Spice up your horchata further with the bold, floral, spiced notes of chai! Both these drinks are sweet and creamy, and together they make a delicious spiced horchata chai that marries two classic drinks from different cultures.

Horchata and chai are both easy to make at home and only take a couple of ingredients to make. It’s a labor of love, but the end result is worth it.

Here’s how to make a horchata chai at home!

What is Horchata?

Horchata is a sweet, milky liquid most commonly made with white rice. It originated in Spain, where it was originally made with tiger nuts (and barley way back when), then Spaniards brought it to Mexico in the 16th century.

As with many food recipes and drinks, the local people in Mexico adapted the drink to their produce and swapped the tiger nut for rice. And voila, you have the famous Mexican horchata or agua de horchata!

Horchata (Mexican) is made from white rice, water, cinnamon, milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk. There are so many variations of horchata out there, from adding sliced almonds, vanilla extract, and more, but these base ingredients are always the same.

The result? A creamy, milky, sweet beverage that’s light and refreshing yet satisfying. It tastes like sweet cinnamon milk!

What is Chai?

Chai, or “masala chai,” is a spiced tea that originated in India and is traditionally made by simmering black tea with milk and a mix of spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and black pepper, then sweetened. It’s a comforting drink that’s warming, aromatic, and perfectly creamy.

Similar to horchata, chai has been enjoyed for centuries in Indian households, and every family has their special chai recipe. What makes chai special is the spices, but also the tea aeration (called cutting chai.)

Chai is boiled and ladled onto itself to create an intensely creamy texture that perfectly balances the spiced drink.

What is Horchata Chai?

Now, as the name suggests, horchata chai is a horchata made with chai! There are several ways you can make this drink, but the most fun way is to make it by soaking the rice in chai and then blending all the spices together. You get an incredibly flavorful horchata chai this way.

You can also make it by soaking the rice normally, but replacing the milk with brewed chai and adding it to the blended rice milk. This method may give you a more watery version of horchata chai, as there’s more water involved.

The convenient method is to use chai concentrate either to top your beverage off or use it to soak your rice.

What Does Horchata Chai Taste Like?

Horchata chai tastes like a spicier version of horchata. On top of the cinnamon, you have other spices like cloves, ginger, an cardamom that add extra layers of flavor to the drink.

Cinnamon on its own is quite spicy and earthy, but the cardamom and cloves add a nice floral note to the horchata. It makes it lighter and a little more refreshing, and the extra milk makes it super creamy.

You also get notes of vanilla, almond, and a spicy kick from the extra spices. It’s quite delicious and perfect if you want to spice up (literally) your horchata.

How to Make Horchata

Horchata is so easy to make at home! Homemade horchata honestly tastes better than storebought horchata and it costs a fraction of the cost to make. This easy horchata recipe only requires white rice, water, cinnamon, and 3 types of milk, 2 of which are canned.

The full horchata recipe is just down below, but for an overview, you’ll want to soak the rice and cinnamon in water (or brewed chai) for a couple of hours beforehand. Then, once soft, you’ll blend, strain, and add the milks and you have creamy horchata!

Once you make it at home, you’ll never buy it out again (in this economy, paying $6-7 for a large horchata?)

What Chai to Use

You can’t go wrong with a strong, flavorful chai concentrate for a horchata chai. It’s the most convenient option and allows you to skip the steeping process and jump straight into making your drink. Some popular and easy-to-find options are Tazo Chai, Oregon Chai, or Trader Joe’s Spiced Chai. My personal favorite is Kimbala Chai, which is a small chai business from Texas!

If you prefer to make your chai from scratch, you’ll need black tea and a good mix of chai spices. You can use your favorite chai recipe, or follow the one in this post.

How to Make Chai

Chai isn’t as easy as making horchata, but with a little practice, you can make great masala chai! You’ll need black tea leaves, your favorite chai spices (cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, etc.), sugar, and whole milk. You’ll want to use whole spices that you freshly grind in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, as the flavor is bolder.

Add the spices and hot water into a pot, then bring it up to a boil and add your tea leaves. Brew the tea for 5-10 minutes until the liquid is dark, then add milk. Boil the tea with the milk for 3-5 minutes until it’s frothy.

At this point, you can cut the chai by ladling it on top of itself, then add your sugar for sweetness. Then, you have great homemade chai!

But for this recipe, you’ll want to make chai without the milk.

How to Make Horchata Chai

Here’s what you’ll need to make a delicious horchata chai at home:

• Homemade Chai
• 5 tbsp assam black tea leaves
• 6-8 pods of green cardamom
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 1 whole star anise
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 5 cups of water
• Horchata Chai
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 can of evaporated milk (14 oz)
• ½ can condensed milk  (6 oz)
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• A dash of ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1 cup ice
• 3 cups chai (without milk)

Horchata Chai Recipe

1. Make Homemade Chai:
   • Grind Spices. Using a mortar and pestle, lightly grind your spices until it is in small pieces. You don’t want to finely ground them, just enough to open up the spices.
     • Brew Chai. Add spices and hot water into a medium-sized pot, then bring to a rolling boil, and then add your tea leaves. Let the spices and tea brew for 5-10 minutes or until the water is nice and dark. Once brewed, turn off the heat and let the chai cool completely. Keep the spices in the chai.
2. Make Horchata Chai:
   • Soak Rice. Combine your rice, 2 cups of room-temperature chai (spices and all), and cinnamon sticks in a large bowl or pitcher. Let the rice and cinnamon soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible on the counter or fridge, covered.
   • Make Horchata Chai. Once soaked, blend the mixture (cinnamon and all) in a blender on medium or high until the rice grains and cinnamon are small and the water is milky. Careful not to overblend!
   • Strain Horchata. Strain the horchata 2-3 times with a strainer or cheesecloth until the remaining liquid has no residue. Some silt is normal.
3. Assemble Drink. Add ice and horchata chai in a class, then top with ground cinnamon.
4. Mix and Enjoy!

Other Horchata Drinks to Try

If you love sweet, creamy, and spiced drinks like this, here are some other horchata drinks to try next:

• Horchata matcha latte
• Tres leches latte (Must Try!)
• Horchata frappe
• Chocolate horchata
• Hot chocolate horchata
• Horchata boba
• Dirty horchata
• Horchata tea
• Coconut horchata
• Almond milk horchata

Tips:

Here are some tips for making a delicious horchata chai at home!

• Use Chai Concentrate: Want an easy hack for making this drink faster? You can use chai concentrate on top of your homemade horchata or add it to the water you soak your rice in!
• Wash the Rice: I haven’t actually tested the difference, but I think washing the rice helps get rid of any extra starch. This (hypothetically) makes your horchata more smooth and less starchy. I think it also helps it get less gloopy.