Best Chai Tea Recipe
Learn how to make the best chai tea recipe! This homemade Chai Latte Recipe is rich and simple, based on the authentic chai you find in India, with tons of spice and a creamy and sweet touch!
Why We Love This Authentic Indian Chai Recipe
What we in America think of as chai tea, or a chai tea latte, is a far cry from what is traditionally served in the rest of the world. An authentic Easy Chai Tea recipe is made with thick buffalo milk, considerably too much sugar, black tea, and cardamom pods.
Served in scant shot glasses from dawn until way past dusk, this beverage is EVERYWHERE you look in India. It’s in little make-shift cafes, sold from chai-wallahs at every bus station, train station, and street corner, brewing in nearly every home.
It’s been many years since I last visited India. Yet I’ll never forget sitting in open-air chai shops drinking creamy, ultra-sweet chai with friends.
This homemade chai tea recipe is easy to make and tastes just like the chai you can get in India. You might not have these ingredients on hand normally, but they are worth getting for whenever you are craving a cup of hot chai! This make-ahead chai is great to keep on hand, too. You don’t have to buy the boxed stuff anymore!
Ingredients For Chai Tea Latte
- Water – The base of the recipe. Use plenty of water, then let it simmer down into strong condensed tea.
- Star anise – For bold licorice flavor that packs a punch.
- Cinnamon – Use whole sticks, so they can be easily removed.
- Green Cardamom pods – Green cardamoms are the best to use here
- Black tea bags – Or you can use loose-leaf black tea
- Half & half – Or whole milk.
- Sugar – To make it sweet, of course!
How To Make Homemade Chai Tea
While traditional Chai is incredibly rich and flavorful, it is surprisingly easy to make at home. I love making a large batch, and reheating a single cup at a time for a few days.
Here’s how to make a perfectly creamy and spicy chai tea latte:
- Mix. Crush the cardamom pods until they crack. Bring the water, tea, star anise, cinnamon, and cardamom to a boil in a large saucepan.
- Simmer. Boil on medium heat for at least 8 minutes until the tea is very dark and has reduced to about 2 cups.
- Strain. Strain the tea to remove the tea bags and spices. Add the sugar and milk, and stir until hot.
- Pour. Pour into tea cups and enjoy! You can serve it with extra cinnamon sticks in the cups for added spice!
Get The Full (Printable) Best Chai Latte Recipe + Video Below!
Best Chai Tea Recipe Tips
- Remember: Chai isn’t meant to be low carb or low sugar. It is meant to be strong, sweet, silky, and packed with spice! If you want your chai recipe to taste authentic, use the half & half and plenty of sugar.
- For this chai latte recipe, you can use alternative sweeteners such as coconut sugar or date sugar; however, I would not recommend sweetener products such as stevia that will drastically change the chai flavor profile.
- Also, using any liquid sugar swaps – like maple syrup or honey – will give you the sweetness you need, but will most likely change the chai tea consistency.
- For a slightly stronger spiced flavor, gently crush the whole spices using a mortar and pestle!
- If the chai isn’t strong or dark enough, feel free to throw in some more tea bags!
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically, this recipe is actually masala chai. Masala means “spiced” chai which is black tea with whole spices that add extra flavor and make this tea very comforting. Some masala chai recipes include fresh ginger, so feel free to throw a little in!
Any black tea would work, but I recommend using something strong like darjeeling tea or assam tea!
Yes! The word “chai” means tea in many different languages, with origins in India. So when we say “chai tea” it is redundant, but that is how it has become known here in the US!
You can make chai several days ahead and rewarm it when needed. Just keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, and leave the spices in the chai until ready to serve. The longer they sit in the tea, the bolder the flavor will be. You can refrigerate this chai for up to 10 days if you have any chai leftover!
Definitely! While half & half will yield the creamiest chai texture, you can swap it out with dairy-free milk and still have a terrific flavorful tea. You want a base that has a high-fat content, so almond milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk would work best, but it would also be delicious with oat milk!
Yes! Each cup of this tea could have up to 25 mg of caffeine in it, similar to basic black tea caffeine count.
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Best Chai Tea Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 whole star anise
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 4 cardamom pods, cracked
- 4-5 black tea bags, or 1/4 cup loose black tea
- 2 cups half & half, or whole milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Press the cardamom pods until they crack. Bring the water, tea, star anise, cinnamon, and cardamom to a boil.
- Boil for 8-10 minutes, until the tea is black and has reduced to about 2 cups. Strain and add the sugar. Add the half & half and stir until hot.
- Place the used cardamom pods in the bottom of the cups for good friends.
One thing-
1. It’s just chai.. not chai tea or chai tea latte.
Hi Panjabi,
Yes, I know, having spent several summers in India. However, for the sake of being found on Google, we use all available terms in the post… So that no matter how someone searches for Chia, they might find our post. :)
I’m not much of a fan of Chai, but this is next level amazing!
Perfect
This came out good but I couldn’t taste any of the flavors of the spices. It just tastes like black tea with milk and sugar. Am I doing something wrong? I followed the recipe exactly as written.
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I love this recipe! how long will this stay good stored in the fridge?
Just back from India for the umpteenth time and my first port of call arriving in Mumbai is the chai whalla at Anderi railway station. The stations are the best places to experience this distinctive taste of India but make sure you don’t fall for the tea bag versions which seem to be creeping in. Also don’t miss the other taste of India, Kulfi.
Thanks for the brewing tips.
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Thanks for the recipe! But why was the sentence — “a friend who spoke English well” necessary?
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My Daughter and I went to a very authentic Indian Market in Kansas City today. A very nice Indian gentlemen hooked us up with his recipe. Except it is very different from the chai that I teach to my students in culinary school. At the school we use milk black tea cinnamon cardamom pods ginger clove and star of anise. This guy sold us Hibiscus chamomile Indian Sage cinnamon and anise seed. My question is, is this to make the tea also? Please advise.
Chef Michael
Hi Michael, I’ve never heard of (or tasted) that version, but India is an extremely diverse country with varied culinary styles throughout. Maybe that is a popular blend in a different India state. Sounds good!
This is a yummy recipe, I have been obsessed with Chai and drinking it everyday for the past few weeks!
I just ordered this amazing chai blend on etsy and hight recommend it!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/263470098/medicinal-masala-chai-blend
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Born in India to American parents, we enjoyed Indian tea at our table every day. I’ve never used star anise but will certainly give it a whirl. I love this drink and readily share the recipe I grew up drinking with others. In India you can get variations of the same drink with little tweaks to change the flavor. Frankly I’ve never really liked it with ginger. Instead of star anise we use cloves which have much the same intensity. Thanks for sharing. Oh, and the milk used makes a HUGE difference, doesn’t it? ;-) Skim or light % milk doesn’t cut it, buffalo is best but a rich whole or half and half will work well. Nice to meet a true chai lover!
We were in India last summer. We rode a train from Jaipur to Mumbai. The chai tea man would go down the corridor and call “Chai Chai Chai”. It was served out of a tin container into a paper cup. Maybe I was really thirsty or hungry but it was the most amazing drink. I am making chai right now as I remember that I purchased spices and I discovered a whole bag of cardamom. It smells divine in my kitchen. My boys are waiting for a cup of this delicious tea.