Chai Latte (Starbucks Copycat Recipe)
on Jul 11, 2021, Updated Mar 16, 2023
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With just 2 ingredients, this spiced black tea Starbucks hot drink is so easy to make at home, including the frothy foam. It’s a little spicy and perfectly sweet.
Recipe Highlights
- Chai Latte is a spiced tea drink made with black tea, warming spices like cinnamon and clove, and milk. This copycat recipe recreates the Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks. It’s the most popular tea drink at Starbucks.
- It’s so easy to make, with just 2 ingredients (chai concentrate and milk), using the same brand of chai concentrate that Starbucks uses.
- The delicious fluffy foam is made using my trick of frothing milk with a French press.
- This recipe makes a 16 ounce cup of chai latte, which is the exact size of a grande drink size.
RELATED: Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte Copycat
Ingredient Notes
- Tazo Classic Chai Latte Concentrate: This chai concentrate tastes exactly like the one used at Starbucks, but the one in the stores are a stronger concentrate that needs to be diluted with water. A black tea concentrate is made with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and vanilla.
- Milk: 2% milk is what Starbucks uses to make makes their chai latte but you can use any kind of milk you like, including oat or soy.
For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
My Chai Concentrate Pick
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Heat chai concentrate and milk in a saucepan.
Step 2: Pour heated chai latte into a French press.
Step 3: Place lid and move the plunger up and down. Chai latte will double in volume.
Step 4: Pour chai latte into a mug.
Expert Tips
- Every company makes a different chai blend using different spices so if you want your chai latte to taste just like Starbucks, you’ll need to use the Tazo chai concentrate.
- No need to add any sugar since the chai concentrate is sweetened.
- To customize your drink, add brown sugar syrup and swap the 2% milk with oat milk. Top it off with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam.
- If don’t want the froth, you can skip the French press and just heat the milk and chai concentrate.
- Don’t overfill the French press. Since the chai latte will double in volume as air is pumped in, don’t fill the French press more than halfway with the chai latte.
- A handheld milk frother can also be used to make froth, but the French press does a better job.
Questions You May Have
Yes, the chai is made with black tea, so there’s caffeine in the drink.
It tastes like black tea with hints of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and other warming spices. The milk and sugar make it creamy and sweet.
It’s made with 2% milk, water, and a chai tea concentrate that includes black tea, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and vanilla.
Related
- Chai Latte from Scratch
- Iced Chai from Scratch
- 15 Starbucks Chai Drinks (Including Secret Menu)
- Starbucks Iced Matcha Latte Copycat
- 23 Popular Starbucks Secret Tea Menu Drinks
- 7 Benefits of Drinking Chai Tea
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Starbucks Chai Latte Copycat
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup Tazo Classic Chai Latte Concentrate
- ½ cup 2% milk
Instructions
- Heat chai concentrate and milk in a saucepan. Simmer on low for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour heated chai latte into a French press.
- Place lid on the French press and move the plunger up and down 20 times.Make sure to hold onto the lid as you move the plunger. Chai latte will double in volume.
- Pour chai latte into a mug.
Notes
- 2% milk is what Starbucks uses to make makes their chai latte but you can use any kind of milk you like, including oat or soy.
- Every company makes a different chai blend using different spices so if you want your chai latte to taste just like Starbucks, you’ll need to use the Tazo chai concentrate.
- No need to add any sugar since the chai concentrate is sweetened.
- To customize your drink, add brown sugar syrup and swap the 2% milk with oat milk. Top it off with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam.
- If don’t want the froth, you can skip the French press and just heat the milk and chai concentrate.
- Don’t overfill the French press. Since the chai latte will double in volume as air is pumped in, don’t fill the French press more than halfway with the chai latte.
- A handheld milk frother can also be used to make froth, but the French press does a better job.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just had a question about the spice level. Crazy enough, I haven’t had a chai (yet) that was as awesomely spicy as Starbucks. Of course, from place to place it varies on the barista but I LOVE it when it’s spicy. I just bought the Bigelow Vanilla Chai teabag and made it with oatmilk and it’s just…not giving me the spicy punch I’m looking for. I’ve tried the Oregon Chai Tea Latte concentrate and still feel like it’s lacking.
I also use oatmilk, do you think the oatmilk flavor just masks everything too much? I’m in dire need of a chai latte I can make at home that packs the punch.
Hi Serina, oatmilk can be masking the spices in chai concentrates. I would try making chai from scratch so you can add more spices: https://www.ohhowcivilized.com/homemade-chai-from-scratch/
can i heat the syrup and milk in a microwave for a minute to get the right heat and foam?
Hi Dawn, yup!