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Homemade Chai Tea Latte

This is Christmas in a cup.

Homemade Chai Tea Latte-4
But it’s only August…which makes this drink untimely.  Whatevs.

I was still surprised when I tried this and it actually tasted like a chai tea latte.  It tasted like I had just gone through the Starbuck drive-thru…but I hadn’t.  All I had to do was seep some spices, most of the time which was spent watching house hunters.  The most difficult part of this whole recipe was going to a super cute spice store to buy all the spices.  Visiting super cute spice stores is my idea of a good time.

Homemade Chai Tea Latte Homemade Chai Tea Latte-2

Now I don’t like all spices.  I’ve bitten into one too many slices of havarti cheese or rye bread stuffed with caraway seeds to over spice my chai tea latte with the liquorice flavor.   I’ve never liked liquorice so the star of anise spice isn’t high on my list of spices I love (i.e. cinnamon, chili powder, cocoa…is cocoa a spice? I’m gonna say yes because they sold it at the spice store so it must be a spice).  To my chai tea latte concentrate I only added one anise star.  If you like anise/the liquorice taste, add more.  You can really customize this drink to your tastes.  How fun.  Your own personalized chai concentrate.  It’s like having a Starbucks in your house that gets you like a BFF gets you.

Prior to this recipe, I’d see people using cardamom in their breakfasts and desserts, but the spice was this unknown world to me.  I hadn’t really eaten a lot of cardamom things.  Or maybe I had but I just didn’t know that cardamom was cardamom.  But now I know what it is and I like it.  I do.  I really do.

Homemade Chai Tea Latte-3

Andrew has some choice words about chai tea lattes that I’ll refrain from mentioning.  I had Andrew taste my chai tea latte when we were in Delaware.  He was eating an egg & cheese bagel at this coffee shop and after he tasted the latte he said it, “destroyed everything good in his mouth.” 

So dramatic…I know.  I think he gets it from me.  This weekend Andrew stepped on a nail.  He had shoes on, but the nail went straight through.  Ouch.  So our weekend activities involved him getting a tetanus shot.  The nurse giving the shot kept commenting on Andrew’s muscular physique.  It was weird.  I wanted to be like, “step off, B-word.”  At one point she was like, “look how muscular his legs are!” So I said, “I know.  I married him.”  The whole thing was uncomfortable.  

Moving on.

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So every time I attempt pouring pictures I end up spilling everywhere.  One of my strengths is not looking through a camera lens and pouring something into a glass.  I thought women in general were supposed to be good at multitasking…I’ll keep practicing.  Until then, here are some pictures of spilled milk.  The part that made it into the glass turned out absolutely delicious.

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Homemade Chai Tea Latte

Yield: MAKES ~1 2/3 TO 2 CUP CHAI TEA LATTE CONCENTRATE OR 5-6 CHAI TEA LATTES

Ingredients:

4 cinnamon sticks

1 anise star

10 cardamon pods, gently crushed to release seeds

8 whole cloves

6 whole black peppercorns

1 vanilla bean, sliced open lengthwise

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (optional)

5 cups water

4 black tea bags

Directions:

  1. In a sauce pan, bring water and all ingredients, except the tea bags, to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, partially cover and seep spices for 30 minutes. Add tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Pour chai tea concentrate through a fine mesh strainer. Pour the concentrate into a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.
  2. To make your chai tea latte, combine 1/3 cup chai tea concentrate with 3/4 cup milk. Serve hot or cold over ice.

Homemade Chai Tea Latte 1

46 comments

  1. Looks delicious! And I love that first action shot!

    http://youtube.com/addalittlefood

  2. Love going to Penzey’s in the Heights in Houston. Also, my husband is a runner and we both see the same lady dermatologist. Every time she sees me she remarks on what a hunk my husband is, lol.

  3. Love this! I used to get starbucks iced chai all the time when I was in high school. I felt so much cooler than my friends with mocha frapps :)

  4. Awesome photos! It’s totally time for me to stop buying chai lattes and start making my own!

    • It was seriously so easy (after hunting down all the spices)!! I still can’t get over it! I feel like this recipe is going to become part of my weekly sunday food prep for the week!

  5. Thanks for sharing this! I love getting the chai latte at Starbucks but it’s so overpriced. I like that this is more cost effective and healthier.=)

  6. Chai tea is my absolute favourite…think I’m going to finally have to give it a try at home!

  7. I never know what to order from Starbucks since I’m not a huge fan of coffee, but chai tea lattes are definitely something I would get. Except now I can make it at home!!

    • I’m not a huge coffee fan either…but if there’s enough milk in anything I game! That’s way latte anything is the way to go:)

  8. Penzeys!

  9. this is perfect..and will save me so much $$$

  10. This recipe is going to save me so much money, take that Starbucks! Can’t wait to try this :)

  11. I have never been to Penzey’s but always hear people talking about it. I will have to figure out where one is.

  12. never made my own chai latter from scratch before, definitely need to give the recipe a go. looks delicious!

    • I still can’t get over how easy it was. Especially after you’ve tracked down all the spices. I’m going to start incorporating this recipe into my weekly sunday meal prep more often! Week night chai tea lattes make life more fun lol!

  13. I love chai but I hate the idea of how much CRAP is in it unless it’s homemade… I don’t own cardamon but I need to get some ASAP!

  14. I’m so in love with this! I found this on a social site and was totally mesmerized by that dreamy swirl. I’m such a sucker for chai tea and dig it year-round! I actually had an almond milk chai tea latte this past weekend for the first time in years. I think I’m pining for cooler temperatures! Can’t wait to try this :)

  15. First, I love chai! Before it made it to srarbucks!
    Second, my daughters name is Kylie!
    Finally, loved your Dr story! Mines a bit longer…in the hospital having second child my pregnant nurse comments that it’s odd that she doesn’t remember me! Then my husband walks in. “Oh! I remember you!!!” She Facebook friends him before we made it out of delivery!!!

    • OHMYGOSH! Are you serious?! There has to be something against facebooking a patient. That is too weird. I’m sure the emotions of labor are enough…you shouldn’t have to worry about the nurse hitting on your husband lol. I’m totally telling my husband this story!

  16. Making my own chai latte and the smell is driving me insane !!!!! It’s so so good! I love ur recipes thanks for

    • Awesome!!! My husband got home when I was making mine and was like, “it smells…different.” He’s not the biggest chai tea fan lol

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  18. How many cups of chai will this end up making?

    • This makes about 2 cups of chai concentrate. So if you mix 1/3 cup chai concentrate with 2/3 cup milk, you will make 6 chai tea lattes:)

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  28. Can’t wait to try making this. Love it at Starbucks so if it is as easy and good as everyone is saying I will be making it here at home.

  29. The house smells amazing and it tastes great! Thank you for posting such an easy and delicious recipe! :)

  30. Hey! Thanks for this recipe, I’ll no doubt give it a try soon. In the meantime, I think I have a solution for your spilt milk problem. If you stop mixing 1/3 of a cup of concentrate with 3/4 of a cup of milk, that should solve most of your problem, coordination issues notwithstanding!

  31. The recipe looks great – can’t wait to try it! One correction in the instructions – it should be “steep” not “seep” the spices and tea. Cheers!

  32. Can I just buy normal ground cardamom??? And can I substitute vanilla extract or something? Just in case I randomly don’t have vanilla bean on hand?

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