Homemade Chai Tea Recipe (Hot or Iced) | Gimme Some Oven (2024)
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As you are reading this post today, I am happy to be snuggled up with a warm blanket at a blogging retreat in Park City, Utah. There is snow falling outside our door, good blogging friends are near, and I am happy to be nestling in for some much needed R&R.
I don’t know about you, but it seems like fall has gotten off to abusy start. Busy, busy, busy. Always a little more busy than I’d like. Always trying to work on that. I embarrassingly didn’t even realize that the leaves were changing in Kansas City until I saw it on Instagram!!
Still, the transition into fall is one of my absolute favorite times of the year, and I have been trying to take small moments during the day to pause and soak it up. I’ve learned that one of the small habits that seems to always help with this is to cozy up with a warm drink first thing in the morning or at the end of the day. There’s something about holding a steaming hot mug and then taking slow, thoughtful sips that is the essence of comfort and calm.
So today, I thought I would share with you a recipe for one of my favorite comfort drinks — homemade chai tea.
I first learned to love chai back in the day at — you guessed it — Starbucks. I instantly got hooked on the drink and all of those delicious spices, and began stopping by to order an iced chai almost every day for work. Then the $4 daily expense got a little ridiculous. So I learned to buy Tazo chai concentrate at the grocery store. Then (bonus!) I learned that it was sold even cheaper at Costco!
But after years of buying those mega 3-packs of concentrate, I began to get tired of theuber-sweetness of that brand of chai. I loved the spices, but the sugar was too much. So I finally learned how to make homemade chai.
My version is all based around making a chai concentrate so that you can refrigerate it and keep it around for multiple batches. All you need are a handful of spices and seasonings and about 20 minutes, and then you’ll have plenty of concentrate ready to make as much hot chai or iced chai as you’d like.
But the best part is that you can totally tweak the recipe according to your taste. If you really love the sweetness of the chai you get at Starbucks, by all means, add in more sugar and/or honey. If you like yours really peppery, add in more peppercorns. If you like yours really strong or really weak, that’s the joy of concentrate — you can control exactly how much flavor you get. Bottom line, everyone has their own preferences with chai, so with a homemade recipe you can make it your own!
With the holidays coming up, I’ll also add in that this is a perfect comfort food gift to jar up and give to your chai-loving friends.
Hope you enjoy!
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Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate
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Make homemade chai tea with this delicious and simple chai tea concentrate recipe.
Ingredients
Scale
12 cardamom pods, gently crushed
8 whole black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
4-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced
4 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks
3 whole allspice (optional)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar (more or less to taste)
2 star anise
1 vanilla bean, sliced down the middle
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
4 black tea bags
Instructions
Bring all ingredients except tea bags together to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add tea bags and let steep for 5 minutes. Pour mixture through a strainer and reserve the liquid for concentrate, and let cool to room temperature.
Mix equal parts concentrate with water or milk to make chai tea. Or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week.
To Make Hot Chai Tea:
Combine 1 part chai tea concentrate with 1 part water or milk (cow’s milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc.), and stir to combine. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally. Or heat in the microwave until simmering.
To Make Iced Chai Tea:
1 part water or milk (cow’s milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc.), and stir to combine. Serve over ice.
A freshly made hot cup of chai is spicy and aromatic, creamy and perfectly sweet. But iced chai is almost never all of those things. I'd noticed that when my hot cup of chai cools down while I'm drinking it, the spices and the sweetness just aren't as intense.
Generally, this is somewhere between 200 and 212 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes. If your chai has a green tea base, it should be steeped at a lower temperature, somewhere around 170 to 190 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes.
I like to cold-steep my tea for at least a few hours, though sometimes I leave it all day. The beauty of cold-steeping is that the tea stays mellow and smooth even if you forget about it for a while. (There are Quick Steeping directions below if you need your iced chai a little more urgently.)
'Masala' refers to a combination of spices in Indian cuisine; Masala Chai directly translates to 'spiced tea' and what most people consider 'Chai' to be is actually better known as Masala Chai. Once Masala Chai made its way across various oceans it dropped its first name and become lovingly referred to as just Chai.
Texture: Hot chai lattes have a creamy and comforting texture due to the addition of milk during the brewing process. The heat from the tea helps to meld the flavors together. On the other hand, iced chai lattes have a lighter and more refreshing texture, with the cold temperature providing a cooling effect.
Chai tea is a fragrant, spicy tea that may help boost heart health, aid digestion, and help with weight loss. You'll get the most health benefits from your tea by opting for a minimally sweetened version. In many parts of the world, “chai” is simply the word for tea.
Boil 2 cups of water, add 15g of chai spice blend and simmer for 30 minutes. Add 15-20g of base tea, simmer with the spice mix for another 4 minutes, allow to infuse off the heat 8 minutes. Strain, then add 2 ½ tbs of honey while the concentrate is still warm.
The best way to check if it is done is to watch for the color. The tea should turn a nice brown color. If it's pale, it's not done. But make sure it doesn't boil for too long, or it might become too concentrated and taste bitter.
It's so tasty and super easy to whip up! Ingredients 1 teaspoon chai powder 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste cold brew 1/4 cup cashew milk cream maple syrup to taste optional garnishes: cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, star anise Directions Mix your chai and vanilla paste with about 2 oz of warm water.
The chai latte from Starbucks is made with chai concentrate, 2% milk and ice (if you order an iced drink). The chai concentrate is made with black tea, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla and cane sugar. And that's in addition to a few additives like “natural flavors” and citric acid.
When I'm ready to enjoy it, I mix this concentrate with either fresh steamed milk or, for an iced chai latte, cold milk, and add in a bit of homemade vanilla simple syrup. You can also add in honey or raw sugar for added sweetness. In no way can you go wrong!
Iced chai and iced chai latte are refreshing and flavorful drinks, both perfect for a warm day. However, there are some differences between the two beverages, which we will discuss below. Iced chai is a cold drink made by brewing black tea infused with spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and star anise.
Remove tea bag and stir in milk and honey or sugar.Allow the chai to just return to a boil, then pour into a mug and serve. Note that if you let chai sit for too long, it will form a "skin." This is normal, but if you'd rather not have it, periodically stir your chai while you enjoy it.
And while a standard latte is espresso mixed with milk, a chai latte is simply chai (since chai + black tea with spices and milk), which can be served hot or iced.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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