If there’s one tea-infused hot chocolate recipe you try this winter, let it be this incredible chai hot chocolate with vanilla bean whipped cream. It’s spiced, warm, cozy, and the cream adds the most amazing creamy touch. Plus, it’s easy to make after making a nice batch of fresh chai when you want a comforting, warm drink from the cold.

Here’s how to make this amazing chai hot chocolate at home!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s genuinely so delicious. I can’t believe it tastes this good at home!
• A fancy hot chocolate that is so easy to make.
• A step-by-step recipe for a cafe-quality beverage.
• Chocolate twist on chai can never go wrong.
• It’s a fun way to change up your chai recipe or routine if you want something new!

What is Chai?

Chai, also known as masala chai, is a delicious, sweet, and creamy South Asian spiced milk tea. The name ‘masala chai’ means spiced tea in Hindi, but chai is present in many South Asian cultures. However, it’s one of the most popular beverages in India, and you’ll find it in every restaurant, road stall, and home.

Usually, you use Assam black tea, sugar, milk, green cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, and cloves for chai. Not all the spices are necessary, except cardamom (it’s a must), and every South Asian household has its own chai recipe. For example, some like to add peppercorn, nutmeg, and even fennel.

Normally, people use regular sugar as a sweetener and whole milk for a smooth and creamy texture, especially since chai is usually aerated while making!

Can You Mix Chai and Hot Chocolate?

Oh, yeahhhh. First, hot chocolate is a blank canvas for so many incredible flavor combinations, and nothing is stopping anyone from mixing up ingredients to create something new!

Spiced hot chocolate is not new, and a variation of Mexican hot chocolate has chili powder added. Chocolate itself can have slightly spiced or fruity notes, so it just makes sense to add some chai spice to hot chocolate.

Both are milk-based, so it also makes it really easy to fuse the two. You can make regular chai, then add chocolate to make it a hot chocolate.

What Does Chai Hot Chocolate Taste Like?

To me, chai hot cocoa tastes like a spiced and fruitier hot chocolate. I think the spices bring out the floral and nutty flavors of chocolate, which might be overpowered normally. However, the tea makes the hot cocoa lighter, so it’s a nice balance of thick hot chocolate and a refreshing, creamy chai.

I added vanilla bean cream to this version, and it takes chai hot chocolate to the next level. Vanilla truly benefits any sweet drink or dessert, and gives the chocolate a nice airiness.

Chai Hot Chocolate: What You’ll Need

Equipment:

• 1 small or medium-sized pot
• 1 mortar and pestle
• 1 tea strainer

Ingredients:

• Chai Hot Chocolate
• 2 tbsp loose-leaf black tea
• 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 cloves
• 1 stick Ceylon cinnamon
• ½ piece star anise
• 5-10 green cardamom pods
• 1-2 slices of ginger
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• A dash of ground ginger garnish
• Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ tsp sugar

Chai Hot Chocolate Recipe

1. Ground Spices. Add your spices and ginger into a mortar and grind into small pieces using the pestle. You should be able to smell the spices.
2. Toast Spices. Add ground spices to a small pot, then toast on low heat for 2-3 minutes until aromatic.
3. Brew Tea. Add water to toasted spices and bring to a simmer before adding loose-leaf black tea. Then, brew tea on a gentle simmer for 4 – 5 minutes or until the water turns a dark red or brown. Make sure the tea is strongly brewed so you can taste it in the resulting beverage.
4. Add Milk. Add milk and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Stir to combine.
5. Aerate Chai. Once the chai is simmering, aerate the chai using one of two methods:
   • Double Boiling: Bring chai to a boil and let it rise to the top of your pot before lowering the heat and letting the chai settle. Then, turn to medium heat and let the chai boil to the top again and lower the heat again.
   • Ladling: Use a ladle or small cup and ladle the chai onto itself from a vertical height of a foot or a foot and a half. Repeat 3-4 times until a foam forms on top. The liquid may splash, so be careful.
6. Melt the Chocolate. Once aerated but still hot, reduce to low heat and add the chocolate, cocoa powder, and sugar to the chai. Mix to combine and stir until thoroughly until all the chocolate melts and no clumps of cocoa powder remain.
7. Strain Tea. Once finished, turn off the heat and remove from the burner. Strain out the tea leaves and milk skin using a tea strainer, then set aside.
8. Whip Vanilla Bean Cream. Add vanilla bean paste, sugar, and heavy cream to a small cup or bowl. Using a handheld frother or electric mixer, whip the cream until light and fluffy with stiff peaks.
9. Serve and Garnish. Add hot chocolate chai to a mug and top with the vanilla bean whipped cream. Garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder or ground masala!
10. Mix and Enjoy!

