Iced Chai Tea Latte

I made this drink for an India themed dinner party. Immediately I knew I would have to share it during the holidays. Honestly it was like the most beautiful thing I had ever tasted. I know that is a strange thing to say, but it really was. It was complex, but simple; like something I’ve never tasted before, but familiar; aromatic and yet subtle. I think it would be special to serve with a meal or to drink alone. Just trust me on this and give it a try. (BTW I did have to find the cardamom pods at an Indian grocer, but I am sure they are available on-line.)

Originally posted on Big Girls Small Kitchen.

Iced Chai Tea Latte
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients
6 tablespoons Chai Tea Concentrate (recipe follows)
1 cup milk of your choice*
Ice

*If you use sweetened almond, soy, or rice milk, you may need to play around to make the concentrate less sugary. This recipe was developed using 2% milk.

Pour both the Chai Tea Concentrate and the milk into a glass, stirring to combine them. Add a large handful of ice, and drink immediately.

You can make this into a hot drink for winter by warming the milk and chai concentrate slowly in a small saucepan until very hot. Serve in a mug.

IMG_4687

Chai Tea Concentrate
Makes 1 1/2 cups, enough for 4 lattes

Ingredients
3 tablespoons sugar
8 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
1 slice ginger, peeled
5 whole cloves
4 whole black peppercorns
2 black teabags
1 tablespoon honey

Combine all ingredients except the honey in a pot. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower slightly and let simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove the teabags, squeezing out any liquid from them. Let the spices steep for another 15 minutes. Strain, removing all the spices. Add the honey and stir in. Taste, adding more honey if you like.

Cool completely.

The concentrate is easily doubled and will last a while in the fridge.

32 comments

  1. This sounds delicious! I love chai tea lattes. My favorite Indian place serves them hot, but iced would be perfect come summer time! If I get ambitious enough to try making my own concentrate, this would be amazing!!

  3. Loveeee chai! I always always order it well any chance I get! In fact I would pop into Starbucks once in awhile for some, but I should really try to make them myself, thanks for sharing Sadie!!

  4. So good, Sadie !! I prefer to have ‘chai’ hot , normally we don’t use tea bags in India, we prefer to use tea leaves, they lend a stronger taste, There is something called as ‘kadak chai’ too , literally means ‘ strong tea’, made by boiling the tea leaves a little longer 🙂

      1. Usually about 1 teaspoon of tea leaves is what I use for a cup of tea, including the milk too, you can always add more as per your preference:) What I do is, I boil about 3/4 cup water, add tea leaves along with the spices, let it boil for some time, then add about 1/2 cup milk, let it come to a boil, the reduce the heat and simmer it for few more minutes, the liquid reduces, resulting in a nice strong, concentrated tea. Then I strain it and add sugar. You can make it accordingly for a larger quantity 🙂

      3. I love Chai lattes, I thought they sounded weird at first but they are so good! It is nice to know how to go about making them! What snack would go good with them…. haha

  11. This sounds like so much fun! I have never tried iced chai tea latte! We generally make tea at home with tea leaves like Freda said.. It gives a stronger flavor than the tea bags. In Indian stores, they also sell ‘tea masala’ which is basically a fine powder of all the spices you generally add in chai latte. I’m definitely gonna try this iced version! ???

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