How to Make Authentic Chai Concentrate

Stay goodbye to watered down chai concentrates. Try this homemade chai concentrate recipe that leverages traditional chai techniques like toasting & steeping spices to ensure your chai latte is rich & delicious. 

Why this chai concentrate is better

Most of the stuff you find at stores under the guise of chai tea concentrates tastes unpleasant, overly sweet and almost spoiled. And although I absolutely love a creamy cup of double-boiled chai, I understand the appeal of a chai concentrate you can use at any point of the week. If you’re on the hunt for a chai concentrate recipe to make, here’s why I love this one.

• It’s not overly spiced : unfortunately most chai concentrate recipes resemble nothing short of a Williams sonoma store and are way too strong on the spices in my opinion. A good iced chai subtle has notes of spices that don’t feel like a punch in the fact.
• Took many trials to perfect : when developing this recipe, I had a very specific flavor profile I was going for. So, I messed around with various steep times, spices, loose leaf tea vs tea bags before I landed on my favorite chai concentrate recipe.
• Very easy to modify : while I recommend not messing around with the ratios the first time you make this chai concentrate, it’s a great recipe if you like to experiment in the kitchen. You can easily use black tea bags in the place of loose leaf tea and swap the spices (more on that towards the bottom of the page).

How to make Chai Concentrate 

The steps to make chai concentrate at home are extremely straightforward & simple. It takes under half an hour and once you make a batch, you can turn it into an iced chai latte or a hot chai in seconds.

Step One : Measure & prep the chai spices

Take a few seconds to measure out your spices and set their aside.

Step Two : Toast the dry spices.

Add the spices to a pan and move around on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. The heat helps release more flavor by bringing out the oils. It also helps turn bitter spices into a smoother flavor. Add the spices into a blender and pulse until it’s smaller and coarse.

Step Three : Simmer with spices

Add water to the pan with the ground up spices and ginger. Bring the whole thing to a boil and simmer on medium with the lid covered. I did this for around 20-30 minutes while working to make sure the flavor of the spices is really coming through.

Step Four : Add vanilla extract (optional)

I personally don’t add vanilla or orange zest to my chai concentrate cause it takes away from the spices. However, if you’d like you can add some vanilla extract and orange zest at this step, make sure to turn off the heat and add it in.

Step Five : Steep the black tea

Bring everything to a boil once again, turn off the stove and add the tea leaves. If you’re using black tea bags just drop those in. Cover, let it steep for 5-10 minutes MAX and remove/strain the tea. DO NOT squeeze the tea bags at any cost , this will turn your tea bitter.

Mistakes to Avoid

In my other chai recipe, I’ve outlined a bunch of mistakes you can avoid in the “Troubleshooting your chai” section. In this one, I’ll focus on mistakes you should specifically avoid when making this chai concentrate.

• NOT all tea is created equal. I would highly recommend avoiding low quality tea bags like Tazo or Lipton cause the final results will be very mediocre. As a general rule of thumb, loose leaf black tea is so much better than bagged tea. My favorite loose leaf black tea is Wagh Bakhri or Red Label (you can both on Amazon or the Indian section of the grocery store)
• If you must use tea bags, Twinnings or Tetley are the way to go. I understand not everyone has loose leaf black tea at home, so if you’re going to use black tea bags stick to the better stuff. I would never use the ones labelled chai tea bags for this recipe either.
• Don’t add milk while making the chai concentrate. It’ll reduce the longevity of your chai concentrate.  

How to Use Chai Concentrate

When you make the chai latte just add some concentrate, sugar, milk and ice! There’s no right or wrong measurements but a one-to-one ratio of milk to concentrate is a good place to start, I switch it up based on that day. You can optionally add sugar when making the actual concentrate if you prefer.

How to Make Chai with Tea Bags

In step five, you can either cut up up the tea bags and pour it into the water or add the tea bags as is. I would personally it there to increase surface area and result in a stronger steep. The rest of the recipe works the exact same way.

How to store Chai Concentrate

Once it cools all the way, you can bottle up the chai concentrate in a mason jar with a lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is chai concentrate made of?

