In the hyper-mega-multiverse that is the internet, a gal can’t help but like a post or two about lattes — more specifically, chai and matcha lattes. Over the past few years, chai, a smooth and spiced tea, and matcha, a strong, rich green tea (perhaps the green juice of the tea world), both often paired with milk, have taken the world by storm.

The tea latte branch of coffee shops isn’t something silly to be messed with; it’s complicated and layered and requires plenty of knowledge to navigate. The only thing I might hear more than Mariah Carey during the holiday season is a girl my age at the Starbucks counter asking for an “iced gingerbread chai latte with light ice, extra gingerbread syrup, an extra shot of espresso, sugar cookie cold foam and holiday sprinkles.”

Living in Minnesota, the age-old debate of Caribou vs. Starbucks remains alive. So, I decided to compare two identical orders from the two coffee shops and determine which is better.

First of all: Caribou’s pricing was… something real. I paid $13.00 and change for the two small drinks at Caribou, but the same two drinks at Starbucks came to about $10.80. For reference, two medium drinks at Starbucks are just around $12.00, so over $13.00 for two smalls is a stretch for sure. I’m not sure it’s accurate to say that affected my decision much, but I certainly could taste my money in every sip.

As far as external appearance goes, some Starbucks facilities have switched to bio-friendly cups made of (presumably) recycled ingredients. At the Starbucks locations that haven’t switched to eco-friendly packaging, the plastic cups have nice messages written on them. I’m one of the few people out there who didn’t really mind the compostable cups at first. I do miss being able to see my beautiful drink, though, and the feeling of a soggy compostable cup is almost as disappointing as the feeling of a soggy paper straw.

Caribou, however, has made no such efforts. They still have plastic cups and their employees are not yet forced to be nice to people.

I ordered an iced matcha latte with almond milk and lavender syrup. Many matcha enjoyers, including myself, are often disappointed by too much milk, so I usually avoid getting matcha at coffee shops to try to outsmart the disappointment that I know is coming. Believe it or not, Caribou’s matcha was in fact, quite milky — but not to the degree where it just tasted like milk. For whatever reason, the matcha at Caribou was significantly more sweet and nutty and less earthy than matcha typically tends to be. Many people often explain matcha to be slightly bitter or to taste “like the ground,” but Caribou’s didn’t match that, perhaps to be more marketable to people who don’t like the grassy flavor.

Starbucks had no trouble checking off the boxes for what matcha is. It had the very grassy, earthy flavor that people talk about, and it didn’t have too much milk. The lavender syrup wasn’t very potent in either of the lattes, which was disappointing for me (because I like to be able to taste the flavors I’m adding to my drinks), but might not be for everyone. Visually, Starbucks’ matcha took on a totally gorgeous medium-dark-ish green, whereas Caribou’s was more light, giving away the milk content, and had a sweet foam on the top. No concentrated matcha latte will be as light as Caribou’s was.

If I were reviewing suitable drinks for the first-time matcha drinkers of the world, Caribou could’ve been a winner in this category. It was more easily palatable than Starbucks’ grass latte, but it didn’t taste much like actual matcha, which is why I’d nudge it towards first-time matcha people. Starbucks seems to be more dedicated to the classic matcha flavor, which takes the cake overall.

Chai was a tough one. I ordered a classic iced chai latte with almond milk. Starbucks’ was incredibly light in both color and flavor. To be fair, some of the ice had melted, but not enough to affect the flavor terribly. Caribou’s chai is, once again, pretty sweet, but not too sweet, and despite being quite milky, it still had a flavorful yet mild combination of spices. Starbucks’ was significantly lacking in flavor. Looking at them both from above, Starbucks was comparable to the color of milk after eating Cheerios, whereas Caribou’s was (slightly…) darker and more clearly some kind of latte and not just abnormally yellow-looking milk. In my past experience, I really disliked Caribou’s chai recipe due to the inconsistency; sometimes it’s just milk, and sometimes it tastes like someone had a bad day and threw their spice cabinet at me. On this particular day, the ratio was pretty dang good.

When it comes to the flavor of the drinks, Caribou should be where you’re going for your chai, but if you want a good, traditional matcha, Starbucks is where you’ll want to be. Although Starbucks remains the queen of seasonal and specialty chai lattes (e.g., Gingerbread Chai, Sugar Cookie Chai, Pumpkin Chai), their classic chai just simply didn’t cut it. When I want a chai, I’m looking for the flavorful and spiced kind that you can pick up at Caribou.

On the other hand, Caribou’s matcha was slightly boring and way too sweet to be a plain matcha latte — if I wanted sweet milk, I wouldn’t have ordered a matcha.

Final word?

In general, I’d say Starbucks’ overall menu variety would lead them to prevail in the overall debate of Starbucks vs. Caribou, but in this specific competition, Caribou comes out successful. A (sometimes) good chai and a sweet matcha win over an authentic matcha and some yellow milk. Starbucks remains in my heart when it comes to seasonal chai’s, though. That’s something that Caribou hasn’t quite found out how to copy yet.