This homemade chai latte recipe is easy to make with black tea, warm spices, and your favorite milk. Sweeten it to taste with maple syrup!
I remember the first time I tasted a chai latte from a coffee shop. It was rich, sweet, and deliciously spiced. I immediately fell in love with the combination of earthy black tea and warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. And of course the frothy milk on top didn’t hurt either…
For a few years after that, a chai latte was my go-to order whenever I went out for coffee (erm…tea). But over time, coffee shop chai lattes got to be too sweet for me. Most are made with cartoned chai concentrate, so I wasn’t able to adjust the level of sweetness.
That’s where this chai latte recipe comes in. Made with whole spices, black tea, maple syrup, and a milk of your choice, it gives you complete control over your drink…while still delivering warm, spiced flavor. I think it beats any coffeehouse chai tea. I hope you love it too!
What Is a Chai Latte?
A chai latte is related to masala chai. This type of Indian tea is made by simmering black tea in water and milk with aromatic spices like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and black peppercorns. In Hindi, “masala” means spices and “chai” means tea.
A chai latte has similar ingredients, but it uses more milk and is often topped with milk foam. It has a milder tea flavor than masala chai.
Does chai have caffeine?
Most chai lattes are made with black tea, which contains caffeine. If you’d like to make a decaf chai latte, use decaffeinated black tea instead of regular.
How to Make a Chai Latte
You can find the complete chai latte recipe with measurements at the bottom of this post. For now, here’s a step-by-step overview of how it goes:
First, toast the spices. I use cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom pods, and star anise in this recipe. Toast them in a saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
Then, add the milk and ginger. When I first made a chai latte at home, I steeped the tea and spices in water and added steamed milk before serving. It came out much too watery for my taste, so now, I steep the tea and spices directly in the milk!
To the pot with the spices, add a milk of your choice (I like almond) and fresh ginger (no need to peel!). Gently simmer for 5 minutes.
Next, steep the tea. Turn off the heat and add the tea bags. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
Strain the chai through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. This step removes the chai spice blend and tea bags.
Sweeten to taste with maple syrup. If you don’t have maple on hand, another liquid sweetener, such as honey, would work too!
Finally, pour the chai lattes into mugs. If you like, top yours with frothy milk, a cinnamon stick, and a dusting of ground cinnamon. Enjoy!
Chai Tea Latte Recipe Tips
- Use whole spices. I’ve tried making this recipe with ground spices. Trust me when I tell you that the whole spices are better! They give the latte a stronger flavor and better texture. The ground spices can settle at the bottom, making it gritty.
- Store the leftovers in the fridge. Only serving one? The leftover latte mixture keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 days. Pour it over ice for an iced chai latte, or reheat it in the microwave for a warm drink.
- A little frothy milk takes it over the top. I’ve made this recipe many times and skipped the frothy milk on top. And you know what? It’s still delicious! That said, the milk foam is a fun touch here. If you have an espresso machine, use the steam wand to froth milk for this latte. If you don’t, you can shake warm milk in a lidded jar for about 30 seconds to froth it or blend it with an immersion blender. Though I like almond milk in this latte, creamier dairy-free milks like coconut milk and oat milk make better foam. Of course, whole milk works too!
More Cozy Drinks to Try
If you love this chai latte recipe, try one of these cozy drinks next:
Chai Latte
Ingredients
- 3 cinnamon sticks, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 5 whole cloves
- 4 green cardamom pods, crushed
- 2 star anise
- 2½ cups almond milk, or any milk, plus more foamed milk for topping if desired
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 black tea bags
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup, plus more to taste
- Ground cinnamon, for dusting, optional
Instructions
- Place the cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom pods, and star anise in a small pot. Toast over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Add the almond milk and ginger and reduce the heat to low. Gently simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the tea bags. Cover and steep for 10 minutes.
- Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or liquid measuring cup. Pour the tea mixture through the strainer to remove the spices, tea bags, and ginger.
- Stir in the maple syrup, adding more to taste. Pour into mugs and top with foamed milk, if desired. Garnish each mug with a cinnamon stick and dust with ground cinnamon, if using.
experienced chai-maker here. I make batches of concentrate to keep in the fridge – yes to whole spices but I simmer them *without* the tea. If you simmer tea (either bags or loose) or brew it a long time it’s bitter and too strong. The spices benefit from a long slow brew (I typically simmer for an hour in an airtight slow cooker). Strain off the spices, bring back to the boil, turn off the heat, add tea and put a lid on it. Let brew for 3-6 mins, no more. I use the concentrate half/half with milk, so double the amount of tea you use.
Looking at the recipe, I think that’s way too much spice for two servings (unless those are enormous US style servings ie buckets). I use different ratios of spices – much less cinnamon and cloves and a lot more cardamon. The fresh ginger is key. Fresh tumeric is an option too.
Finally, I do make this with black tea but more often with rooibus – a better no-caffeine option than decaf black tea. Hope this is useful, chai is indeed a delightful drink and it’s much better made at home than from those nasty syrups full of sugar and who knows what else.
Hi, thanks for sharing all these tips! We like this spice level for the quicker simmer that we use in this recipe, but I love the idea of making chai in a slow cooker too.
Thank you! My thoughts exactly as soon as I read this recipe.
Thank you so much for this recipe, can’t wait to try it out! I’m currently in India and enjoying masala as often as I can, the taste is divine 😊
Can you reuse the same spices for more batches?
I was wondering the same. Seems a shame to throw out the whole spices, but then again, once they’ve steeped, I don’t know how you would be able to keep them for the next batch.
Hi Jill, we haven’t tried reusing the spices. It could work, but I’m not sure I’d hold onto them after steeping them in milk.
Excited to try this recipe! What type of black tea do you use?
I’m thinking same
I used Whole Foods 365 brand – any plain black tea bags will work!
I used Whole Foods 365 brand – any plain black tea bags will work!