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You didn’t think I’d leave you with only one amazing option this fall, did you?
I know we are still overly obsessed (in the very best way) with our homemade pumpkin spice latte and rightfully so. A homemade pumpkin spice latte is clearly the drink that’s meant to be enjoyed multiple times (maybe even daily?) as the leaves begin to change (which I know nothing about…Florida gal) and sweaters are worn.
I’m not asking you to abandon the pumpkin today, rather maybe add some variety? Think of this as a delicious change to keep things from getting boring (side note: homemade pumpkin spice latte would never make it to the boring list). Trust me, friend, I know you’re going to love filling your favorite mug with warm chai spices, organic black tea, and perfectly frothy raw milk. See, delicious change and welcomed variety! Nothing to worry about.
Today, while the tea is warm and the milk is frothy, let’s just sip, savoring the new season upon us. There are seasons in life when chatter abounds and other seasons when the cool mornings and warm mugs filled with homemade treats are meant for quiet enjoyment in the good company of trusted friends.
Pull up a chair, let’s sip away! You’re going to love the refreshing change (we can get back to the pumpkin tomorrow) this homemade chai tea latte brings to this season of life.
Homemade Chai Tea Latte
Ingredients
Chai Tea
- 2 cups water
- 2 black tea bags
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 2 TB pure maple syrup
Latte
- 1/2 cup chai tea recipe above
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 TB pure maple syrup
- pinch ground cinnamon
Instructions
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For the chai tea: In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the water and spices to a boil. Whisk the spices in the water. Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the heat and allow the spices to steep in the water for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn the heat back on and add the black tea bag and maple syrup. Return to a slight boil (the goal is a hot liquid for steeping). Once boiling, turn off the heat. Allow the tea bags to steep in the water and spices for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and strain the tea through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve 1/2 cup of chai tea for the latte. Store the rest of the chai tea in the fridge up to two weeks for freshness.
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For the latte: In a medium-size saucepan, bring the milk, maple syrup, and pinch of cinnamon to a slight boil (the sides of the milk will begin to bubble), stirring often. Once the sides of the milk begin to bubble, remove the pan from heat. Using an immersion blender (this is the trick to a frothy homemade latte), blend the milk until it's frothy.
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Pour 1/2 cup of chai tea in a mug. Slowly add the warm, frothy milk to the tea. Sprinkle the top of the chai latte with an extra pinch of cinnamon, if desired.
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Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
Shake and strain the extra chai tea after refrigeration as some leftover spices can settle at the bottom of the jar.
To make this recipe dairy-free, use canned coconut milk (shake first before opening) instead of whole milk.
Pumpkin Chai Latte Version: You can make a pumpkin chai latte by whisking 2-3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree into the milk as it warms.
More Fall Recipes You May Like:
If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #LIVESIMPLYBLOG. I'd love to see what you make!
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This is awesome! My mom’s favorite Starbucks drink and now we can make it at home!
Awesome, Medha! She’ll love the homemade version!!
I make my chai latte by putting the tea bag in a mug of milk (I use soy) and then I heat it in the microwave for about 90 seconds. When the milk is hot and the tea is brewed I add some sugar and some honey.
Sounds great, Sarah!
That’s a fantastic recipe, but you shouldn’t call it chai latte.
I’m glad you enjoyed my Chai Latte, Delly.
the word “chai” means tea and the word “latte” means milk so she is not wrong to call her beverage a chai latte. what americans call chai tea latte is an indian “chai masala”, which translates to mixed spice tea
Round 2 is looking good….I think maybe I’ll just stop eating and exist on nothing but your lattes for the remainder of the fall? 😉
Lol. What a perfect plan!! And since there’s raw milk in these lattes I’m sure they are technically a health food ;).
Just pinned this. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to try this with coconut milk. I love all these warm fall-inspired beverages you’ve been sharing! I’ll definitely be sharing this via social media!
Thank you so much, Kelly. Even with the super warm Florida weather I’ve been in the mood for warm fall drinks :). Enjoy!!
WOW. So I’ve never had tea in my life, saw the pictures, had to try it. It was delicious! I am now converted. All these years I have been missing out. Thanks for this
Hey Meagan, I’m so glad you loved the chai latte!! You’re so welcome :).
