I want to be real with you guys: I am having some serious margarita cravings lately (I blame Jessica, Deb, and my true-blue Texas roots). Sure, it’s still wintery and there are snow storms and ice storms and cold winds galore, but all I see is that warm (nay, HOT) weather is right around the corner. It’s almost time for daylight galore and sipping margs on the back porch.
Oh, and y’all? Don’t even get me started on grilling. I seriously cannot wait to whip out the grill and move all of my cooking outdoors!
HOWEVER. Even with all of the margarita and grilling and summertime (oh, and did I mention homemade salsa and guac and trying my hand at herb-gardening?!) I still can’t get over how much I enjoy hot coffee and great lattes. When I worked at Starbucks many many many moons ago I thought that the chai tea lattes were a little weird and was super scared to try them. I wish I could remember what changed my mind, but one day I just went for it and fell head-over-heels in love with the stuff.
I should tell you though: I like mine EXTRA chai-y and usually steep an extra chai teabag in my latte. I want it to practically burn my throat on the way down.
And now y’all think I’m weird or you’re nodding in agreement. I understand my little quirks may not be normal 😉
Here’s a problem though: when I go to Starbucks I really don’t want to spend a ton of money on a latte, even though I really have no other means (i.e. espresso machine) to make one of my own. The good news though? You totally don’t even need one to get a really great latte! This recipe is specifically for an at-home version of the chai tea syrup that you can make at home and use with hot milk, but if you mix the “steamed” milk with coffee you get a latte-like concoction that will save you a little money too…you know, so you can use it later on a yummy marg and a fabulous patio.
Flavor and extra cash? Let’s do this!
KNOCK-OFF STARBUCKS CHAI TEA LATTE
For the syrup:
- 1 box Tazo Chai Tea bags (I used the whole leaf tea but have used the regular kind as well – you’ll just need 16 teabags)
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1 cup sugar
For each latte:
- 1 cup milk of choice (the milk in the photo is nonfat cow’s milk, but I have also used almond and soymilk as well)
- high-speed blender
- ground cinnamon (optional)
***First let me note that I tried various methods until I got what I considered the best and most authentic-tasting syrup. In short I steep the tea first and then add the sugar and reduce the mixture because I feel like it best condenses the flavor. It does take a little longer than just making a simple syrup and steeping the tea in that, but I found the flavor of the tea is much stronger in the finished product when you do it using the method below.***
Bring the 4 cups of water just up to a boil, then remove from the heat source and steep the teabags in the water for 10 minutes. Remove the teabags, carefully letting them drain completely, and then pour in the sugar. Bring the mixture up to a simmer over medium-high heat, and then reduce to medium. Allow to simmer until it reduces by half, about 15-20 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes or so. Remove from the heat, poor into an airtight container, and let it cool in the container without the lid until it’s at room temperature. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days.
To make a latte, pour 6 Tbsp of the syrup into the mug you want to use for your latte (bigger is better here!). Side note: I usually microwave my syrup for a few seconds to take the chill off. Meanwhile, heat the cup of milk in a saucepan just until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Pour carefully into your blender and VERY carefully pulse slightly to start to aerate the milk. Blend on low for about 30 seconds, then let it sit for 30-45 seconds to let the milk and foam separate. Pour the hot milk into the mug with the syrup and top with foam and ground cinnamon if desired.
ENJOY!
I’ve been trying to figure the Tazo chai base out for months! Thanks for sharing your chai. It’s really terrific and a huge $$ saver. I happened to have some Liber & Co Fiery Ginger syrup and added a 1/2 t or so to the syrup base and it gives a bit more gingery goodness! I also usually substitute a 1/2 cup of coconut water for the milk for a healthy gesture and top it off with a sprinkle of nutmeg and it’s pretty outstanding! (These amounts are based on a 1/2 c syrup/1/2 c coconut water & 1 to 1 1/2c milk) I also used raw turbinado sugar…just because I had some in the cupboard. I know I t’s not really healthy in any form, but…. ya know. Thanks again!
Ha! Healthy-shmealthy 😉 I love your version – it sounds incredible! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
When I order a chai tea latte, I order it the traditional way which is half water/half milk. If that’s the way I prefer it should I use those proportions with this syrup recipe?
I would try a 1:3 ratio syrup to milk first, and then go from there. Let me know how it goes!
Bravo! Take a bow! You’re a goddess! I’ve been looking for ages, and this most definitely looks like the real deal!
One question:
Do you prefer a particular type of sugar? When making my Vandam chai, after much experimentation, I’ve found brown sugar highlights the spice as a whole. Raw sugar, second best.s
Your opinion? Have you tried mixing any/all the above?
