Chai Tea

If you’ve never made your own tea before, this chai tea recipe is a good place to start. For starters, it calls for a mix of spices and some simple sweets that are found in most pantries, making it pretty easy to create this tea when the mood strikes. It’s also a wonderfully smooth tea, with rich, aromatic notes that are the perfect complement to a chilly fall morning.

 Ingredients for Chai Tea

• Cloves: This aromatic spice needs to remain whole for this recipe.
• Peppercorns: Again, keep the peppercorns whole as well.
• Tea bags: Choose a favorite black tea for the base.
• Sugar: You can use simple granulated sugar here, or go with honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar.
• Ground ginger: If you have ginger root on hand, grinding it fresh adds more depth and flavor. Otherwise, pre-ground ginger is just fine (especially if you prefer a more subtle ginger flavor).
• Cinnamon stick: Steeping a cinnamon stick in your chai adds warmth and body to your cup of tea.
• Water: Make sure the water is piping hot for seeping the most flavor from the above ingredients.
• Milk: This recipe calls for 2% milk, but feel free to opt for whole milk if you prefer a richer, creamier cup of chai.

Directions

Step 1: Release the cloves and peppercorn

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Place the cloves and peppercorns in a large bowl (or mortar and pestle) and crush them until their aromas are released. If you used a small mortar and pestle, move the cloves and peppercorns into a larger bowl before the next step.

Step 2: Steep the tea

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Add the tea bags, sugar, ginger, cinnamon stick and boiling water. Cover, and steep for six minutes.

Step 3: Heat the milk and combine

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While the spices are steeping, heat the milk in a small saucepan. After steeping, discard the spices and tea bags. Stir in the hot milk, pour into mugs and enjoy.

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Chai Tea Variations

• Swap out the spices: Change up the flavor by subbing cardamom, star anise or nutmeg.
• Skip the black tea: If you want to use a different base, sub a rooibos tea in place of the black tea.

How to Store Chai Tea

The best way to have your chai tea is when it is freshly made, so we recommend serving it right away. If you’d like to enjoy it later, you can store the tea in an airtight jar in the fridge. For the best taste, consume it within three days.

How do I reheat chai tea?

If you don’t want iced chai tea (delicious in its own right!), you can rewarm your chilled tea on the stovetop. Simply pour all the ingredients back into a small saucepan and reheat the tea until the desired temperature has been reached.

Chai Tea Tips

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Can I make chai tea without caffeine?

Yes. While black tea is traditionally caffeinated, there are plenty of decaf black teas out there to choose from.

Can I make chai tea vegan?

Yes. Turning this chai tea recipe into a vegan one is quite simple. All the ingredients called for are naturally vegan except for the milk, so swapping that out is an easy change. For the best flavor, we recommend almond or coconut milk as nondairy options. As these are thinner, if you’d like a creamier, thicker chai tea that’s still vegan, try using full-fat coconut milk (the kind found in a can, not a box). The heavy dose of creamy coconut fat will add a thick, ultra-rich consistency that’s irresistible with the chai seasonings.

How can I make this as an iced chai tea?

Just adding ice will make this an iced tea, but as the ice melts, it will water down the tea considerably. We recommend making the above recipe, but adding double the spice that’s called for. Fully chill the tea before adding ice, and then add your milk last, pouring it over the ice. Stir before serving.

How do you serve chai tea?

Once you’ve made your chai tea latte recipe, try serving a cup of chai alongside an Indian treat, like one of these Diwali foods. (Psst: Did you know that “chai” means “tea”? Learn more about chai here.) For more ideas, here’s a roundup of our favorite chai tea recipes.