Make your favorite homemade chai latte in the comfort of your own home. This Indian-inspired masala chai tea is warmly-spiced to perfection with natural flavors and can be sweetened to taste.
If you’re captivated by the comfort of chai tea, you’ll love making your own homemade chai tea latte!
While chai concentrate used in coffee houses to make powerful chai tea lattes is delicious in its own right, we’re here making our own homemade chai tea for an authentic experience.
All we need is a handful of warm spices, water, black tea bags, your favorite sweetener and your favorite kind of milk.
Could we use store-bought chai tea bags to make a chai tea latte? Yes, absolutely. In fact, I have done so in the past numerous times. However, we are here for the sake of going through the whole process of making authentic chai.
Let’s dive into the details!
What is Chai?
For those of you who haven’t tried a chai tea, it is a warmly-spiced blend of black tea and herbs and spices that has been sweetened and combined with milk.
Many coffee shops use a highly-sweetened concentrated chai so that the end result is much milkier than traditional chai.
So what exactly is Chai?
The word, “Chai” is Hindi for “Tea” and originates from India.
Turkey and Pakistan also have their own adaptation of chai.
The Indian version classically involves cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, sometimes fennel and ginger. These species are stewed with black tea then combined with milk and sugar.
When ginger is added to classic Chai, the beverage is known as Adrak Chai.
Customizable in many ways, we can experiment with the strength of black tea, spices, sweetness, and creaminess for that perfect mug of tea.
Some people use condensed milk instead of regular milk for a creamier, richer result.
I take some extra time to stew the spices in order to enhance the flavors. You can easily make a big batch of chai tea to have plenty on hand to reheat for days on end.
There are many countries that have their own take on chai tea, using various ingredients at varying quantities. The recipe here is Indian-inspired masala chai, which is the most common type of chai we consume in the U.S.
Let’s discuss the different kinds of chai. I personally find this interesting because each culture has its own delicious unique approach.
Difference Between Pakistani Chai and Indian Chai:
From what I have read, the main difference between Pakistani Chai and Masala Chai from India is Pakistani chai is stronger with bolder flavor, where Indian chai is smoother, less robust.
Remember, each individual has their own way of making this famous tea. While there are traditional methods, it is fully acceptable to adapt recipes for chai to your own personal taste.
How Much Chai Does This Recipe Make?
The way I see it, I might as well make a large batch of chai if I’m already going through the process.
This recipe makes enough for 2 to 3 large servings, although the recipe can easily be multiplied for more servings.
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for chai tea!
Chai Tea Ingredients:
Spices: The main ingredients for masala chai consist of cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, whole cloves, black peppercorns, and fresh ginger. Some people add fennel seed, which I typically swap for one star anise.
Each spice serves a unique role in bringing warmth for a flavorful tea.
The quantity of these spices can easily be adjusted based on personal taste. This recipe makes a medium-strength chai tea, yet it can be made weaker for less flavor, or more concentrated for more flavor.
Black Tea: In addition to the above mentioned chai spices, we also need black tea bags. Loose leaf tea works too.
Can you use green tea? Absolutely! Just know that green tea does not make an authentic chai latte recipe, but I always invite people to go off script.
English breakfast, Rooibos tea, or any plain black tea works in a jiffy.
Water: The chai spices must steep in hot water, so while water is usually not mentioned on an ingredients list, it plays an important role here.
Milk: Pick your favorite milk to make a hot chai latte. I like using whole milk or full-fat canned coconut milk.
Any type of dairy or non-dairy milk works. Almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, and even half & half are commonly used.
Just note that whatever type of milk you use will impact the final flavor of the latte.
Sweetener: Pick your favorite sweetener, or go without sugar entirely. Cane sugar, brown sugar, sugar-free sweetener such as monk fruit sweetener or stevia extract, coconut sugar, and pure maple syrup are all great options.
Because I stick with natural sweeteners, I like using honey or pure maple syrup.
