Hi, my name is Lauren, and I’m addicted to Chai Tea Lattes. (Hi, Lauren!)
I’m also addicted to Thai Tea Lattes, Thai Chi Lattes, and however else you can possibly mess up the name, so hang with me here and know that no matter what I say or type, I mean Chai Tea Latte!
There’s not much better this time of year than a warm comfort drink full of flavorful spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom… are you drooling yet?
But let’s be honest, my schedule and bank account don’t need the constant hit of sitting in the Starbucks drive-thru every day.
After we were forced to get a new coffee maker (because our old one was leaking so badly it was causing damage to our floors – not kidding), we realized we got one with a built-in frother.
So I thought I’d try my hand at making my own Chai Tea Lattes at home!
AND to take it one step further and save a little extra time, I decided to first make a Chai Tea Concentrate that I could store in my refrigerator for several days and enjoy lattes to my heart’s content!
Now that I’ve hopefully got you craving your very own Chai Tea Latte, let’s jump into the recipe.
CHAI TEA CONCENTRATE & LATTE RECIPE (THAT WILL SAVE YOU FROM THE STARBUCKS DRIVE-THRU LANE)
CHAI TEA CONCENTRATE INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups water
- 1 black tea bag (or about 1-1.5 tablespoons loose leaf black tea)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 cup honey
CHAI TEA CONCENTRATE DIRECTIONS
- In a medium sauce pan, add water and spices, then bring to a boil.
- Once it reaches a boil, turn off heat and cover, allowing it to steep for about 5 minutes.
- Add in your tea bag or loose leaf tea, then allow to steep for an additional 5 minutes.
- Stir in your honey until it dissolves completely.
- Using a very fine mesh strainer, strain your concentrate into mason jars and allow to cool down to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator for up to 5 days!
And if you’re ready to jump right into making your very own Chai Tea Latte, skip the part about putting the concentrate in the fridge. Instead, fill your mug halfway with your concentrate and follow the Chai Tea Latte recipe below!
CHAI TEA LATTE RECIPE
ADDITIONAL ITEMS NEEDED
- 1/2 cup milk of choice (my favorite is coconut milk)
- Frother or immersion blender
- Sprinkle of cinnamon for topping
Now that you’ve successfully made your concentrate (and your house smells amazing), you’re ready to make your very own Chai Tea Latte.
If you just made your concentrate and followed my advice from above, you already have a mug filled up halfway of warm Chai Tea Concentrate sitting in front of you.
If you stored yours in the fridge, go ahead and get it out! Fill up a microwave-safe mug halfway with your concentrate, and heat it up in the microwave for approximately 1.5 minutes or until hot.
Grab your favorite milk (I use coconut milk). Pour about 1/2 cup of your milk of choice in a separate microwave-safe mug or glass that’s deep enough to froth in without spilling (trust me on this one).
Heat your milk approximately 1.5 minutes in the microwave or until hot.
Using your frother or immersion blender, froth the milk until a thick layer of foam appears on the top.
Slowly fill up your mug with your frothed milk, then spoon some of the foam on top of your latte.
Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to finish it off, and you’ve got yourself your very own homemade latte!
There’s something to be said about doing it yourself and knowing exactly what you’re drinking. I opted for organic spices, tea, and milk, but to each their own!
However you choose to make yours, I hope you enjoy it (and the wonderful aroma that will linger in your home for hours)!
So what do you think? Will you give this one a try?