Description
This Homemade Chai Concentrate recipe delivers a rich and aromatic blend of traditional Indian spices and Assam black tea. Perfect for making flavorful chai lattes at home, this concentrate can be enjoyed hot or iced, with your choice of milk, and sweetened to taste. The recipe involves dry toasting whole spices, simmering them with ginger and tea, then sweetening and straining to create a versatile base for chai beverages.
Ingredients
Scale
Spices
- 3–4 tablespoons Assam black tea
- 2–3 cinnamon sticks
- 2–3 star anise
- 12 whole cloves
- 8 green cardamom pods
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup chopped ginger root
Liquids and Sweeteners
- 5 cups filtered water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
Instructions
- Crush and Toast Spices: Crush whole spices using a mortar and pestle to a coarse grind. Dry toast them in a saucepan over low heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add Water, Ginger, and Nutmeg: Pour in all the filtered water, add chopped ginger and ground nutmeg to the toasted spices in the saucepan.
- Simmer Spices: Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce heat and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes to extract flavors.
- Boil and Remove from Heat: Return the mixture to a boil after simmering, then remove the saucepan from heat.
- Steep Tea: Stir in Assam loose tea leaves and let steep for 3-5 minutes, taking care not to oversteep to avoid bitterness.
- Strain the Mixture: Immediately pour the tea through a strainer into a large bowl or pitcher to separate the solids from the liquid.
- Add Sweeteners and Vanilla: While warm, stir in granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, honey, maple syrup (if using), and vanilla extract until fully dissolved.
- Cool Concentrate: Allow the chai concentrate to cool at room temperature. Refrigeration is possible but may cause slight cloudiness.
- Store Concentrate: Once cooled, transfer the chai concentrate into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator.
- Prepare Chai Latte: To serve, combine equal parts chai concentrate and your choice of milk. For iced lattes, pour concentrate over ice and add milk. For hot lattes, warm the concentrate and add steamed milk with optional milk foam on top.
Notes
- Do not oversteep the tea to prevent bitterness.
- Adjust sweetness by adding honey or maple syrup as preferred.
- Use any type of milk including dairy, almond, oat, or sweetened condensed milk based on dietary preference.
- Keep spices crushed to a coarse grind for best flavor extraction.
- Store chai concentrate refrigerated and use within 1-2 weeks.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: chai concentrate, homemade chai, chai latte, Indian tea, spiced tea, Assam tea, chai recipe
