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I love the routine of returning to my favorite fall things every September. An afternoon treat that I love to make is homemade chai spice lattes. Years ago, I found a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte (“just like Starbucks!” it claimed). But I ended up adapting it to what I typically have in my kitchen with more chai flavor, just a hint pumpkin. So here’s how to make a chai tea latte with a bit more spice or sweet and it’s amazing! Pumpkin optional.
Homemade Chai Tea Latte Recipe
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of milk (whole milk tastes richer, oat milk is best nondairy substitute)
- 1 chai tea bag (I like Tazo’s Classic Chai) or mix of cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger if you want more of a project.
- 1/2 to 1 TB of brown sugar (more for Sweet Chai, less for Spicy Chai)
- 1 TB of pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 cup of double strength coffee (use leftover coffee, an instant coffee packet in less water, or refrigerate/freeze some extra double strength coffee to make again later)
Directions – (How to Make a Latte Without a Frother):
- Boil water for the tea bag and let steep in a 1/2″ of water. (Steep longer for spicier chai)
- Combine the milk and sugar in a saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring. When it starts to warm, pour the small tea mixture (and bag) into the saucepan. Remove tea bag after a couple minutes.
- Remove from heat when the milk is steaming, and stir in vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk quickly to make it frothy. If you have a frother, you can use that instead. But this is an old school recipe, no milk frothers or espresso machines needed!
- Pour in mug and add the coffee on top.
- Enjoy!
And if you really want to go the easy route, I’ve found Oregon Chai brand concentrate to be the easiest and most delicious! Or just go to your favorite coffee shop. Picture below is of my chai latte from Extracto Coffee here in Portland. Compared to my homemade diy chai above.
What’s your favorite fall drink?
Homemade Chai Tea Latte originally published in October 2011, updated for 2020.