Chai Hot Chocolate Powder

You can also buy or make your own chai hot chocolate powder mix, which you can easily gift for the holidays. You’ll want to make a homemade hot cocoa mix as the base, which you can add freshly ground spices to for the most aromatic flavor.

For the base, I would use just cinnamon and cardamom, as some people have strong feelings towards cloves and star anise. That way, people can add their favorite spices if they want to!

You can also add chopped chocolate to the mix for a slightly fancier mix.

Tips for the Best Chai Hot Cocoa

• Use Fresh Spices: Freshly ground spices almost always taste better than pre-ground spices! It follows the same principle of ground coffee losing its flavor over time as it’s exposed to air. Once you grind spices, oxidation begins to occur rapidly, and as it sits, it loses flavor.
• Brew the Tea Strong: You want to brew the tea until it’s a very dark red or brown color. It might look dark in the pot, but trust me, you want it to be strong so that the milk balances the flavor. If the tea is too light, you’ll end up with chai-flavored milk versus strong chai.
• Adjust Spices: If you like a spicy chai, feel free to add more spices as you see fit and vice versa. You can also omit or add spices, as each one adds a little something special. For example, I have a friend who loves adding ground pepper to his!
• Use Full-Fat Milk: Chai is notoriously creamy, and many recipes use whole milk as the default. Since you’re using a lot of water to brew the tea, you want to use milk that’s a little fattier to bring back the creaminess. Plus, it adds a lot of flavor!

Variations

• Adding Other Spices: Besides the popular 5 spices (cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger, and star anise), you can add peppercorn, ground black pepper, fennel, nutmeg, coriander, Bay leaves, and even lemongrass! You can also add vanilla for a more modern twist.
• Using Other Sweeteners: Sugar is commonly used to sweeten chai, but jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) is also popular. You can also use brown sugar, agave, honey, or maple syrup as an alternative sweetener.
• Iced: Want an iced chai hot chocolate? Once you’ve made the drink, let it cool until room temperature or below, then add it to a glass with ice. Then top with the vanilla bean whipped cream, or make it a vanilla cold foam instead, so it’s easier to mix.
• Vegan: Replace the milk with your favorite plant-based milk and use a vegan semisweet chocolate. I recommend oat milk since it’s fattier and creamier.
• Using Only Cocoa Powder: You can also use just cocoa powder and omit the semi-sweet chocolate. You’ll need to use double the amount of cocoa powder to make up for the flavor, but adjust as needed.
• Dark Chocolate: Swap out the semisweet chocolate for bittersweet chocolate for a slightly more bitter and richer flavor. The chocolate will be more forward than the spiced flavor, but nice and bold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there chocolate chai powder?

Yes, there is a chocolate chai hot chocolate powder mix available, but you can also make it at home for a lot cheaper! Just make a homemade hot chocolate mix base and add in freshly ground spices for an easy, semi-instant hot cocoa mix. These also make great gifts, and they’re unique!

Is chocolate chai the same as chai hot chocolate?

Technically, yeah, chocolate chai and chai hot chocolate are the same thing, haha. But hot chocolate usually has a whipped topping, while chocolate chai is plain chai with cocoa powder or melted chocolate in it. You could also argue that these are also the same as chai-flavored chocolate milk! Haha, marketing!

Can I make this with tea bags?

Yes! If you have black tea bags, use double bags per tbsp of loose-leaf tea. So for every tbsp of tea, use two teabags. Boil it the same way in the pot, but make sure the tea bag strings are not in the mixture. You could also open the tea bags to dump the tea dust into the water.

What is the chocolate chai at Starbucks?

Starbucks doesn’t have a chocolate chai on its menu, but people love customizing their drinks, hence why this drink became popular. Usually, people order an iced chai and add mocha sauce.

What spices are in chai?

The 5 most popular spices to use for chai are Ceylon cinnamon, clove, star anise, cardamom, and ginger. Beyond those base spices, common additions include black pepper or peppercorn, fennel, coriander seed, allspice, and nutmeg.

Other Hot Chocolate Recipes to Try

If you’re on a hot chocolate kick like I am, don’t stop here. These other easy hot chocolate recipes are just as cozy and might even become your new go-to winter drink! Here are some to try next:

• Peppermint Matcha White Hot Chocolate
• Thai Tea Hot Chocolate
• Hojicha Hot Chocolate
• Tiramisu Hot Chocolate
• Earl Grey Hot Chocolate