Thanks!
~Jess
This was amazing😍
Yay! So glad you liked it!
So yummy!!! Thank you for sharing. This will save me a trip to Starbucks every morning 🙂
I’m so glad you loved it!
I was wondering what volume to reduce to and how long to boil or simmer for?
I would reduce it by about half or so – you want it to be concentrated since you’ll essentially be diluting it with steamed milk and/or hot water.
Sorry if this was asked before, but I didn’t want to go through and read all the comments 😆 Could I use my milk frother instead of blending it or would it not turn out as well? I am anxious to try this recipe because I love Starbucks Chai Lattes, but not the price haha Thank you!
Oh yes girl, you can totally use a milk frother!
Great! Thank you!
This is great… however, I’m wondering about the caffeine content in the final product. Seems like it would be really high. My understanding (and I could be wrong) is that caffeine is not destroyed during boiling. So, how does starbucks concentrate theirs without crazy high caffeine levels.
Thanks for developing this, I’m curious about your thoughts.
That is actually a fantastic question and I wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to answer because I actually have no clue; however, I believe Starbucks is using an already decaffeinated tea to create theirs. I hope that helps!
The caffeine amount is highly dependent on how much concentrate you use and how big your mug is! Or you can use decaf chai tea bags to minimize the caffeine.
There are spices, such as cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom inside the chai teabag along with the black tea, and the spices do not contain caffeine. So not as much caffeine as plain black tea. Yes, you are concentrating it, but you’re also diluting it later when you prepare the finished beverage.
Also, the Tazo concentrate that you can buy at the store has caffeine. They offer decaf concentrate, too. A quick lookup of caffeine levels shows that plain black coffee has 2-3 times the amount of caffeine that an equal amount of typical chai latte has.
Hi Heather, I’m a lil’ bit lazy & my time is kind of limited! I’ve recently bought the boxed chi latte & I’ve mixed it with vanilla rice milk( half & half) if I use more than that it tastes bitter. Any suggestions how I can make my “boxed” chi latte taste more authentic; like as if I bought it at Starbucks??? Thank you, Debby
Absolutely! You could add a bag of the chai tea to the latte to steep and give it even more chai flavor! That’s what I used to do in my Starbucks days – if it didn’t feel like my throat was burning from the spices then it wasn’t “chai” enough for me! Hope that helps!
What is the soy milk to syrup ratio? Is it equal parts because everyone’s “mug” will be different. Thanks!
Hey L! Honestly it all depends on taste and whether or not your soy milk is sweetened or unsweetened. I’ve found that 6 tablespoons of the syrup to 1 cup of unsweetened milk is just right!
I just made this recipe and it’s amazing! Thank you for posting, super helpful!
So glad you loved it Kayla! Such a perfect drink for fall 🙂
This got my attention… I’m sure going to try this out.
Love this. I actually searched for “how to replicate starbucks chai tea latte” and this came up. TBH I thought it might be an easier drink I could make at work LOL but thank you for the syrup recipe – I’ll definitely try this at home.
I hope you love it Krista!!!
If you want quick and at least close, use about 6oz water at just shy of a boil (205°f is what I use) with two bags of chai steeped about 6 minutes, squeeze in add heated and frothed milk (sugar in between steeping and adding the milk) and it does taste almost as good, with a lot less prep time.
That’s all so good to know – thank you!
Wow…..I have just tried your recipe and this is amazing!
I visit Starbucks frequently and when I tried the Chai Tea I fell in love with it. When I realized what the ingredients were…. I decided that I could make this.
This will safe me a ton of money!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much Patty! I’m so glad you love it – this is one of my favorites too! Enjoy!
How long will the syrup be good for in a air tight container in the refrigerator?
I would say maybe about two weeks?
Hello!
I have not tried this recipe yet and am just starting to experiment with making chai tea lattes. The type of chai tea I am using is not very spicy. Do you have any ideas of what I can add to make it more spicy?
Thank You!
Hey Mia! You could add some very coursely cracked pepper or cinnamon sticks to the tea mix, maybe even some fresh ginger!
I have tried this recipe a few times now and I just love it – the chai taste is exactly right! I have to admit I am lazy and simply heat up the milk in the microwave in short increments, whipping it a bit with a whisk in between. It doesn’t get as foamy, but it still tastes excellent. Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you like it – thank you Tracy!
How thick should you expect the mixture to become when you should take it off of the heat?
I don’t want to overcook it, but it still seems very watery after 30+ minutes.