Optional Additions:
- 2 to 4 Tbsp collagen for added health benefits
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
How to Make Chai:
Heat the water and spices in a medium-sized saucepan over high heat until it comes to a full boil. Use a spoon to remove the star anise (if you added one).
Reduce the heat to a gentle boil and continue stewing the spices at a gentle boil for 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered. If you have the time, feel free to boil for longer.
This process unlocks the flavor in the spices. For weaker chai, only cook spices for 5 to 8 minutes.
Turn off the heat, remove the star anise, and add the three tea bags.
Steep the tea bags for 10 minutes
Strain the tea into another pot, removing the spices and tea bags. Add the sugar and milk and heat until the tea reaches your desired temperature.
If you have a milk frother, feel free to froth the milk separately (this is what I do). Pour your desired amount of frothy milk and tea into a large mug to make your creamy chai latte.
Note that if you’d like a stronger or more concentrated mix such as chai tea concentrate, you can boil the spices for a longer period of time in step 1. You will need a different recipe for homemade chai syrup.
Store chai in a large class jar or airtight container of choice in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If the chai contains milk, it will keep for one week, however, if it doesn’t contain milk, it will last for up to two weeks.
Iced Chai Latte:
If you prefer cold drinks or it is summertime where you are, you can easily turn this into an iced chai latte. To do so, allow the tea to cool to room temperature prior to transferring it to the refrigerator to chill completely.
When you’re ready for your drink, add ice cubes to a large glass, followed by your desired amount of tea and desired amount of milk.
Sip and enjoy!
How to Make a Dirty Chai:
What is a dirty chai tea latte? A dirty chai latte is a regular chai latte with a shot of espresso added to it. So in order to make one, simply follow this recipe and add a shot of espresso when you’re adding the hot milk.
Note that you will need an espresso machine in order to make a dirty chai tea latte.
Does Chai Have Caffeine?:
Unless otherwise specified, yes. Any chai tea latte you buy from a coffee shop will have caffeine unless they state it doesn’t.
Similarly, unless you use decaffeinated black tea, your homemade lattes will be caffeinated too.
Each bag of black tea contains about 47 grams of caffeine.
And that’s it! A beautiful base recipe to use for your own inspiration. Use this easy recipe as a canvass for your own tea creations. Feel free to comment below telling me how you customize it!
If you enjoy making homemade warm beverages, also try my Earl Grey Matcha Latte or my Keto Hot Chocolate.
Enjoy a homemade chai tea latte every day!
Homemade Chai Latte
Ingredients
- 1 (1.5-inch) nub fresh ginger peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 small cinnamon sticks about 3 to 4 inches long
- 5 whole cloves
- 6 cardamom pods or 1 tsp whole cardamom
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 star anise optional
- 3.5 cups water
- 3 black tea bags*
- 1 to 3 Tbsp sugar to taste**
- Pinch sea salt to taste
- 2 cups milk***
Instructions
- Heat the water and spices in a medium-sized saucepan over high heat until it comes to a full boil. Use a spoon to remove the star anise (if you added one). Reduce the heat to a gentle boil and continue stewing the spices at a gentle boil for 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered. This process unlocks the flavor in the spices. For weaker chai, only cook spices for 5 to 8 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the three tea bags.
- Steep the tea bags for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea.
- Strain the tea into another pot, removing the spices and tea bags. Add the sugar and milk and heat until the tea reaches your desired temperature. If you have a milk frother, feel free to froth the milk separately (this is what I do). Pour your desired amount of frothy milk and tea into a large mug to make your creamy chai latte.
- Note that if you’d like a stronger or more concentrated mix such as chai tea concentrate, you can boil the spices for a longer period of time in step 1. You will need a different recipe for homemade chai syrup.
- Store chai in a large class jar or airtight container of choice in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If the chai contains milk, it will keep for one week, however, if it doesn’t contain milk, it will last for up to two weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
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