Iced Chai Latte from Scratch

The best iced chai latte is the one made at home, from scratch. Sweet, spicy, and milky– my iced chai latte recipe is one you’ll make over and over again.

What’s an Iced Chai Tea Latte?

Hold on, hold on. First, let me say that the words ‘chai’ and ‘tea’ together are redundant. Chai translates to the word ‘tea’ in Hindi. That’s why it’s incorrect to say “chai tea latte” since you’re just saying “tea tea latte.”

• Chai is any type of tea, but in the US, we mean a drink made of black tea and spices.
• This spiced tea drink is known as masala chai in India but we just call it chai.
• Iced chai latte is made up of ice, black tea, milk, a blend of spices, and sweetener.
• There is no single specific blend of spices that are used by everyone which means tea shops all sell their own version.
• The BEST chai is the one you make yourself from scratch, since you can tailor it to your taste.
• This recipe contains no artificial ingredients and sweetness can easily be adjusted. (The powdered chai mixes are WAY too sweet.)

My chai recipe was created through A LOT of trial and error, mixing a variety of spices. It took about two weeks of testing to get my blend of spices just right.

Love chai? Try these recipes: Chai Latte from Scratch, Chai Frappuccino, and Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte.

Ingredient Notes

• Black tea — loose, tea sachets
  The base for chai is black tea. Since chai is a beverage out of India, black tea from that area is the natural and obvious choice.
• Filtered water
  Use good quality water for a better tasting drink.
• Spice blend: Cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, whole cloves, star anise, black peppercorns, ground nutmeg, ground ginger
  The spices that are easy to find and available in India make up the spice blend.
• Vanilla extract
  Vanilla smooths out the spice blend notes.
• Honey
  Use any sweetener you like.
• Milk
  Any kind of milk is fine to use — I often make it with oat milk.

How to Make Iced Chai Latte

Here’s a quick overview of the steps to make this drink. For full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom.

1. Make chai concentrate

Everything but the milk and vanilla extract is put into a saucepan and simmered. Crush whole spices to it quicker to brew.

The solids are strained out, the vanilla extract is added, and you’ve got yourself a chai concentrate. Let the concentrate cool and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.

If you’re in a rush, you can drop in some ice cubes to cool it down. Although by adding more water, you’ll dilute the concentrate a bit.

2. Assemble drink

I use this ratio: one part chai concentrate to one part milk.

Pour chai halfway into a glass with ice and add milk.

Serving Suggestions

• Add frothed milk to the chai concentrate and it’s a hot chai latte. See how to froth milk at home.
• Blend it with ice and it’s a chai frappuccino.
• Blend it with ice cream and it’s a chai milkshake.
• Add tapioca balls and it’s a chai bubble tea.
• Freeze it and it’s a chai popsicle.

Notes & Tips

• Use whole spices since they’re the most flavorful.
• Make this iced chai latte recipe vegan by using oat milk and maple syrup instead of honey.
• If you want a stronger chai flavor, use less milk and more chai concentrate.

Best Tea for Chai Lattes

Any strong black tea works great for chai but I like to stick with Indian teas like:

• Assam
• Orange Pekoe (Ceylon & India)
  This is an Assam and Ceylon blend.
• Darjeeling
  Darjeeling can get very costly since there is a wide range in quality. For this recipe, get one that doesn’t cost too much.

Tea Sommelier’s Tip: Since the black tea is going to be blended with strong spices and milk, you don’t want to use the highest quality. Tea bags are fine to use for this recipe. Even Lipton tea bags are fine to use if that’s what you have.

RELATED: Where to Buy Tea Online

Chai Spice Notes

Cardamom is the most used ingredient in chai and it’s usually blended with ginger, star anise, cloves, cinnamon and pepper.

Other spices that can be added include nutmeg, fennel seed, coriander, and vanilla.

If possible, get the whole spice instead of the ground version since that’ll taste the best. (Although I did use ground ginger and ground nutmeg since it was easier to work with.)

RELATED: Chai Latte from Scratch

Make-Ahead & Storage Tips

The great thing about a chai concentrate is that several cups can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator in a covered or airtight container. It’ll keep for up to four days.

I don’t mix milk to my chai concentrate since I like to add that later when it’s ready to be served. This leaves it open for anyone who may want something other than whole milk.

Questions You May Have

More Chai Recipes

• Chai Latte from Scratch
• Chai Frappuccino
• Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte

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Iced Chai Latte

Author: Jee Choe

Sweet and spicy, this iced chai latte is one you’ll make over and over again.

4.6 from 58 votes

PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

Prep Time 3 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Cooling Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 13 mins

Course Drinks

Yield4 servings

EQUIPMENT

Saucepan

Water Filter

Mesh Strainer

INGREDIENTS

 

1x2x3x

• 2 cups milk any kind
• 4 cups Ice

Chai Concentrate

• 2 ½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons black tea or 4 tea sachets
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 10 cardamom pods
• 10 whole cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

INSTRUCTIONS

 

MAKE CHAI CONCENTRATE

• Crush and roughly chop the star anise, cloves, and cardamom pods.
• In a saucepan, add all ingredients for chai concentrate except for the vanilla extract.

  Use filtered water for a better tasting tea.
• Simmer for 10 minutes.

  Stir occasionally.
• Strain and discard solids.
• Add the vanilla extract.
• Let cool in refrigerator.

  Put chai concentrate in the refrigerator for about an hour to chill.

ASSEMBLE DRINK

• Fill a cup with ice and pour chai concentrate halfway then add milk.

NOTES

Instead of 2 tablespoons loose tea, use 4 tea sachets or 6 tea bags.

NUTRITION

Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 217mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 198IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 1mg

Keyword chai, chai latte, chai with milk, iced chai

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