Should it thicken after cooling?
Mine thickened slightly after cooling, but it won’t be super thick and syrupy. I tried to make it as close as possible to what they serve at Starbucks, and the chai syrup there is also very thin!
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for!! It turned out way better than I expected!! I used the Tazo Organic Chai regular small tea bags because its what my publix had. This tasted exactly like what I get at starbucks, my beloved Iced Chai Latte with Soy milk & whipped cream (trust me its amazing, no lactose allergy, just tastes better this way lol)! Might use a little less sugar next time, its pretty sweet (mostly because I always mix it with Organic vanilla soy milk which contains some sugar already). Normally I pay $5 & change for the medium size. The tea concentrate cost me $3.99 (for the box of tea) + the soy milk. I have already made 4 of these & I still have at least 3/4 of the bottle of concentrate left. You are AWESOME! Thank you for sharing this!!
I’m so glad you loved it Mary! Definitely one of my favorites, especially in the winter 🙂
Where are the comments? They don’t appear in my browser (Chrome).
Hey Don! I’m procrastinating on an update to my blog’s theme, which means the comments aren’t showing up. It’s not you – it’s the blog!
YUMMY
I’m addicted to Chai lattes. Thanks for posting your recipe!
There is no way to view/read the comments on your starbucks knock-off recipe. Perhaps something in your backend coding in incorrect….
Hey Erina! You’re right, there’s a coding error between my theme updates and WordPress; I just haven’t gotten around to fixing it yet. Is there a specific question you had on the recipe? I can certainly relay any other comments your way if you’d like!
Would this work for an iced chai latte as well?
I think so! I haven’t tried it, but I would just make sure that the syrup is chilled really well and that the ice doesn’t melt too much and dilute it!
Really excited to try this… Why can’t I see other comments?
Hey Bridget! When I updated my blog a while back it had a bug with the comments that made it so they wouldn’t show up to anyone but me. There’s a fix, but I’ve been delinquent in doing it because we’re prepping for baby #2! Are there any questions you have? Or would you like me to email you the comment string for this post til I get it fixed?
Such an awesome recipe.
I used brown sugar instead but everything else I did by your instructions and it is amazing!!!!!! Than you!
So glad you loved it!!! The brown sugar sounds amazing!
Wow! Thank you so much for this recipe. I have tried many homemade recipes that all ended with the taste of chai tea steeped in milk. This actually tastes like a latte I could buy at a coffee shop! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I will be making this for my family this winter!
Thank you so much Alex! I’m so glad you liked it!
Delish!
I’m confused about the syrup part .. Is that just the tea? Does it turn into syrup ??
By adding the sugar to the tea concentrate you make a syrup, which can then be added to steamed milk for a latte. Hope that helps! 🙂
I have been on a chai making binge for a week trying to perfect making it at home because while I was on deployment in Afghanistan we had this coffeehouse called GreenBean, and as whenever I had a break from deployment life (once every other week or so) I would go get a chai tea latte…and I loved Starbucks chai tea before….but Green Bean’s version was so much better. Now I’ve been home for a few months because I got sent back 7 months into my deployment for heart problems, not only can I no longer run marathons and keep up and play with my 5 year old boy who just wants to play football with his mommy after she’s been gone on deployment for months, now I can no longer have caffeine (which makes me sad because I love my chai tea and the occasional cup of coffee) and Starbucks doesn’t offer chai in decaf. So I’ve gone through boxes and boxes of chai tea and quite a few recipients trying to get it right. I use Stash’s chai spice in decaf (because it’s the only brand that I’ve found that offers chai in decaf. I just made your recipe…in fact I’m drinking a cup now, and I’m in love….it’s better than Starbucks and Green Bean. It’s the best cup of chai tea I have ever had. THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! It’s been hard adjusting from being young and healthy to having cardiac problems and not being able to do things I used to…let alone not being allowed to eat or drink the same. I know it’s not the end of the world losing out on tea….but sometimes it’s the small things that can make you feel a little bit better. Thanks to you I just took back chai tea. It’s a small step, but it just made my day.
Thank you so much for sharing your story Amber, and I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re loving this recipe! Thank you so much for your service 🙂
Thank you. I’ve tried a million ways, never the right one. I’m going out to buy a half dozen boxes of Tazo Chai tomorrow. Thank you thank you thank you!
Yay! You’re welcome Melina!
THANK YOU!!! Best chai tea lattes ever! I use the Kroger, “Private Selection” to make it even cheaper! I always drink them iced because it is so quicker, perfect for a college student on the go!