This looks so good. FYI, friends of mine from India told me once that Chai means tea. So, Chai Tea is like saying Tea Tea.
Thank you, Ginger. You are absolutely correct. Chai means “tea”, but since so many in the U.S. know this drink as “chai tea” (thanks, Starbucks ;)), I decided to include “tea” in the title.
This looks absolutely perfect! Do you use cardamom pods or ground cardamom? I can’t wait to try it 🙂
I had the most wonderful chai tea latte on a recent trip to Colorado. Since then, I’ve been trying to recreate the flavor and texture at home, but with little success. That is, until I found your recipe! Thank you for sharing. I love the recipe and the photos are beautiful!
Nicole, What an amazing compliment… Thank you so much! I’m so happy you loved the recipe and that it recreated the same flavor and texture as the chai latte you enjoyed in Colorado. 🙂
So delicious! Not very spicy put you can always adjust the spice levels.
I’m so glad you like it, Veronica :)!
I wonder how long I can keep this in the fridge until it goes bad?
Hey Sofie, The chai concentrate will last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
Love the recipe for the chai latte, Kristin. Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you. Enjoy!
This is, without a doubt, the BEST chai latte recipe I’ve found(and I’ve tried probably half a dozen). The spices are super strong, the tea-to-milk ratio is perfect, and I love being able to store the extra tea base for later. This also works well iced with cold instead of steamed milk 🙂
Hey Anna, Thank you so much for your incredible endorsement of this latte recipe! I’m so glad you like it.
Can I sub 2 percent for the whole milk, Kristin?
Hi Celestial, Yes, you can.
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve tried many other chai latte recipes, authentic and not, and this is hands down, the best! Absolutely love it. Love the fact that it makes extra so you can keep the tea in the fridge and just add the milk etc on the stove as needed. Grabbed the zucchini muffin recipe while I was at it…looks fab. Now a subscriber 🙂 You rock!
Thank you so much, Sonja. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the latte! I just made zucchini muffins this morning–they are soooo good! 🙂
Can I substitute pure maple syrup with any sugar?
Hey Frankie, Yes, you can :). The latte will be sweeter, so you may need to decrease the sugar a bit.
Hi there! Love a good chai tea latte. Do you have suggestions on how to make this recipe iced?
Hey Liza, You can add cold milk to the chai concentrate (after it’s been chilled). Enjoy!!
Hi There! Would herb tea work instead of black tea?
Hey Deneen, I believe so :). Enjoy!!
Vanilla rooibos taste great with this recipe, Deneen.
Okay, I’ve made this twice, and twice I’ve gotten this gelatinous goop that is really hard to strain. Am I supposed to get that? Am I supposed to strain that out? Or is that part of the chai tea? Or am I doing something completely wrong?
Hey Debra, Gelatinous goop doesn’t sound right. Is the gloop coming from the tea or the milk?
If it’s the milk, the problem may be due to boiling. This issue can be solved by warming the milk and turning off the heat before it reaches a boiling point. If it’s the tea, I’m not sure what would be causing the gloop.
I got that gloop as well, I just tossed it after straining. I think it’s the maple syrup. I noticed it after I put the syrup in the pot, and it stayed that way for straining. The beverage was amazing though! One coming right up for breakfast!
I got the goop too. It comes from too much water boiling off during the steeping. Use a little more water and cover the pot, that fixes it. 🙂
Hi! This recipe sounds so good and I can’t wait to try! How much does this recipe make?
Hey Morgan, The concentrate will make enough for 2 drinks. The milk (“latte” part in the recipe) will make enough for one drink.
Would it be possible to substitute the cardamom? I can’t seem to find any at my local stores.
Hey Lucy, The cardamom really creates the classic Chai Latte flavor in this drink, so it can’t be substituted. It’s a great baking spice, too, so ordering online might be a possibility.
You can get all the ingredients at Mountain Rose Herbs. They even make a chai tea mix, already mixed with the spices….AND a caffein free version called firefly chai. They are a GREAT company. I live in Eugene, where they call home, don’t work for them or have any affiliation, but go there almost weekly for my weekly order! Great people, friendly and so helpful!
