This creamy Chai latte has the right balance of sweet and spicy aromatic flavors infused to perfection. Serve it warm in winters and iced in summers.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 5 minutes
- Total time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1
- Category: Drink
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tea bags ((or 1 to 1½ teaspoon tea powder))
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar ((or maple syrup or any other sweetener))
- 3 to 4 green cardamoms ((or ¼ teaspoon ground))
- 1 to 1½ inch cinnamon piece ((not cassia))
- 4 black pepper ((optional, or ⅛ teaspoon crushed))
- 2 to 3 cloves
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk ((or plant milk))
Method
Make Chai Concentrate
- Grind or crush cinnamon, cloves, green cardamoms (deseeded) & black pepper to a coarse powder. You can use a spice grinder, mortar & pestle or a rolling pin for this.
- Pour water to a sauce pan and add all the ground spices, sugar & tea. Bring it to a rolling boil on a medium high heat and simmer for 3 to 4 mins, until it reduces to nearly ⅓ cup. Add vanilla and turn off the heat.
- For stronger flavors, you may cover and let steep for about 10 mins. Strain through a strainer. Your concentrate is ready. If you prefer a warm Chai Latte, keep it warm or refrigerate for later use.
How to Make Chai Latte
- Pour milk to sauce pan and begin to heat it on a medium-high heat until you begin to see steam coming from the milk. At this stage milk is hot but not boiling.
- Turn off and pour to a heat proof 16 OZ (500 ml) mason jar and secure the lid tightly. Shake the jar carefully until the milk turns frothy. If you have a frother, froth it for 25 to 35 seconds until foamy.
- Pour ½ to ¾ of the prepared concentrate and top with the milk and froth.
- Garnish Chai Latte with cinnamon if you want. Taste test and add more concentrate for stronger flavors.
Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note
Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.