Oh, great tip Kirsti! I’ll have to grab a box at the store next time I’m there!
Hi Heather and thanks so much for this recipe! It’s steeping right now and I can’t wait to try it – love really spicy chai!
Hey I was wondering, when you get hot chais at starbucks, do you order them without water? and is this comparable to that?
because i normally get iced sbux chais which don’t get water added, so i’m wondering if i’ll need to use less water in the syrup if so.
i have tried the boxed tazo chai concentrate that sbux sells but i think it’s pre-watered and kinda weak so i’m trying to find an alternative to that, and cheaper than sbux obviously.
thanks btw, gonna try this recipe this week hopefully. definitely can NOT afford this stuff at sbux as often as i’d like it
Hey Chris! When I worked at Starbucks they told us that the hot water was supposed to help “activate” the tea concentrate; since this recipe is for the tea concentrate in general I *think* that it’s comparable to a water-less hot chai. When I worked there I would get my chai without water and then also get a Chai teabag steeped in the warm milk for extra spice as well!
is this for 1 cup of chai????
Hey Anna! The recipe makes enough syrup for about 10-11 cups!
If i use loose leaf tea, how many tablespoons will i need ?
Hey Savannah! Since I didn’t use loose leaf tea I can’t give an exact amount, but I would assume it would be about 13-14 tablespoons of tea. Again, that’s a guess, but based on the average tea bag that’s what I came up with 🙂
Oh ok! thank you !i tried to.make me a chai tea latte this morning and it just was not.good
. Im going to try this.tomorrow!
I just found this recipe and I am so excited to make my first batch of syrup tonight. I even went out and bought the chai on my lunch break. This will save me so much money! I have a serious Starbucks chai addiction!
I hope you love it Katie!
Is it ok if I just blend in kitchen aid mixer with whisk attachment ?
Hey Olivia! Truth be told I haven’t tried it so I don’t know for certain but I bet it would work! Really you just want to aerate the milk so that it gets nice and foamy!
I actually got a tiny battery operated whipper from Amazon (about 6 bucks. I can send you the link for it if you want, but didn’t want to appear “spammy” in your comments.) It’s great for making a latte at work. My coworkers always start out laughing at me, then see how great my latte looks and then ask where I got my whipper!
Go ahead and add the link – that sounds like a great tool!!!
This recipe is amazing. I just made it and I think it’s even better than Starbucks!! Thank you so much!
YAY! I’m so glad you liked it Jessica!
Just made an apple chai version and it was amazing and way easier than I thought! Just sweet enough and my magic bullet froths the milk perfectly!
Hold the phone: APPLE CHAI?! I have GOT to get my hands on some of that!
haha, it was pretty unreal – Im glad it worked because it was the only chai tea I had at the time 🙂
This looks great! I really like the dirty chai frappuccino as well, do you have any experience with making something similar at home? I would love to try your recipe for the chai tea latte as well as a frap knock off if you have one, Thanks!
Thank you Jacob! I don’t have any experience with the dirty chai, but I’ve heard a lot of readers really love it! As for a frappuccino knockoff I don’t have one yet, but I’ll work on one for when it warms up a little bit 🙂
Sounds good Heather! I’ll look forward to hearing from you and I’ll let you know if I come up with something good!
Really good, but I would cut the sugar at least in half next time I make it. It’s REALLY sweet.
Thanks so much for the feedback Peggy! That actually would maybe make it more potent in the spice department – TOTALLY fine by me! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe Heather. I just LOVE the Starbucks soy chai tea latte but only treat myself to it on occasion b/c of expense/budgeting, so this was a gem to find. I just made your version. It didn’t have that spice kick to it like I was expecting (and based on your blog I know you like that too. 😉 ) so I thought I did something wrong. And I think I did. I just used 16 tea bags, like you said, however, there are 19 tea bags in the Tazo box, so I had 3 to spare. LOL). Once I’ve used up this batch of syrup I’ll try it again using the whole box & see if those 3 bags make the “spice” difference.
Thanks again! 🙂
Thanks Karen! I hope you like it!
I just tried this recipe and it’s delicious! Just like Starbucks if not better 🙂 My only question is when making the “syrup” should it become thick like a syrup? Mine tastes good but it stayed liquid when reducing..
Hey Jessica! Mine was not super thick either; and realistically you don’t want it to be suuuuuper thick because then it wouldn’t mix with the milk as well!
Oooohhhh eeeeemmmm geeeee! This recipe is Chai-tastic! Seriously!
