One of my favourite hobbies of all time is to curl up with a steaming hot mug of masala chai. There’s something so familiar and comforting about this classic that makes it an instant mood booster — it’s what hygge is all about (pronounced hoo-gah, hygge is the Scandinavian concept of finding little pleasures in all things cozy). While I love the traditional simple cardamom-ginger tea that’s made in every Indian household, at times I crave something slightly fancier, and that’s when I turn to this spiced chai latte recipe.
A chai latte is essentially a dialled up version of your regular masala chai — with more spices and bigger flavour. Since I usually make this less frequently, when I do, I tend to go all out with foamy milk and whipped cream too. You can make this recipe with or without the bells and whistles, and it tastes delicious either way. The basic recipe for this requires you to make a chai latte concentrate with spices that you’ll find in your pantry. And the best part? It takes all of 5 minutes.
I recommend using a good quality loose-leaf black Assam tea to make this recipe, but if you don’t have any loose tea on hand, you can substitute with tea bags too. Assam tea is the preferred choice for this recipe because of its strong, full-bodied flavour and beautiful colour. To make the chai concentrate, boil water with the black tea, whole and ground spices, and palm sugar — and breathe in the gorgeous spiced aroma that is sure to fill your kitchen! The spices that I’ve used here are totally customisable — add or subtract based on what you like, since no chai recipe is exactly the same.
Once the tea has infused and reduced slightly (about 3-5 minutes), take the mixture off the heat and add the vanilla extract. Adding the vanilla in the end helps to preserve its flavour which would otherwise get diluted with heat. After you’ve strained the solids out, what you get is chai concentrate. This can be stored in the refrigerator for upto a week, or frozen into ice cubes for 2-3 months! You can easily double or triple the recipe for a larger batch and store the concentrate if you’d like to have a chai latte everyday. And don’t just limit yourself to lattes: you can just as easily add the chai concentrate to smoothies, overnight oats or chia pudding for chai spiced sweetness.
To make a latte, you simply warm up the chai concentrate with a cup of milk of your choice — regular cow’s milk, almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk all work well. You can keep it simple and have it as it is, or top with foamed milk / whipped cream for a coffee-shop style treat. For an iced version (that will be delicious during warmer days), fill up a tall glass with ice and pour the chai concentrate in. Top with cold milk. Alternatively, you can also freeze the concentrate into ice cubes and pour milk over it to prevent your iced chai from getting watery. (Note: you’ll need extra sugar if you’re freezing the chai as it dilutes the sweetness). If you need an additional caffeine kick, add a shot of espresso to your latte to make what is popularly called a dirty chai latte.
I usually pour some warmed up milk and chai concentrate in my favourite Nitara mug, top with whipped cream, and sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon dust on top to make it pretty and fancy. Nitara is a brand specialising in stoneware handmade by local artisans, and I find their Scandi inspired mugs beautiful, sleek, and modern. It also makes for a gorgeous statement piece on your desk or bedside. I mean, is there anything more hygge than getting cozy with a gorgeous handmade ceramic mug filled with warm spiced tea?
So go on, make yourself a mug full of this chai latte, warm up in your cozy socks, and have a wonderful hygge night in!
- 2 cups water
- 4 tablespoons loose leaf Assam black tea (or 6 teabags)
- 1 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 8-10 cardamom pods
- 10 cloves, whole
- ¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3-4 star anise
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 heaped teaspoons palm sugar (or regular sugar)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Milk, of your choice (regular, soy, almond, oat all work well)
- Optional: whipped cream, cinnamon powder and star anise for garnish
- To a deep bottomed pot, add 2 cups of water and the black tea. Lightly smash the ginger using the back of the knife, and coarsely pound your whole spices in a pestle and mortar. Add all the spices to the pot of water along with the palm sugar, and it to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and let the spices and tea infuse for about 3-5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the vanilla extract. Strain and discard the solids. What you now have is the chai concentrate that’s good for four servings. This keeps well in the refrigerator for 10 days, and can also be frozen into ice cubes.
- To make a hot chai latte, heat the chai concentrate with the milk of your choice over a medium flame until warmed through and simmering. Pour into mugs, and top with whipped cream if desired. Dust some cinnamon powder and garnish with a star anise if you wish.
- To make an iced chai latte, fill up a tall glass with ice. Pour the chai concentrate and top with milk.
This post was created in partnership with Nitara, though all views expressed here are the author’s own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help us create the content we do!