Chai concentrate is made of whole spices and tea steeped for a longer period of time in water to create a more concentrated chai. The spices used in chai vary a lot based on the person making it and the flavour profile you like. In this recipe, I use :

• Cardamom – this is my all time favorite spice to use in chai. It’s so warming and a staple in any chai recipe.
• Cinnamon – this is not a spice I typically use in regular chai, but like to include in a chai concentrate cause it brings out that popular fall chai latte flavor most of us at used to at shops.
• Ginger – surprisingly, I don’t see this used it many chai concentrate recipes but fresh ginger is a staple in any chai I make. Especially in the colder weather, it’s great for my throat and imparts a VERY subtle flavor. (hence why this the star of the show in my gingerbread chai recipe)
• Cloves – this compliments the other sweeter spices well to balance out the overall flavor of your cup of chai. Again, this is not something I use often when I make my own chai but I love to use it in my concentrate recipe.
• Other Spices you can use – I keep my spice list minimal cause I find that too many spices make the final product very unpleasant. If you were to play around with other spices, you can consider adding in allspice, start anise, fennel, mint, nutmeg or peppercorns, 
• Loose leaf black tea leaves – the best chai concentrate calls for the best black tea leave you can find. 

What does Starbucks use as their chai concentrate?

Starbucks uses Tazo concentrate BUT it’s not the kind your will find at the grocery store. They use a specially formulated one only for their stores, which is why the Tazo concentrate never turns out the same as Starbucks’ chai tea lattes.

Does Chai Concentrate have a lot of sugar?

Not this recipe!! Tazo chai concentrate and many recipes you find out there are pretty sweet but that’s when I make my own chai concentrate I don’t make it too sweet. The original recipe as is makes for an unsweetened chai concentrate but I’ve also included by preferred measurements if you want to make it sweetened. I usually add sugar when making the final recipe so I can change modify the sugar based on person.

What kind of sugar is best in chai lattes?

Chai has a very warm flavor profile, so my favorite is to compliment it with a warmer sugar like brown sugar or molasses. I also often use white sugar or whatever I’ve got at home so there’s no hard and fast rules here.

What’s the recipe for a dirty chai latte?

Just add in a shot of espresso or some coffee to a glass with some chai concentrate. sugar and milk to make a quick dirty chai latte.

Can I make chai concentrate caffeine free?

Yep! Just use decaffeinated black tea. There’s a bunch of decaf brands you can use like Tetley’s. Don’t use a red tea or a green tea cause it’ll completely change the flavor profile (in a not so good way).

Can I use ground spices instead of whole spices?

Yes, but don’t use ground spices if possible. Using whole spices instead of ground and loose tea instead of tea bags is much better cause the flavor just turns out stronger. When you try this recipe, you can play around with the spices you use based on your preferred flavor profile. You can also have more control to make it a subtle flavor or more concentrated when you use whole spices.

How do I make a large batch?

If you’re a huge fan of chai and want to make a larger batch, you can just double or triple this recipe as is. Since you’re using more tea leaves, keep a closer eye on and don’t let the tea over steep. One you made this recipe. you can just store the chai concentrate in the recipe in the fridge. If you have a large family or just crave a homemade chai latte often, it’s great to have around for you can just mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part milk when you’re ready to drink.

Authentic Chai Concentrate (better than Tazo!)

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★★★★★

5 from 10 reviews

• Total Time: 40 minutes

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Description

Stay goodbye to watered down chai concentrates. Try this homemade chai concentrate recipe that makes for a deliciously spiced chai latte at home.

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Ingredients

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• 1 liter water
• 4 tbsp loose black tea leaves (or 6 black tea bags)
• 15 whole green cardamom
• 3 whole cinnamon sticks
• 2 inch ginger, thinly slice
• 10 cloves
• Optional : 1-2 peppercorns, 10 fennel seeds, 1 star anise, orange peel, 2 tsp vanilla extract

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Instructions

1. Take a few seconds to measure out your spices.
2. Add the spices to a pan and move around on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. The heat helps release more flavor by bringing out the oils. It also helps turn bitter spices into a smoother flavor.
3. Add the spices into a blender and pulse until it’s smaller and coarse.
4. Add the water to the pan with the grinded spices & ginger. Bring the whole thing to a boil. Then, simmer on medium with the lid covered. I do this for around 20-30 minutes to make sure the flavor of the spices is really coming through.
5. OPTIONAL : I personally don’t add vanilla or orange zest to my chai concentrate cause it takes away from the spices. However, if you’d like you can add some vanilla extract and orange zest at this step, make sure to turn off the heat and add it in.
6. Bring everything to a boil once again, turn off the stove and add the tea leaves. If you’re using black tea bags just drop those in. Cover, let it steep for 5-10 minutes MAX and remove/strain the tea. DO NOT squeeze the tea bags at any cost, this will turn your tea bitter.
7. If you want it sweetened, add in 1/4 cup brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
8. Let this cool and store in your fridge. To make your chai latte, add some concentrate to a glass with some milk, ice and more sugar to taste.

Notes

Step by Step instructions with pictures are listed above the recipe card, in the blog post section above.

• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Cuisine: Indian