Starbucks Iced Chai Latte
Perhaps this recipe should be called BETTER than Starbucks Iced Chai Latte because it is! I’ll show you how to make your own chai concentrate and create the best homemade chai latte ever.
Making an iced chai latte at home is so easy, budget-friendly and just as delicious as one from Starbucks, if not more so because you can make adjustments to suit your preferences.
While I used to be completely obsessed with Starbucks Iced Chai Lattes, I now find them a little too sweet. I make my own chai concentrate and add the sugar to create a latte that has strong chai flavor, complimented by just the right amount of sweetness. All you will need is: your favorite chai tea bags, brown sugar and milk of choice.
Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky
I’m a huge tea lover and chai was my first love. I’ve mentioned how it was the only thing that got me through my 8 am anthropology class in college and I still love a good chai latte today. But now, I mostly make my chai lattes at home. Let’s make one!
Ingredients
Iced Chai Latte
A chai latte typically includes equal parts of the following:
- Chai concentrate: I’m going to show you how to make your own. It’s super easy and all you need are chai tea bags and brown sugar
- Milk of choice: I think regular ol’ 2% milk makes the creamiest latte, but oat milk is a great substitute. You can really use any type of milk you like though.
Make it a hot chai latte
You can make a hot chai latte just as easily as an iced one. Simply warm the concentrate and warm/froth the milk. That’s really the only difference!
How to make chai concentrate
As I mentioned above, all you will need to make chai concentrate at home are: chai tea bags, brown sugar and water. You can of course make chai concentrate completely from scratch by brewing black tea with chai spices (cinnamon, black pepper, start anise, ginger, cardamom, etc.), but I prefer to just use my favorite bagged chai tea.
Brew extra strong chai tea
The first step in making chai concentrate is to brew tea. Add 2 cups of boiling water to 4 single-serve chai tea bags. Let this steep for 5 minutes. You don’t want to steep the tea for too long as it can become bitter.
Add sugar and simmer
Then add the tea–or you can add it directly–to a pot and turn heat to medium-high. Add 1/4 cup of brown sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Bring to a simmer and allow it to continue to simmer for 3 minutes.
Cool and store
Remove from heat and add to a jar with a secure lid. You might want to give it a quick shake before preparing your chai latte if you’ll be storing the chai to use at a later time.
Enjoy within 5 days.
What is in the chai latte at Starbucks?
The chai latte from Starbucks is made with chai concentrate, 2% milk and ice (if you order an iced drink). The chai concentrate is made with black tea, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla and cane sugar. And that’s in addition to a few additives like “natural flavors” and citric acid.
You can buy Tazo Chai Concentrate at many grocery stores, Target and amazon. They even make decaf (affiliate link). While the Tazo Chai concentrate is similar, I still think it tastes slightly different than the chai they serve at Starbucks. And I also find the boxed chai concentrate is very sweet. It contains 22 grams of sugar in a 3/4 cup serving.
Chai questions you might have
Does iced chai latte have coffee?
No, a chai latte does not have coffee in it. Chai is made with black tea and a unique blend of spices. A popular variation on a chai latte is called a “Dirty Chai” and is a chai latte with a shot of espresso added. I have a recipe for that here. If you are concerned about caffeine, Tazo makes a decaf concentrate (affiliate link) or you can find a bagged decaf chai tea that you like.
What does iced chai latte taste like?
Chai includes lots of warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and black pepper and it can also be a little bit spicy. This is why it pairs so well with milk and sugar. It brings those warming/spicy flavors into perfect balance!
Can you make chai concentrate from scratch?
Yes! If you want to make chai concentrate completely from scratch, meaning you will use whole spices and brew with black tea, check out this post from Sweet Steep.
Tried this recipe?
If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you!
You can also connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.
More tea recipes
Copycat Starbucks Iced Chai Latte
I prefer this iced chai latte over a coffee-shop one any day. It has the perfect amount of sweetness, with bold chai flavor. Money saving, time saving and delicious.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Chai concentrate
- 4 single-serve chai tea bags (I prefer Trader Joe's or Tazo)
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
Chai latte
- 1/2 cup chai concentrate
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- ice
Instructions
- Steep chai tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes in a pot.
- Remove tea bags and place pot on the stove over medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to a simmer and then simmer an additional 3 minutes.
- Store the chai concentrate in a glass jar with a secure lid in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make a chai latte
- For a 1 cup serving, combine 1/2 cup chai concentrate and 1/2 cup milk and add to a glass with ice. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
Milk: you can use 2% milk, oat milk or almond milk. Really any plant-based milk that you enjoy should work!
To make a hot latte: warm the chai concentrate in a mug. Also warm the milk and froth. Poured warmed/frothed milk over the warmed chai concentrate and enjoy.
What is the ratio of concentrate to milk?
I usually do 1:1 but you can play with it to suit your preference!
Ohhhh my goodness! This is delicious!!!
I never leave comments, but this one was totally worth it!
I added an extra tea bag for more spice. It’s the perfect combo of spice with a little sweet.
Thank you!!!
Yay for more spice! I’m so glad you loved it and very thankful for your review 🙂 Cheers!
Wasn’t sure about this at first but it’s soo good! Just as good as Starbucks 👏🏼
It was really good, but in my opinion, it needs a little more sugar, but i dont know how that would alter the recipe, if it will make it thicker and more like a syrup than a concentrate, havent tried adding more concentrate than milk but im on that.
Hello there! Glad you liked it. It should really only affect the consistency if you added significantly more sugar.
Perfect!! Better than Starbucks 👏🏼
I make a batch of this almost every week and it’s perfect! I don’t miss Starbucks chai at all.
This looks good! Could maple syrup be a substitute for the brown sugar or would that be yuck?
Hi Amber! I think maple syrup would taste good too! You probably don’t want to do a 1:1 substitution though, I think it might be a little too sweet. Maybe start with about half the amount, taste and add to your preference. Enjoy!
It was very good, my family loved it! thank you for the recipe!
This was spot on perfect!! So delicious. I will be making this on repeat.
Woot! Glad you loved it Andrea!
Omg after I saw this recipe I needed to try it !!! Quick question though would vanilla taste good in it and what brand are your tea bags!?
I Adriana! I haven’t tried adding vanilla, but I think it could be good. Trader Joe’s chai is my favorite! Tazo is my second fave. Enjoy!