Make your own homemade chai latte with this easy recipe. You’ll be making a healthy latte that is filled with amazing flavors and only 119 calories.
On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say I'm a 15 for how much I love homemade lattes.
Can’t help it. I HEART coffee and black tea.
I’ve made a vanilla latte before. Then I made a mocha latte. A while ago I made this eggnog latte. Yeah, see? I really, really HEART my lattes.
That's why I knew I needed to make a homemade chai latte, too!
Watch How To Make Chai Latte
Chai tea is so amazingly flavorful, with spicy and sweet contrasts. Plus we can do a little happy dance because chai is good for you. Chai has amazing anti-inflammatory properties, improves digestion, alleviates nausea, and is great for your immune system (see here and here for the research). WOOT!
And when you combine all those benefits with coffee in a dirty chai (optional by adding equal parts coffee and chai spice tea)… it’s a double win!
Let’s dive in!
What Is A Chai Latte?
Basically, chai latte is a usually mix of masala chai and steamed milk. It’s called chai latte because the milk is steamed and frothed before being added to the chai. The same technique used for making regular lattes.
Typically, the chai latte ingredients are:
- chai tea
- steamed milk
How To Make A Chai Latte
Next, let’s talk about how to make chai tea latte. My version of chai latte is healthy, but also slightly different. You’ll understand why if you continue reading.
How to make chai latte my way:
- First of all, you have to make chai tea (tips for this down below)
- In a saucepan, add the chai tea followed by maple syrup, almond milk, and coconut milk
- Simmer on medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes whisking occasionally
- Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to froth
- Pour into your favorite mugs and serve
As you can see, learning how to make chai latte at home is easy. But there are a few more things you should know...
How To Make Chai Spice
What exactly is chai spice? Contrary to what many think, chai is not just a tea bag. Instead, it contains a mixture of different flavors, including...
- cinnamon sticks
- black peppercorns
- star anise
- cloves
- cardamom pods
- ginger
- water
- pure maple syrup
- almond milk
- black tea
So, to make the chai spice for this chai latte, you need to do the following…
- Place all the spices and milk (basically everything except for the black tea) in a saucepan
- Bring to a boil
- Remove from the heat
- Add the tea
- Cover the saucepan with a lid
- Let steep for 10 minutes
That’s how you make chai. And this is the chai recipe you have to use to make your homemade chai latte. PS it's GREAT just on its own and even more amazing turned into a latte. You're not gonna believe just how flavorful this is!
How To Froth Milk For A Chai Latte
To make the chai latte similar in texture with the chai latte you can buy at a coffee house, you have to learn how to froth milk.
I like to use an electric frother and just mix all the ingredients together in the saucepan. You can also transfer the chai latte ingredients to a high-speed blender or immersion blender and blend. Or, if you don’t have an immersion blender, milk frother or a high-speed blender, you can use a whisk to mix the ingredients together until froth is formed. Another easy option is to just transfer the chai latte mixture from the saucepan to a mason jar and, with the lead on, shake the jar until froth forms.
All these options will give you the same result. Choose the one that’s more convenient for you.
Tips For Making Your Chai Latte Extra Delicious
With all the spices involved in this chai latte plus the almond milk and coconut milk, I’d say there’s enough flavor. But if you want more, you can always add…
- an extra pinch of cinnamon sprinkled on top
- or an extra pinch of any of the spices used to make chai
The most amazing thing about making a homemade chai latte is that you can adjust its flavors to suit your preferences. You can add or remove spices until your taste buds are happy with the result.
FAQs
The answer is yes. Because chai latte is made with black tea and black tea has caffeine. How much caffeine is in chai latte? Well a 16-ounce cup of chai latte has approximately 95 mg of caffeine. If you make my healthy chai latte it will have more. Around 77 mg more, depending on how strong you make the coffee.
If you visit coffee shops regularly, you probably spotted dirty chai on the menu. Dirty chai is a great version of a chai latte, which means it’s chai + steamed milk + espresso or strongly brewed coffee. When I do this, I use these coffee beans. By the way, you can serve dirty chai latte hot or cold. If you prefer the cold version, pour the chai latte over ice for an iced dirty chai latte or transfer it to a blender, add ice cubes, and blend until smooth for a blended dirty chai latte.
More Healthy Latte Recipes
I’m not done with all these amazing coffee options. After you’ve mastered the chai latte recipe, move on to other amazing coffee recipes. Spoiler alert – flavored coffee creamer, other latte flavors, and a healthy coffee smoothie ahead!
- How to Make Coffee Creamer + 5 Easy Coffee Creamers
- How to Make Homemade Lattes + 4 Latte Recipes
- Healthy Coffee Smoothie (Only 7 Ingredients)
- Coffee Ice Cream
- My Go-To Vanilla Latte Recipe (Ready in Less Than 10 Minutes!)
Chai Latte
Equipment
- Saucepan
- immersion blender
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
For the Chai Tea:
- 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
- 2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 star anise
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1 2- inch piece fresh ginger thinly sliced
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoon loose-leaf black tea or 6 black tea bags
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 cups unsweetened almond milk
For the Latte:
- 2 cups chai tea (see recipe above)
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk, at room temperature
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until heated through and slightly frothy on top.
- Use an immersion blender in the saucepan or transfer to a high-speed blender.
- Divide into four mugs and serve hot.
Alicia
I love chai latte. I usually get a chai latte with soy milk at Starbucks. Now with this recipe, I could make my own!