Home Made Chai Latte'

If you love a great chai latte' but don't want to run to Starbucks and spend $3 every time you want a cup, you need this recipe. It is so easy to make it at home. You probably have nearly everything you need in your cupboards right now.

In the final step, I give tips for saving more money on this recipe. So don't miss the last step!

WARNING! Many people (myself included) have developed addictions to this recipe! Proceed at your own risk!

Step 1: Gather your ingredients.

Here's what you'll need:

Saucepan
2 C. Water
2 Regular Tea Bags
1/8-1/4 teaspoon EACH of ginger and cardamon
1 whole clove
1 cinnamon stick
6 Splenda packets or 1/4 cup Sugar
2 1/2 C. Milk

Step 2: Mix tea and spices.

In your sauce pan, add water, spices, and tea bags. Bring it to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Boil it up.

After boiling, it will look like this. Don't worry if a tea bag breaks open. You can strain the tea later.

Step 4: Add the sweetener.

Now add the Splenda. If you'd rather you can use 1/4 C. Sugar. I have tried using less sweetener, gradually using less and less, and you get used to the less-sweet taste. I've heard of people using honey, but it would change the taste.

Step 5: Add the milk.

Now add the milk, and return it to a boil. This won't take long, and if you aren't careful, it will boil over. Quite a mess!

Here's a neat little trick: if you take a stick of butter and run it quickly around the rim of the pan when it's hot, the chai won't boil over.

Step 6: Strain and Enjoy

Now you get to enjoy it! I use a little cup strainer as shown in the picture. This is especially great if a tea bag breaks open. But also after boiling milk, you can get a "scum" on top. While the tea, spices and scum are harmless, they can be unpleasant to consume. So the strainer is nice to have.

Step 7: Money Saving Tips and Variations

OK, I promised you some money saving tips. Here they are.

First, try finding the spices at a health-food store. You can usually buy in bulk there, and purchase small amounts by weight. It's much more economical, and you can keep them fresh - they lose their flavor over time.

If you want larger quantities, Sams and Gordon Food Service have spices in 1 lb containers. This is how I purchase my cinnamon sticks. And while I'm on cinnamon sticks, did you know you can reuse them? Rinse them off and let them dry out again. Give them a sniff and if you smell cinnamon, use them again. You can get 3-4 uses from them anyway.

As for the Splenda, I did a little research and discovered that it is cheaper to purchase the box of 1000 packets at Sam's club than to use even the Walmart brand of measurable sweetener.

VARIATIONS

I love this chai just the way I described it. But if you want to vary it, try one of these ideas:

Richer Chai: Use whole milk or even some real cream instead of skim milk.

Dessert Chai: Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Make-ahead Chai: My sister makes double, triple or even quadruple batches of the first 4 steps and keeps it in canning jars in the refrigerator. Then when she wants chai, she just adds the milk and heats up what she wants. It keeps a week or more in the fridge. (But personally, I like it fresh!)

Comments

[Dealande]

I am an absolute Chai addict! Can’t live without it! I can’t afford Starbucks every day so I started buying the Tazo Chai Tea Latte Concentrate. It’s already made and sweetened you just add milk and warm it up. It’s the exact product that Starbucks uses. But the price of it has been going up. Now days I can’t find it for less than 3.85 for a 32oz container, so even though I can get several cups out of it it’s still expensive. My point is I’m really looking forward to trying this recipe! I’m sooo excited I found this! Thank You!

[MattLindley]

For those who would like the richer flavor, without the extra fat, I would suggest fat free half-n-half. Most grocery stores carry at least one brand, and the flavor (particularly in coffee and in a recipe like this) is not distinguishable from regular half-n-half.

[Dealande]

The only thing with fat free half and half is that a lot of brands have High Fructose Corn Syrup in them. I don’t know why but they do. So if you’re going to go this way be sure to read the ingredients before you buy.

[treep1]

I was low on milk yesterday, but had some cream and real half and half in the fridge, which I substituted for part of the milk. Man, was it rich. A little too rich for my liking - I'm a skim milk drinker. Your suggestion is a great one for keeping the richness and losing the fat - everybody's looking for a way to trim the fat. That's why I like this recipe so much - using skim milk it's really not bad for you. So thanks for the note. Something else that makes a great add-in without adding much in calories or fat is low fat Coolwhip. Adds a nice sweetness but not a lot of "weight."

