This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
As you are reading this post today, I am happy to be snuggled up with a warm blanket at a blogging retreat in Park City, Utah. There is snow falling outside our door, good blogging friends are near, and I am happy to be nestling in for some much needed R&R.
I don’t know about you, but it seems like fall has gotten off to abusy start. Busy, busy, busy. Always a little more busy than I’d like. Always trying to work on that. I embarrassingly didn’t even realize that the leaves were changing in Kansas City until I saw it on Instagram!!
Still, the transition into fall is one of my absolute favorite times of the year, and I have been trying to take small moments during the day to pause and soak it up. I’ve learned that one of the small habits that seems to always help with this is to cozy up with a warm drink first thing in the morning or at the end of the day. There’s something about holding a steaming hot mug and then taking slow, thoughtful sips that is the essence of comfort and calm.
So today, I thought I would share with you a recipe for one of my favorite comfort drinks — homemade chai tea.
I first learned to love chai back in the day at — you guessed it — Starbucks. I instantly got hooked on the drink and all of those delicious spices, and began stopping by to order an iced chai almost every day for work. Then the $4 daily expense got a little ridiculous. So I learned to buy Tazo chai concentrate at the grocery store. Then (bonus!) I learned that it was sold even cheaper at Costco!
But after years of buying those mega 3-packs of concentrate, I began to get tired of theuber-sweetness of that brand of chai. I loved the spices, but the sugar was too much. So I finally learned how to make homemade chai.
My version is all based around making a chai concentrate so that you can refrigerate it and keep it around for multiple batches. All you need are a handful of spices and seasonings and about 20 minutes, and then you’ll have plenty of concentrate ready to make as much hot chai or iced chai as you’d like.
But the best part is that you can totally tweak the recipe according to your taste. If you really love the sweetness of the chai you get at Starbucks, by all means, add in more sugar and/or honey. If you like yours really peppery, add in more peppercorns. If you like yours really strong or really weak, that’s the joy of concentrate — you can control exactly how much flavor you get. Bottom line, everyone has their own preferences with chai, so with a homemade recipe you can make it your own!
With the holidays coming up, I’ll also add in that this is a perfect comfort food gift to jar up and give to your chai-loving friends.
Hope you enjoy!
Print
Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 40 reviews
Prep Time:5 minutes
Cook Time:20 minutes
Total Time:25 minutes
Yield:0 About 4 cups concentrate 1x
Print Recipe
Description
Make homemade chai tea with this delicious and simple chai tea concentrate recipe.
Ingredients
Scale
12 cardamom pods, gently crushed
8 whole black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
4-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced
4 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks
3 whole allspice (optional)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar (more or less to taste)
2 star anise
1 vanilla bean, sliced down the middle
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
4 black tea bags
Instructions
Bring all ingredients except tea bags together to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add tea bags and let steep for 5 minutes. Pour mixture through a strainer and reserve the liquid for concentrate, and let cool to room temperature.
Mix equal parts concentrate with water or milk to make chai tea. Or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week.
To Make Hot Chai Tea:
Combine 1 part chai tea concentrate with 1 part water or milk (cow’s milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc.), and stir to combine. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally. Or heat in the microwave until simmering.
To Make Iced Chai Tea:
1 part water or milk (cow’s milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc.), and stir to combine. Serve over ice.
Generally, this is somewhere between 200 and 212 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes. If your chai has a green tea base, it should be steeped at a lower temperature, somewhere around 170 to 190 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes.
To make cold brew iced chai, I used this cold brew iced tea method as a guide, adding the tea and spices to a pitcher, topping it with cold filtered water, then covering and chilling for 18 hours. I mixed equal parts cold brew and milk with simple syrup to serve.
Chai Tea Lattes can be enjoyed hot or cold (as iced chai lattes), and they offer a delightful combination of flavors that make them a favorite choice for many tea enthusiasts and coffee lovers alike.
Texture: Hot chai lattes have a creamy and comforting texture due to the addition of milk during the brewing process. The heat from the tea helps to meld the flavors together. On the other hand, iced chai lattes have a lighter and more refreshing texture, with the cold temperature providing a cooling effect.
Steamed milk in the latte version adds a creamy texture to the drink, making it more indulgent than a simple iced chai. While both drinks are based on chai tea, the presence of milk in the iced chai latte brings out a smoother and creamier taste.
The best way to check if it is done is to watch for the color. The tea should turn a nice brown color. If it's pale, it's not done. But make sure it doesn't boil for too long, or it might become too concentrated and taste bitter.
"Whole milk is the best for hot chai, as it contains a lot of natural fats that create a really creamy taste," Sanyal says. While whole milk is traditional for chai, you can really use any milk you like. Switch it up with non-dairy milk like almond, oat, or soy, or make your chai a little lighter with skim.
“Tea contains caffeine, which can become more concentrated upon reheating, potentially causing adverse effects like jitteriness or sleep disturbances. Reheating tea can also potentially contribute to acidity due to the breakdown of certain compounds and changes in pH levels,” said Goyal.
Chai tea is a loose-leaf style tea brewed in hot milk, usually with some honey or sugar to sweeten it up. While Chai lattes are often made with either a soluble powder or a syrup imitating a chai flavor. Chai latte is a lot sweeter than chai tea.
There's a lot of options for sweeteners like white sugar or jaggery, but my favorite is brown sugar! Milk: Depending on your preference, you might like your chai on the milkier side or not. Either way, make sure to be cautious with your choice of milk. I almost always use whole or 2% milk in my chai.
You can drink chai without the sweetener if you wish, but the sweetener brings out the flavor of the spices in a way that warms you all the way down to your toes.
Remove tea bag and stir in milk and honey or sugar.Allow the chai to just return to a boil, then pour into a mug and serve. Note that if you let chai sit for too long, it will form a "skin." This is normal, but if you'd rather not have it, periodically stir your chai while you enjoy it.
Pour boiling water over chai tea bag in a mug; let steep 4 to 6 minutes. Remove and discard tea bag. Stir honey and sugar into tea to dissolve. Stir milk through tea to serve.
Chai is traditionally served hot and is made from a blend of spices and tea with milk and sugar. The spices used in Chai are traditionally thought to improve the health of the person drinking it.
Steep for 5-10 minutes to taste. While the tea is brewing, heat 1 pint of milk with your choice of sweetener (e.g. brown sugar), then froth with a milk frother or immersion blender. To serve, strain tea into glasses and top up with frothed milk.Use around 1/3 tea to 2/3 milk.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
