Chai tea is traditionally a blend of tea, spices, and milk. Learn everything you need to know about how to make a perfect Chai tea latte in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Chai Tea Latte at Home
There is truly nothing better than a warm and spicy chai tea latte. We’ve been ordering them at local coffee shops with almond milk or oat milk and they are just so yummy.
Since chai tea lattes are made with black tea, this morning drink does contain a bit of caffeine. But, in this post, we’ll teach you how to add even more caffeine to get that morning jolt you know and love.
why we love this chai tea latte recipe
- Ready in less than 15 minutes.
- Easily customizable.
- Cheaper than buying one at a coffee shop.
- Warm and satisfying.
Ingredients You Need
Here is everything you need before you start whipping up a chai tea latte at home–>
- Milk– you can use whatever milk you would like. We prefer non-dairy milks such as oat milk for a hot latte and almond milk for an iced latte. Soy milk would work, too!
- Black or Chai Tea Bags- you’re more than welcome to use a plain black tea bag becuase a lot of the flavor comes from the chai spice mix. However, you can also use a pre-made chai tea. Chai tea brands vary in flavor, spice, and sweetness. Make sure you find a chai tea bag that aligns with your pallet.
- Chai Spice– Our recipe calls for a chai spice blend and this is to add even more delicious warmth to your chai tea latte recipe.
- Maple Syrup– a little sweetness balances out the spice of the chai in this recipe. We love to use maple syrup or honey as a sweetener for this recipe.
- Espresso (optional)– if you want to make a dirty chai latte, add a shot of espresso!
What Spices are in Chai Tea?
Chai tea typically has a black tea base and a blend of warm spices such as:
- Cardamom
- Allspice
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Ginger
When you order a chai tea latte at a coffee shop they typically use an already brewed chai tea. Our favorite is Gray Duck Chai (it’s kind of like a chai concentrate), not only because it is Minnesota brewed, but because it’s the perfect balance of spicy + sweet.
Instead of using an already brewed chai tea, we steep our own black tea and use our DIY Chai Spices to make the perfect at-home chai tea latte. Heck yes, we make our own chai tea spices.
Homemade
Chai Spices
Make a double batch of these chai spices to have in your pantry for all of the best fall recipes.
Chai Tea Latte FAQ
What is chai tea?
Chai tea has a base of black tea with a mixture of warm ayurvedic spices.
Typically, chai spices consist of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and sometimes even black pepper. Check out our DIY Chai Spice recipe for details.
Does chai tea have caffeine?
Yes, chai tea does have caffeine has about 40 mg of caffeine if you use a 4 oz. bag of black tea! You can also make your chai tea latte with decaffeinated black tea!
Are chai tea lattes bad for you?
Everything in moderation! Chai tea lattes have some great health benefits!
What Do I Use to Froth a Chai Tea Latte?
After you stir all your ingredients together you can use an immersion blender or a milk frother to froth your milk before adding it to your chai latte. We suggest frothing your milk in a tall jar or glass of some kind.
Chai Tea Health Benefits
Not only is chai tea delicious, but it also has a slew of health benefits! If you are looking to de-bloat or become a little more regular in the loo, add a cup of chai tea to your daily routine!
Good for digestion- Chai tea spices are a combination of some amazing digestive spices that promote healthy bowels, people!
Cinnamon and ginger are said to calm the stomach while spices like cardamom and allspice have properties that help decrease bloating.
Reduced Caffeine- Yes, black tea does have caffeine, but it has half the amount of caffeine than a cup of black coffee.
If you are looking to cut back on your caffeine intake try black tea instead of coffee! Or? Make yourself a delicious chai tea latte, duh!
Antioxidant-rich Black tea is the base of most chai tea and black tea is antioxidant-rich, (especially in flavonoids) which support heart health!
Anti Inflammatory Ginger and cinnamon are two of the main ingredients in our DIY chai spices and both ginger and cinnamon are known for their anti-inflammatory properties!
How to Make Chai Tea Latte
- Mix chai spices: Before mixing up this chai tea latte recipe choose a chai spice mixture and black tea. We used our DIY Chai Spices and two bags of Earl Grey tea (because it’s our favorite). Feel free to choose any kind of black tea- caffeinated or non-caffeinated.
- Heat and remove: Next, place almond milk, tea bags, maple syrup, and chai spices into a sauce pan and bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Let steep for at least 3 minutes or longer if you would like it stronger.
- Sieve: Remove tea bags and pour the whole mixture through a fine sieve into a mug (if you don’t have a sieve just be sure to not pour the sediment at the bottom of the pot into the mug.