[Dealande]

I am an absolute Chai addict! Can’t live without it! I can’t afford Starbucks every day so I started buying the Tazo Chai Tea Latte Concentrate. It’s already made and sweetened you just add milk and warm it up. It’s the exact product that Starbucks uses. But the price of it has been going up. Now days I can’t find it for less than 3.85 for a 32oz container, so even though I can get several cups out of it it’s still expensive. My point is I’m really looking forward to trying this recipe! I’m sooo excited I found this! Thank You!

[capheind]

Actually what you've made is essentially Masala Chai, unless I missed something there is no steamed milk in this and hence no Latte. So basically you've made the original article, Kuddos are well deserved (I'd take classic Masala Chai over a Latte any day). What folks in the US, Canada, and much of Europe call "Chai" is basically the distilled and localized tea traditions of India and the surrounding areas, as such there is no right or wrong with chai, but I would recommend picking up a decent loose leaf over the teabags, not necessarily much more expensive, the flavor will be better, and your straining it anyways...

[amille]

That's where you're wrong. It is Latte and one can buy it almost anywhere they sell coffees. Duh!

[capheind]

Actually no. A Latte involves steamed milk, which (unless I misread) the author did not use. What has been made is in fact Indian Masala chai, sans the elaborate pulling in which a chai-walla would engage (as demonstrated here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i1-2O6mUu0). If you take a look at the equipment at your favorite coffee house you'll notice a frothing wand off the side of the Espresso machine, this frothing wand steams the milk and gives it its foamy "Latte" quality.

[J@50n]

 this is probably a dumb question, but what is "regular tea" i have flavored will it be the same?

[amille]

Regular tea isn't necessarily black tea, Lipton tea, generic brands that just say plain old tea for Iced tea is what is referred to as "Regular tea."

[amille]

The best way to put it is Unflavored tea not necessarily "black tea." Just your basic tea bags and they don't have to be expensive brands.

[treep1]

Hi,
By "regular" tea, I mean black tea (the label will say orange pekoe and cut black pekoe, or something similar). 

Flavored tea will change the taste of the Chai, though it may not be in a bad way.  I would avoid anything fruity, for sure.  Think of the other spices (ginger, cardamon, cloves, and cinnamon) and avoid anything that would clash.  I've made it with green tea (like it best when I also use both a black tea bag and a green tea bag.)  I've also used oolong tea, which is supposed to be a diet help.  That was pretty good.  

"Regular" black tea is the cheapest of all, so you may want to purchase some for this recipe.  If you try your flavored teas, I'd like to know how it turns out.  Good luck!

Theresa

[J@50n]

 O.k, thanks! i as wondering if i could put your link in one of my featured instructables (Fakeuccino).  I will just put the link so you get the views!

Tell me if its o.k with you!

Thanks also for the help about the tea!

[treep1]

You're welcome for the help, such as it was!  Feel free to link-away!  Glad to share my favorite recipe!

[J@50n]

ok, thanks!

[grsoto]

great post i love chai lattes and i find that in place of using splenda or that bleached white sugar (both taste chemically to me) i get my sugar for free @ starbucks when ever i go in and get like a juice or something or if im just their with friends. So far i havent had to buy sugar or napkins for 5 years. also add less of the starbucks sugar its way sweeter then normal sugar i guess cause its "Raw Cane" sugar.

[amille]

Can you say blue collar crime? That's theft. You are only to get what you use while you're there not use them as your lifetime supplier.

[dmichalski]

You don't find that stealing the sugar for five years at Starbucks is a problem? No wonder things cost so much at Starbucks - they have to compensate for the thieves who help themselves to things they have no right to have!

[IRQ_VET]

I boiled the cinnamon and 1 clove first then shut off the heat add the tea bags let it sit a few minutes warmed light cream on the side with my choice of sweetener, and in the summer i like to add premium vanilla ice cream for a shake

[sanderson ŧ]

That sounds totally amazing!

[karthikvasudevan]

Take it from me , a long time Chai aficionado. You never boil tea. You bring the water to a boil and then turn the heat off and then add the tea, the difference in taste is revelatory. Also ive read that boiling the tea removes all the anti-oxidants and some other stuff that makes the tea so healthy.

