Homemade Chai Concentrate Recipe

This Homemade Chai Concentrate Recipe is a super convenient and budget friendly way to enjoy the rich warm flavors of chai tea at home. With just a handful of ingredients and some quick steps, you can easily create a flavorful concentrate to enjoy as a hot or iced drink!

In India, where the beverage originates, chai translates to “tea”. And Masala is a blend of spices. So, masala chai translates to spiced tea. And this spiced chai is so much better than anything you can get at Starbucks, Tazo, or Oregon Chai because you can customize it the way you like it.

I originally published this recipe in 2012. I have updated it here for a better user experience with new photos, information, and updates to the recipe itself. I’ve cut back on the amount of sugar in the recipe. I am also moving the Chai Bourbon Cocktail to a page of its own.

We appreciate your support

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Is chai concentrate the same as chai tea?

Yes, chai concentrate, which is made of black tea, spices, and sweetener, is steeped and then added to milk. It’s a quick and convenient way to make chai at home and serve it up easily.

Another drink you can make at home and save some money is the Iced Lavender Latte.

How to make

This recipe makes about 4 & ½ cups of concentrate. For me, that means I can have a cup right away, and store the rest of the concentrate in a quart sized mason jar in the fridge.

Let’s take a quick look at the ingredients and tools you’ll need (which is nothing complicated or fancy!).

Ingredients and tools

For the ingredients, you’ll need some black tea bags. A bunch of spices: cinnamon stick, ground ginger, whole green cardamom pods, whole cloves, coarse ground black pepper, nutmeg, fresh orange zest, and vanilla bean paste. And you’ll want sweeteners: brown sugar and honey or maple syrup. I’ll talk about substitutions to these ingredients later.

For the tools, all you need is a pot to boil water and steep the tea, and a fine mesh strainer. Oh, and a large mason jar or covered pitcher to store it.

Let’s get boiling

To make the chai concentrate, start by bringing the water to a boil.

Add the tea bags, spices, and orange zest. Stir to combine, and remove from heat. Let steep 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the tea bags, and strain out the spices with that fine mesh sieve. If you want it super smooth, simply line the mesh sieve with a coffee filter and strain it through there; I’d probably place it in the fridge overnight to strain.

Add the sweeteners and vanilla. Stir well to combine. That’s it! You’ve made chai concentrate.

How to use

Mix the concentrate with milk of your choice (dairy, soy, almond, etc.) in about a half-half or 1 part concentrate with 1 part milk ratio.

You may adjust more or less concentrate to your taste. Play around with it and see what you like best! That’s the beauty of making it at home!

Chai may be enjoyed warm or iced.

And, of course, my favorite! A Dirty Chai Latte for any coffee lovers out there! Add a shot of espresso or strong coffee to your chai. Be sure to top your chai latte with some Cold Foam.

It can be made into lovely cocktails. Or try using it in desserts like these chai sugar cookies in place of milk or eggnog.

This would also make a great homemade gift for family and friends during the holidays.

How to make a chai latte

A chai latte is made by mixing steamed milk, and adding it to warmed chai concentrate. Then use a milk frother to foam the milk and top the drink with foam.

You can sprinkle a little cinnamon or nutmeg on top to make it extra fancy.

To make iced chai

Fill a glass with ice, then add chai concentrate and pour in the milk of your choice, again in about half-half ratio.

What milk can I use?

Part of the beauty of making this at home is you get to use whatever you like!

Half and half, whole, really any dairy. Make it plant-based, with a non-dairy soy milk, coconut, almond, or oat milk.

Or even try evaporated or sweetened condensed milk to top it.

Some days I prefer whole milk, and some days a nice vanilla soy milk is perfect!

Just don’t add the dairy until you are ready to serve it.

Can you drink the concentrate without milk?

Yes, it’s completely up to you how you enjoy your tea!

Though it’s traditionally brewed with milk if you prefer not to use milk simply leave it out for a delicious black tea version.

You can serve it with additional water to thin it a bit. Or, try adding the concentrate to a cuppa made with brewed tea bags.

Storage

For best flavor, store the concentrate in a tightly covered jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.

You can also pour it into an ice cube tray to make chai ice cubes (hello, summer beverage!).

Changes to the recipe

This is a nice basic chai recipe. It’s so easy to customize too!

Use loose leaf black tea instead of tea bags. Regular tea bags will contain about 2 grams (give or take) of loose tea leaves. 2 grams would be about ½ teaspoon, so you’d want roughly 5 teaspoons full, or a well-rounded tablespoon.

Use chai tea bags if you have some (double chai drink!) instead of black tea if you prefer.

Make it decaf by using decaf black tea or try brewing it with a nice herbal tea like rooibos or chamomile.

Make a spicy chai concentrate.

If you like your chai spicier, where it bites you back, feel free to increase the amount of spices. More black pepper will give a nice peppery kick. More ginger, cinnamon, or nutmeg are also great to make it spicier.

You can also bring the water to a boil, add the spices, but not the tea bags, and let the spices steep off heat, for at least a half an hour before adding in the tea. Then, add the tea and let the tea and spices steep for an additional 5 to 10 minutes so the tea doesn’t get bitter.

Can I change the spices?

Yes, this is your drink, make it how you like. I recommend making the recipe as written first, then changing it up. You may even find that you like changing it each time you make it.

Please do make sure your spices are fresh for the best flavor.

Green Cardamom is a staple in chai. It can be a bit expensive. To help save money, look in the bulk section of your health food store. I’ve seen it at some stores where you can buy just the number of pods you need. I recommend the pods over ground for this recipe, as the ground may be difficult to strain out of the completed concentrate. But, if you want to try it, 7 cardamom pods will be about 1 teaspoon ground.

You could strain it through a coffee filter to get all those little bits out.

The whole cloves, again, are very traditional, and whole will work better than ground. But, 10 whole cloves will be a scant teaspoon of ground.

For the ginger, feel free to use fresh, about a 1-inch piece or one teaspoon of peeled and grated fresh ginger. Or use dried ginger root, whole or in large pieces, about ½ teaspoon.

Use about 8 whole peppercorns instead of the coarse ground black pepper.

Other spices to experiment with are allspice, fennel seeds, and star anise.

Vanilla Bean paste: you can use pure vanilla extract instead in a 1:1 ratio.

Can I use a different sweetener?

Absolutely!

I originally wrote this recipe with ½ cup brown sugar, but I felt that that was too much, so I cut it in half.

You can use more or less sugar. I wouldn’t eliminate the sweetener from the recipe, I think it helps to balance the spices and any bitterness.

Use whatever liquid sweetener you choose (agave, maple syrup, honey, or simple syrup) and whatever solid sugar you like (coconut sugar, brown sugar, brown erythritol, white granulated sugar). Keep in mind that different sugars have different levels of sweetness, so you’ll want to taste as you go.

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