That’s awesome, Carol. Thank you for sharing. I love MRH!
I’m hoping to use this recipe for a holiday food swap – if they do not wish to make it a latte, and just have a warm or hot chai tea, what part concentrate and what part water/milk to you mix? Or do you just heat up the ingredients for the “chai tea” by itself? Thanks!
Hey Erica, You’ll need make a large portion of the chai recipe and the milk recipe, keeping them separate. The ingredients for the chai will be heated up separately. Have fun!
Hello!
Thank you for the recipe!! I’ve just made my first batch of concentrate, however, it didn’t turn out quite as spicy as i would like it to be (there seems to be just a tiny trace of spiciness). I am not very sure if it’s due to my spices or it was meant to be this way? Also, if i would like to increase the spiciness, which spices should i add more of?
Thank you!!!
Hey Rachel, This will really depend on your personal taste. I would probably increase the cinnamon and cardamom, then taste-test and add any additional spices.
Thank you for the delicious recipe. I love it!
Merci 🙂
Wonderful, Lise! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the chai latte!
Oh so yummy! And not full of yucky bad for me stuff! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you like the latte, Trisha!
Home with a cold and decided to give this a try…so delish, comforting and adding a cinnamon stick to my cup made me feel much better! To adjust the spiciness to my taste, I just added a bit more chai to the milk. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hey Kathleen, I’m so glad this drink was such a comfort! Feel better soon!
Hey Kristin,
I was just wondering, and I’m clearly the only one. In the recipe you state 2 whole cloves. 2 whole cloves of what?
Hey Michelle, Whole cloves like this: http://amzn.to/1SCTo6I :). Cloves, the spice, come in two forms: ground and whole.
I use a one cup size French press for foaming the hot milk. I also sub out some of the milk for hot water, still delish!
Yum, Nancy, great idea!
This sounds so simple, I can’t wait to make it tomorrow!
Thank you, Yoana! Enjoy!
perfecto!!! amazing stuff right here! I had no idea what chai tea was, because I’ve never been to Starbucks (I’m from buffalo, so we’re tim Hortons nuts !)
ny husband brought me a few sample chai tea k cups and I was afraid to try them. I made your recipe instead and omggggggggg I’m and now converted from coffee to chai tea every morning 🙂 takes longer to morning ale but it’s worth it… and the k cups still haven’t been used 🙂 do u think they’d be similar?
This is a great recipe. For those restricting sugars and don’t care for sugar substitutes (that’s me) I left the maple syrup out. The natural milk sugars still made the latte enjoyably sweet.
Awesome, Beverly! I’m glad you enjoyed the chai latte.
AMAZING!!! I have made this three times and with coffee 2 times! delicious!! 🙂 I made it with coconut milk and a little coconut half and half. Better than with regular milk!! My mom loves it!!
Awesome, Meaghan! I’m so glad you loved the latte. I bet coconut milk and half and half were a lovely addition.
Just made this and it was everything I’d hoped it be. Such a comforting drink, and there’s something so satisfying wholesome about making it from scratch and knowing there’s no nasty additives in there. I have the added benefit of using my milk frother on my coffee machine too which makes this super luxurious. Thank you for the recipe, this is definitely my new treat!
Yay, Danielle! I’m so glad the latte was everything you hoped it would be! I agree…”from scatch” always tastes sooo good!
This looks delicious! What substitutions would I make if I used a chai black tea? Would I cut out the spices that you steep in the tea? Thanks in advance!
Hey Beth, Yes, exactly :). Just use the chai tea bag versus the spices. Brew the tea and then froth the milk.
Update: I tried subbing vanilla chai for the black tea and spices (except the additional cinnamon) and I also used coffee instead of water and sweetened it with liquid stevia. It is delicious! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Yum, Beth! That sounds amazing!
Hi! Do you use ground cardamom or pods? Thanks!! I cannot wait to try this.
Hey Lacey, I use ground cardamom, but you could definitely use pods if you have them!
hi, im going to make this recipe tomorrow, i am not sure what black tea bags i need to buy. As im not sure tea such as earl grey or rooibus will work?
Hey Lauren, Yes, either of those options will work! Enjoy!!
