Iced Chai Latte

As much as we love coffee, sometimes we need to switch it up a bit and chai tea offers the right amount of change. It has a bit of a kick from ginger as well as warming flavors from cardamom and cloves. 

This drink makes a great latte when mixed with milk and sweetened with a bit of sugar!

Chai tea latte is the perfect addition to your morning routine or great for when you need a midday drink that’s creamy, flavorful, and easy to make!

What’s a Chai Latte?

It’s a creamy drink made with classic chai spices, black tea, and frothed milk.

Ingredients for Spiced Chai Latte

• Fresh Ginger – Gives the chai tea a natural spicy kick that will awaken you. 
• Cardamom Seeds – Adds a level of bold spice. 
• Whole Cloves – This spice is slightly spicy and bitter and pairs well with the other ingredients. 
• Cinnamon Stick – Adds a sweet and warm cinnamon flavor to the tea. 
• Black Tea – Brings all the flavors together with classic black tea flavor and a bit of caffeine. 
• Water – Used to steep the black tea and seasonings. 
• Milk – Added to the finished tea to turn it into a latte. 
• Granulated Sugar – Sweetens up the tea. Use as little or as much as you like.

How To Make A Chai Latte From Scratch

This comforting tea is very simple to make right at home. Simply steep the black tea with spices and cinnamon. Once cooled, pour in your favorite milk and a touch of sugar for sweetness. 

1. Contain the spices: In a metal tea ball or a tea filter bag, add the fresh ginger, cardamom, and cloves. This will help keep them together when steeping. 
2. Boil the water: In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, remove it from the heat.

3. Steep the ingredients: To the hot water, add the black tea bag, and cinnamon stick, as well as, the metal spice ball. Stir together and let it steep for 5 minutes.
4. Assemble the chai latte: After the tea steeps, remove the ingredients and stir in the milk. You can also use an immersion blender or stick blender to froth the milk while it’s hot.
5. Serve hot or over ice with a dash of ground cinnamon. 

Tips for Your Chai Tea Latte

• Don’t steep too long. The black tea can start to give off a bitter taste if it sits too long in the hot water. I recommend 5 minutes for the best flavor.
• If you don’t have an immersion blender, try adding the tea and the milk to a mason jar with a lid, then shaking until frothy. Make sure it cools a bit first and be careful when you open the lid.
• Let it cool slightly before adding ice. If it’s still boiling hot, the liquid will just melt the ice and your chai latte will be watery. Let it cool slightly for the best results.
• Swap the sweetener. This recipe works great with honey, maple syrup, agave, light brown sugar, or even coconut sugar or lavender simple syrup. Just use your favorite.

Variations

• Dirty: Make a dirty chai latte with an extra dose of caffeine with a shot or two of espresso.
• Hot: I love this latte iced, but you can totally skip the cooling/icing step and just serve it hot.
• Decaf: You can easily make this recipe caffeine-free with decaf black tea bags.

Is there coffee in a chai latte?

Nope! Traditionally, it’s made with just black tea. Over the years, people have been adding coffee or a shot of espresso to bump up the caffeine which is often called a dirty chai latte. 

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