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, but that’s where the similarities end. Let’s spill the tea on what makes these two types of tea so special (pun intended).
Spice It Up
Chai is made by steeping black tea using an infuser or tea bags. Typically, the tea is then diluted with milk and spices are added to make it taste more comforting.
The spices used in chai typically include some or all of the following:
- Cardamom
- Clove
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Pepper
- Nutmeg
- Black pepper
- Allspice
- Star anise
- Fennel
While regular dairy milk is traditionally used to make chai, there’s no reason you can’t play around with alternatives. Oat milk is a popular substitute because of its thick texture, while coconut milk can add a deliciously fresh flavor.
Grind It Down
Matcha is made by growing tea plants almost completely in the shade. These shade-grown plants produce more caffeine, chlorophyll, and L-theanine, which are all responsible for matcha’s many benefits. Once the youngest leaves are picked, they are dried and ground into a fine powder.
To make a cup of matcha, you need to combine the tea powder and some hot water. Next, use a bamboo whisk (or an electric frother if you’re running late and need to skip the meditation) to quickly froth up the tea. You can either enjoy it that way or make a matcha tea latte.
Health Benefits of Chai and Matcha
Although chai and matcha both come from the same plant, their potential health benefits are a little different. One major part of this is preparation methods — with matcha, you’re actually consuming the entire leaf of tea. Another part is the growing process itself, which isolates certain compounds in matcha plants.
Chai
Because it’s made with black tea, chai has a lot of the same benefits as black tea. These include:
- Supports Heart Health: Black tea contains compounds that can support healthy levels of cholesterol.
- Provides Antioxidants: Black tea is rich in catechins and flavonols, which can help combat free radical damage in the body.
- Supports Energy: Black tea contains about half as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, which can give a subtle energy boost.
On top of these benefits, chai can also help support healthy digestion, relieve nausea, and support joint health, depending on the spices used to give it flavor. In order to get these extra benefits though, you’ll need to drink traditionally prepared chai — not chai from concentrate, which is often full of added sweeteners.
Matcha
The health benefits of matcha include:
- Provides Antioxidants: Matcha contains a particularly powerful antioxidant called EGCG.
- Supports Heart Health: Matcha can support healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
- Encourages Energy: Matcha contains slightly less caffeine than a cup of coffee.
- Supports Feelings of Relaxation: Matcha contains L-theanine, an amino acid that can encourage feelings of relaxation and minimize the jitters that come with consuming high amounts of caffeine.has a synergistic effect with caffeine.
- Supports Digestion: Matcha can help support overall digestive health and encourage efficient and smooth digestion.
At Everyday Dose, we combine these benefits with the benefits of functional mushrooms in our Mushroom Matcha+ blend. This blend features lion’s mane and chaga mushrooms to support focus and digestion, L-theanine for extra support, and collagen protein to further encourage gut health.
Flavor Profiles
Many families and vendors in India have their own recipes for chai, so the flavor profile of traditional chai tends to change based on where you get it. Some people add cardamom while others opt for a touch of star anise. Still others may include turmeric to add a unique twist. No matter which spices are used, the overall flavor of chai is sweet and comforting.
You might recognize a few of these spices as ingredients in the ever-popular pumpkin spice mix. The taste profile is about the same — hearty, warm, and full of cozy flavor.
Matcha is very different. You might think that matcha simply tastes like green tea, but that isn’t quite the case. Matcha has a nutty, creamy, and earthy flavor that makes it a deliciously refreshing drink.
Ceremonial-grade matcha has a natural sweetness to it and has many other complex flavor notes. The drink also tends to have a slightly bitter aftertaste, similar to green tea.
How Can You Use Them?
Matcha and chai have both become incredibly popular flavors. Luckily, this has prompted many people to incorporate and reinvent these flavors in new ways.
You can drink masala chai as a hot drink, or you can enjoy it iced with a shot or two of espresso. There are even chai-flavored ice creams, scones, puddings, and more. This drink is the essence of comfort and hospitality, which shows in the types of food it’s often mixed with.
Meanwhile, matcha’s unique flavor lends itself very well to more adventurous dishes. We’ve seen recipes for matcha pancakes, tarts, soups, and smoothies. While this ingredient is mostly incorporated for its refreshing taste, there’s no doubt that part of matcha’s popularity is because of the vibrant green color it adds to everything it touches.
Chai vs. Matcha: Which Is Best?
You might be wondering which tea-based drink is best. Really, it’s hard to say which drink comes out on top when they each have such a wonderful impact on culture and health.
Both teas have unique tastes that make them perfect for different people. Matcha is steeped in spirituality, and its benefits for focus and relaxation go right alongside that reputation. Meanwhile, chai is hearty and warm, and it’s often the go-to choice for people seeking a little extra comfort — especially as the weather gets colder.
Ultimately, it comes down toThe answer is, whichever one you prefer! Both drinks have wonderful health benefits, and they are both incredibly versatile in the kitchen and beyond. so it really comes down to a matter of preference.
FAQs
Is Matcha or Green Tea Better?
Matcha is basically a powdered form of green tea. However, regular green tea is made by steeping the leaves and then removing them from your tea, while matcha’s benefits are more concentrated because you’re eating the entire leaf. There’s no right or wrong answer here, but matcha technically has more benefits.
Is Green Tea or Chai Better?
Green and black tea both come from the same plant but are made using different drying techniques. Green tea technically has a lower caffeine content than black tea does and is higher in L-theanine, but is lower in tannins and other properties.
Can You Drink Matcha Every Day?
Yes, you absolutely can drink matcha every day. The main concern with matcha is that it has a higher caffeine content than regular types of tea, which can contribute to side effects if you drink too much of it.
This shouldn’t be as much of an issue if you’re drinking high-quality, ceremonial grade matcha, since the L-theanine content should balance out the caffeine. In fact, drinking matcha every day can give your body plenty of time to adjust to it and its benefits, which may have a beneficial effect over time.
The Bottom Line
Chai tea is a blend of black tea and spices that originated in India. Although this drink has evolved over the years, the benefits are the same — it can support heart health, provide energy, and even support digestion.
Meanwhile, matcha is made from powdered green tea leaves and originated in Japan. Matcha contains exceptionally high levels of caffeine and L-theanine compared to regular tea, and it can also support heart health and digestion.
To learn more about the benefits of matcha (especially when it’s combined with functional mushrooms), check out the Everyday Dose blog today.
Sources:
The History of Masala Chai | The Spruce Eats
6 health benefits of drinking black tea | UCLA Health
Matcha | Origins, Uses, Japanese Green Tea Type, & Health Benefits | Britannica
Health Benefits and Chemical Composition of Matcha Green Tea: A Review | PMC
Matcha Archives | Teak & Thyme - Baking & Dessert Recipes
Antioxidant Properties and Nutritional Composition of Matcha Green Tea | PMC
Wabi-Sabi: The Japanese Art of Finding the Beauty in Imperfections | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