This looks great, I made your pumpkin spice latte this morning and loved it. Say I wanted to make this a dirty chai, but keep it at the same amount as I only have 16 oz mug, how would you suggest I adjut this and how mich coffee should I add?
Hey CHolly, I’m so glad you enjoyed the PSL this morning! Hmmm, for the dirty chai, I would probably use 1/2 cup coffee (or two shots of espresso), and then add about the same amount of tea. Also, I would reduce the milk to compensate for the coffee addition. Of course, I haven’t tried these recommendations ;), but that’s what I’m thinking off the top of my head. Let me know how it goes!
I just wanted to say that I stumbled across your site two days ago after searching for how to make a homemade chai latte. I made this recipe and it is delicious! I have looked over the whole site in the last two days and am inspired! I saved many food recipes as well as many of the DIYs. As I run out of my current household products I plan to make all my own! Thank you for the inspiration and amazing recipes and DIYs. I am on my way living in a natural home and eating REAL food 🙂
Hey Samantha, That’s so great! I’m so excited for you!!
Thank you for this! I did switch out the milk for almond milk and it turned out wonderful! Even though it’s July I always need to have a cup of tea, and I’ve always wanted to make a latte 🙂
Awesome, Rachel! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Oh my days this is delightful! Wasn’t expecting it to be that good at all! I used soy milk and it’s worked really well 🙂 Also I didn’t have maple syrup but substituted with some sugar and some vanilla extract in the milk. Thank you!!
Hey Carys, I’m so glad you enjoyed the latte!
Hiiii! This immersion blender idea to froth the milk just made my day, and changed my life!!!! Thanks 🙂
I cut down on the maple syrup but still found it very sweet and would add extra spicy, otherwise I know I will make this again 🙂
Awesome, Dania! Glad the tip was helpful, and you enjoyed the latte.
How can I substitute whole cloves with ground cloves?
Hey Kym, I’m not sure how much you’ll need–maybe 1/4 teaspoon?
Just enjoying a lovely cup of this stuff. Thanks for the recipe, made it with less maple syrup (1 tsp) as I don’t have a very sweet tooth. Delicious and making me feel warm on a cold summer’s day
Hey Joanna, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the latte! Cheers!
OMG! This is amazing. I’m from England and LOVE the Costa ( it’s similar to Starbucks) chai tea latte and have made loads of recipes at home to recreate it but none of them taste as good as yours! Thank you for bringing this into my life 🙂
That’s awesome, Georgia! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the tea.
Hey i was wondering if it’s possible to sub out the cloves?
Hey Gemma, They can’t be subbed for another spice, but you can try leaving them out.
If you wanted to make this iced you can freeze milk with some spices mixed in so as it melts it gives more flavor instead if watering it down!
Amazing Chai latte. Tastes better than Starbucks. I could drink these all day!! Keep it up. Xo
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Fiona!
I don’t usually post reviews but I love chai tea (I am not a coffee drinker) so I am always looking for recipes to my tea favorites. This tea was awesome. The aroma alone was delightful. The tea has a perfect balance of flavors with just the right sweetness. I added less milk (I’ve used almond milk as well as coconut milk) because I love the strong tea flavor. The second best part is that I had all the ingredients in my cabinet. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my gosh this is delicious. I used my Blendtec since I don’t have an immersion blender and it turned out super foamy. Thank you for the recipe!
That’s so great to hear, Andrea! Great idea!
Thanks Kristin, I was really craving this after a chilly evening walk, and I happened to have most things on hand. I even used some of my stash of maple syrup on it, so you know I really wanted it! [We live in Germany, it’s expensive here.]
That’s so great to hear, Erin. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I bet you could use honey, too, if it’s a cheaper option.
I make vanilla simple syrup for my coffee, and I’d probably use that – though the maple adds a nice earthy touch I think. x
That sounds lovely! I bet that would be delicious in this latte!!
Absolutely delicious and so simple.
Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
Thank you, Gem!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am always on the search for the perfect Chai latte, but so far I haven’t found a coffee shop that does it just right. I made your recipe but instead of milk I used half and half, and I used 1/2 teaspoon black pepper instead of allspice. It was perfect!
