Chai Tea Concentrate
Fragrant, cozy, and full of warm spice, this homemade Chai Tea Concentrate Recipe is simple to make and tastes better than anything from a store. Just steep black tea with whole spices, sweeten with honey, and mix with your favorite milk for the perfect chai latte—hot or iced!
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons dried ginger pieces or about a 1 inch knob fresh
- 6 cinnamon sticks
- 6 star anise pods
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon whole allspice berries
- 1 tablespoon green cardamom pods heaping tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 1/2 teaspoons for less of a spicy tea
- 4 tablespoons loose black tea or 5 black tea bags
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
- 4 tablespoons sweetener honey, sugar, coconut sugar, etc.
- milk of your choice for serving (whole, oat, almond, soy, etc.)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the water and dried spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Add the tea leaves or tea bags, cover, and let steep for 5 minutes. If you are using a vanilla bean pod, split it down the center length-wise and put it in the pot to steam too.
- Remove the tea bags (if using) and strain out the spices using a fine mesh sieve. Stir in vanilla paste or extract, if using instead of the whole bean.
- If you'd like to add 4-6 tablespoons of sweetener to your concentrate, you can stir it in at this time. Stir to dissolve. This is optional. See notes for more details.
- Let the chai concentrate cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container or glass jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 days.
How to Serve
- Mix 1 to 2 parts chai concentrate with 1 part milk of your choice.
Notes
Servings: Makes about 4 cups of concentrate, 8 servings of ½ cup each. If you are drinking a lot of tea you can double this recipe.
Ideas For Making Lattes: You have a LOT of options on how to use this. And the ratio on how you make it into a latte is going to be up to your preferences.
Here's how I make a hot chia tea latte: I'll put ½ cup of the chai tea concentrate in a small saucepan along with ½ cup whole milk and a splash of maple syrup (if I didn't already add sweetener). I'll heat it over medium-low heat until the top of the liquid just starts to steam. Serve right away. The trick with this is not letting your milk heat too much or too fast because it can curdle.
To make an iced chai tea latte: I'll simple add ½ cup concentrate to a cup of ice and stir in 1/2 cup of milk and a splash of maple syrup. Stir with your straw and enjoy.
If you don't like as much tea/spice to your latte, just add more milk up to 1 cup.
Sweetener Options: If you add the sweetener and how much is totally up to you. Sometimes I'll stir in 4-6 tablespoons of honey so that it melts in and sometimes I don't do anything and just add a little maple syrup when I'm making my latte. It's really a personal preference.
Yummy Topping: Both the hot and cold lattes are delightful with some ground cinnamon sprinkles on the top.
Spice Tips:
- You can buy small quantities of all of these spices at most bulk food or health food stores with bulk spice bins. It's a great way to try the recipe before committing to a large quantity of the spices. You'll love it though if you like chai tea.
- You can lightly crush all of the spices with a mortar and pestle to make the flavors even stronger if you have one.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 11kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 13IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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