- Serve immediately.
Iced Chai Tea Latte Directions
Looking to drink an iced chai tea latte? Simply let the mixture cool for around 10-15 minutes. Then, serve it over ice. It’s as easy as that!
Why is my chai tea latte gritty? The reason why your chai tea latte is gritty is probably that the chai spices settled at the bottom of your cup. This is why we used a fine sieve to remove the sediment so that there is no grittiness!
Chai Tea Latte Recipe
This almond milk chai tea latte recipe is an excellent source of antioxidants and is a great way for you to get a boost of caffeine. Add this chai tea latte to your morning routine or make yourself a mug for a mid-afternoon snack!
Ingredients
- 2 cup unsweetened almond milk (any kind of milk works)
- 2 black tea bags (chai tea also works)
- 2 teaspoons homemade chai spice
- 1– 2 tablespoons maple syrup (to taste)
- optional: 2 shots espresso (to make it dirty)
Instructions
- Place almond milk, tea bags, maple syrup, and chai spices into a small sauce pan and whisk.
- Next, bring to a boil over medium/high heat and immediately remove from heat.
- Let the tea seep for at least 3 minutes or longer if you would like it stronger.
- Remove tea bags and pour the whole mixture through a fine sieve into a mug (if you don’t have a sieve just be sure to not pour the sediment at the bottom of the pot into the mug).
- If drinking hot, serve immediately. If you’d like an iced chai tea latte, let the mixture cool for around 10 minutes. Then, pour it over a large glass of ice.
Tips & Notes
- Recipe method was updated on October 19th, 2020.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/2 Calories: 49 Sugar: 3 Sodium: 181 Fat: 3 Carbohydrates: 5 Fiber: 1 Protein: 1Keywords: Chai tea latte, chai tea latte recipe
I made the chai spice mix for this recipe. Using almond milk as suggested created a weird smoothy-like consistency, as well as having the spices suspended in the liquid. I was careful not to boil the almond milk with tea bags because I was concerned about clumping. I didn’t see the suggestion to further heat the mixture to better dissolve the spices, but I am not sure that the cardamom will dissolve (it is definitely more coarse than the other ground spices). I will try it with milk next time and hope that the consistency is more like chai tea in India.
★★★
Thanks so much for your feedback, Lauren! We’re going to be retesting this recipe next week! STAY TUNED.
This recipe is delicious. I have a question about sediment though. I used your mix of spices and there’s just so much sediment at the bottom, I tried using a coffee filter with the spices but the flavor just wasn’t there. Is there something I’m doing wrong?
★★★★★
What you can do is put it back on the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes. That should dissolve the spices!
Lovely warming, spicy mid-afternoon pick-up. Used the chai recipe spice blend also on FFF!!
★★★★★
I tried this today it was lovely, I drink chai lattes all the time and I was looking for something healthier, in this recipe the spices are much less overpowered by the sugar and it’s really delicious 😊
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this latte, Andrea!
This was delicious! I was looking for something that wasn’t too sweet but “comfort food” as well. I used chia tea bags instead of the chia mix. Thank you for this recipe!
I currently get free coffee and hot chocolate at the chocolate shop I work at! It’s AMAZING. It’s wonderful making almond milk lattes and sugar free cappuccinos all day long. Every now and then, I create some Aztec or chai almond milk hot chocolate mugs and have a BALL. Now I need to make a chai latte someday–I love the flavor and it would be an amazing combination!
Really love this recipe! My kids and I are obsessed with chai tea lattes and this is way better than the store. Love your stuff! ☺
★★★★★
So glad your fam loved it! So easy and healthy, too!
Hopefully I can find this Sunrich product in Duluth! I love chai tea lattes, so it would definitely be fun to try this out! Thanks for the MN find!
Yeah Duluth! Just use their handy dandy product finder 🙂
How interesting! Sunflower Seed Milk! What on earth will they come out with next!! 🙂 Spaghetti Squash milk? LOL
eeeeee so exciting! Reppin Canadians! Love you, love your blog. Cheers to MANY more years to come 🙂
happy birthday to FFF!
Happy Blogiversary!!!
Happy Birthday FFF, congrats on the new partnership, and daaaayum that loooks delicious!
Thanks LEX!
Happy Birthday to FFF and congrats on the new partnership! I swear you must have more than 24 hours in a day, my friend! Share your secrets! 😉
Seriously. I ask myself that quite often 🙂 Time management. Sleep. Exercise.
Woohoo…Happy Birthday FFF!!!
Thanks Holly!
Happy Blogoversary!
Thanks Courtney!