Thanks so much =P
I am going to try this I have to make some changes due to allergies but I am stoked to try this out…
Francine, Yay! Can’t wait to see how it turns out for you. ~Rachel, commenting on behalf of Kristin who is travelling outside the country
I added this to my coffee instead of tea. I have a milk frother, so no problem there. The spice blend is perfect. Thanks for the mix.
Great idea, Jeffrey! I’m glad you enjoyed the spice mix.
I am a tea lover, chai tea is my favorite and I have tried many recipes for chai tea latte(all miserable, undrinkable and expensive fails)…this is the first one that has passed my apparently next to impossible standards as excellent. This is THE recipe for me, thank-you!
Yay, Rosalli! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
Great recipe thanks. Also where are the clip jars made with love from?
Thanks
Charlotte
Hey Charolette, Thank you! They are called Weck Jars. I purchase them off Amazon–they are available in a variety of sizes.
I have bought chaI tea kcups and find them a little strong. I do add milk and sugar but the seems the strong taste stays. What can I do to make it better? Also, I am in love with the Dunkin Donuts version, so that may be my problem!!
Hey Kristy, I’m not sure. I don’t have any experience with chai kcups. Have you tried this recipe?
I’ve been looking for a good chai latte recipe! Excited to try this! If I only have ground clove how much should I use to replace two whole cloves? Thanks. 🙂
Hey Ghostcupcake, Hmmm, maybe 1/8 teaspoon?
Just made this and it is so good. Will definitely make it again! Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad you liked it, Glenna!
I cannot wait to try this recipe! If I want it to be a “Vanilla Chai Latte”, what would you recommend that I put in it and take out?
I didn’t go through the whole process, but I used almond milk, tea and the spice blend and it was amazing! Better than expected! I’m going to make a a little container to bring to work for my afternoon tea.
Awesome, Sue!
Unfortunately this turned out quite gooey for me.
Not sure why?!
I had 2 attempts because I desperately wanted to learn how to make a chai from scratch.
First round with maple syrup, second round with brown sugar instead. Both were so gooey!
Any tips?
Really wanted to like this.
Hey Eddie, I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. I’m not sure what was gooey about the tea–was it the spice blend? The actual tea was gooey? If it’s the spice blend, which can sink in the tea, you can try straining the tea through a cheesecloth. If it’s the tea, I’m not sure what to recommend–I don’t know what may have happened.
I have to watch what i eat.
While fruit is good and supper healthy for most too much is bad for me cause fruit has way more then8grams of natural sugar&8gramms of sugar is all im allowed in a serving of anything,a whole orange would be harmfull to me,but i eat a lot of vegatables,snack on nuts and eat brown rice when i eat rice,very very seldom eat pasta,eat the baer naked cereals,drink lots of water&diet juices&eat lots of salads&i eat 1 serving or less of all.
For desert sweet tooth graving i eat some low sugar weight watchers choclate or Low sugar cookies or gogurt. I put gogurt in the freezer&that becomes my ice cream. I watch my family eat cakes,pies, ice cream,fruit,anything that looks good to them for dessert.
So i know my body&stay healthy that way.
Some of the stuff thats advertised as healthy when my daughter&i see it we go “yikes,thats healthy?” Which is most items in A health food store.
I cant go to starbucks any more,but im glad a diabetic friendly version is included&cant wait to try this.
Everyones body is different&thats ok,thats actually kind of great&amazing imo.
Tried this recipe last night and it was delicious! Best Chai Latte I’ve had!
I used a simple tea filter and it worked fine.
Can’t wait to have some more 😉
Thank you, Manya! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is absolutely DELICIOUS
I’m so glad you loved it, Elle!
I just found this recipe and want to try it out since I love me some Chai tea lattes, but I have a couple of questions :). I watched the video and read the ingredients on the blog. You have two whole cloves listed on this page, but I didn’t see them added in the video. Is this an optional item? Secondly, on this page it says 1/2 tsp of allspice, but on the video it says 1/8 of a tsp. What amount do you recommend? Thanks!
Hey Heather, Good questions! Stick with the recipe on this page–I’ll let my video guy know about the issues with the video.