A few weeks ago I made the mistake of treating my daughter to her first Chai latte at Starbucks. She’s been bugging me for it ever since(at least once a week) and Lord knows I can’t afford it every week – LOL! I am sooooo glad I found your recipe thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks Velma! I’m so glad you liked it!
I think this is the awesomest recipie EVER!!!!!!!! When I was making this, I found out that, once you put the mixture in the mug, it helps to pour a bit of syrup on top……in my opinion!
I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for so long I’m glad I found this one. I add a shot of espresso and use cold milk and ice to make iced dirty chai teas. My roommate and I agree, it is better than Starbucks!
I’m so glad you guys liked it Avery! And I need to try a dirty chai someday – that was one I was always intimidated to try!
You say 6 Tbsp. of syrup but don’t really say a size of cup/mug. Granted I know it’s really a “to suit your taste” thing but generally are we talking like 1 part syrup : 4 parts milk or some other proportion?
Oh, for nice frothy milk, I highly recommend a Breville milk frother. I’ve had one for a year now and it’s fantastic! Temperature controlled and super quick cleanup.
Hey Steve! When I said cup for the milk I meant 8 ounces of milk, so the ratio would be 6 Tbsp of the syrup to every 8 ounces of your milk of choice. I hope that helps! And thank you for the tip on the Breville milk frother – I need to get my hands on one of those!
Based on what I’ve seen this cannister from Tazo has 1,58 OZ or 45g in it! I cannot buy this in the Netherlands, so I had to find an alternative to it. Still a great recipe!!
You said you also used the whole leaf chai tea, how much do you use of that?
AWESOME recipe, finally an alternative to infusing money into giant corporations!
Greetings from the Netherlands!!
Hey Olaf! I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember the exact amount, but it was an entire canister of Tazo chai. So maybe 16-ish individual bags? I hope that helps! For me, the spicier the better!
hi!! love the recipe, I was wondering how much it makes?? I’m dying to try it out cos chai lattes are my FAVE!! thank you!! 🙂
Hey Hannah! It makes enough syrup for about 10-11 lattes!
Thanks for sharing this, Heather? I’m enjoying my first chai knock-off as I type! I ended up with about 1.5cups of syrup. Does that sound right? Don’t see 10 servings from that though. But, hey! Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised to learn that I will indeed get that many servings.
I’m with Mariah K. Inasmuch as I will try less sugar. BTW – I used Splenda and it was great. Like you, I LOVE my chai spicy… So… Less sugar… More spice! #OccupyChai
Hi Heather! Do you have a recipe for the iced chia latte? They’re dreamy. They used to make me think of pumpkin pie but I didn’t get that feeling, yesterday, when I had one for the first time in about six years. It had so much ice that it was gone in two minutes. I then remembered why I quit Starbucks. Haha So glad I found your website it’s cute. Take care. Rob
Hey Rob! You know, I never even tried the iced chai when I worked at Starbucks! You may be able to make the syrup and then refrigerate and add milk/ice as you want. If you try it let me know how it works out – I would love to try it iced finally!
hi rob did you ever try the iced chai wight his recipe? i would love to try it!
Love this! I think I’m going to use a little less sugar in my next batch just so I can really get the POW of the chai. This was super easy and I loved the blender/milk trick. SO AWESOME and so much money saved. Sorry Starbucks.
Haha true, sorry Starbucks 😉 I think I may try the less sugar thing on my next batch too!
Honesty? I like this one better than the Starbucks one. I made it once, when it finishes I just bought the syrup at Starbucks (after all it cost just $6,00). But I didn’t like… so I’m making my own syrup again. It taste better !!!!!
This is AWESOME! I love chai tea lattes but not so much the $5 every time at Starbucks. I can’t wait to try this version at home.
I think you’ll love it!
I’m in love with the chai, it’s so frothyyy I wanna dieee!!!
OMG I’m in love with this comment! HAHAHA!
I may have a slight Starbucks addiction that needs curbed. I love this recipe! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
I hope you like it! I’m telling you, the milk thing is a life-changer!
Oh, yum! Great idea! Now that I don’t drink coffee, chai is my go-to. I have at least one a day!
You will LOVE IT!
This is genius! I love dirty chai lattes (add a shot of espresso), but they are even MORE expensive than a regular chai latte! I should dust off the espresso maker and give this a shot.
LOVE the chai! Mmm yes.
Also, let me know when you’ll be drinking those margs on your porch and I’ll be right over. 😉
I love using the blender to make the milk frothy– I use my immersion blender the same way!
I’d love to have an immersion blender – not in the cards yet, but some day!
Yes yes yes! This looks amazing Heather…I’m totally am down with the chai!