[florencev]

You are quite right. Boiling or even having the tea sit in water that is too hot will take out all the anit-oxidents and leave only the caffine.

[lblondeau]

Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda are horrible for you health, especially at 6 packages. This recipe sounds great if one omits that and uses honey : )

[dmichalski]

For diabetics the use of Splenda or other artificial sweeteners are the only way they can sweeten their beverages. You might want to consider that before you make statements such as they are "horrible for your health." The alternative, using sugar, is not in the best interest of a diabetic person's health.

[florencev]

There are some healthier sweetner options now. There's Xylitol and Stevia, also Evaporated Palm (Coconut) sugar with a Low 35% glycemic index. They all come from natural sources rather than Splenda which is synthetic.

[ygm]

As "hurtful" as you think lblondeau's comment is, it is indeed truthful. You are the one who might want to do a little research as this sweetener is in fact, "horrible for your health".

[katherinepotatoes]

You should do some research prior to correcting someone who has had to reflect so much on their diet in general. The research on splenda or sucralose is actually pretty inconclusive, if you go way over the expected daily amount there are negative effects. However, if you go way over the daily amount of anything, there are going to be some lasting health effects. So what you said isn't truthful and telling someone that they haven't done a little research is much ruder than what ther first person said. The person providing the recipe said to use either sugar or splenda, it was good that that person was being inclusive of diabetics.

The data on high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, the importance of exercise and saturated fats are all much more conclusive then this data, so unless you exercise the proper amount, are way within your bmi, and eat an incredibly healthy lifestyle. Don't be rude.

[hivant]

Diabetics can also use stevia. Stevia is a sweetener that is natural and has no calories. It is made from the stevia plant.

[cherrybomb101]

This was delicious!! i just made it a few minutes ago. i used vanilla chai teabags. unfortunatly in the midst of all this, i managed to set a tea towel on fire and the chai ended up boiling over all over the stovetop!!! it is still amazing!! i used soy milk (as i dont drink cows milk) and it helped. i also used a sprinkle of ground cloves as its all i have at the moment. I am now addicted!! im going to make this every morning before school!! also, im wondering if anyone knows how much tea leaves = a teabag

please respond :) XOXO

[shelleyk]

Thank you! This is a lovely recipe. I only had cardamon pods so I used a few instead and it is terrific. I am enjoying it immensely.

[mcarfagno]

this is a fantastic chai tea recipe!! the strength of the tea greatly depends on the type of tea bag used. we prefer a heartier flavor, so we used a heartier malty leaf along with cutting the milk back about 3/4 of a cup. thanks so much for the guidance!!

[mbrauer]

Clove of what???

[Carrienguns]

You can buy "Cloves" ground or whole, it's a spice. You want the whole in the case, but it's expensive, where if you buy the ground, you can add to your taste and use in baking.

[lblondeau]

A CLOVE... you know, the SPICE 'CLOVE'.. you use it to spice a ham. Cloves.

[chubbymummy80]

WEIGHT WATCHERS TIP!!!! Tim Hortons sells an awesome Chai Tea. To simplify just buy a box of that for $3.50 and add skim milk and sweetener. It's low fat and tastes just as good as Starbucks, plus it's ZERO pointsplus until you drink enough to use 1/2 cup skim milk. (1 cup is 2 pointsplus)

[grayseep189]

If I have chai tea tea bags do I just need milk, water and sugar?

[thartaros]

im in your situation as well. i used 2 tea bags, did everything else like normal and it came out pretty tasty.

[lilhobbit]

hi can't wait to try this recipe. what do you mean by c. milk? is that chocolate milk???? or plain milk? And where do you find the cardamon, is that a spice or liquir?

[treep1]

c. stands for cup - 2 1/2 cups of milk. just white, skim, whole or whatever you like. some people like soy, or even vanilla soy (yum). cardamom is a spice, a seed that I buy ground for this recipe. i like buying it in a local health food store that sells spices by weight, though if you have more money than health food stores available, you can buy a jar at the grocery store for about $12. (the same qty. in bulk costs me about $2) hope you try it and enjopy it!

[hjennings23]

Wow, thanks! This looks fantastic! I'm going to go make some right now!