CopycatSpices
Copycat Starbucks Chai Tea Latte
Make Starbucks' warm, spiced chai tea latte at home with a homemade chai concentrate and steamed milk.
copycat · starbucks · fast-food · coffee
🕑Prep10 min
🍳Cook15 min
⏱Total25 min
🍽Serves4
⭐DifficultyEasy
Ingredients
- 4 black tea bags (such as Tazo or Twinings)
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1.Simmer the spices. In a saucepan, combine the water, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, ginger, and allspice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to create a spice infusion.
- 2.Steep the tea. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the tea bags. Let them steep for 5 minutes, then remove and discard the tea bags.
- 3.Sweeten the concentrate. Stir in the honey and vanilla extract while the mixture is still warm. Strain out the whole spices through a fine-mesh strainer.
- 4.Steam the milk. Heat the milk in a separate saucepan until hot (not boiling). Froth the milk using a frother, whisk, or by shaking it vigorously in a sealed jar.
- 5.Combine and serve. Divide the chai concentrate among 4 mugs. Top each with steamed, frothed milk. Stir gently and dust with ground cinnamon if desired.
The Starbucks Chai Tea Latte is a warm, comforting blend of black tea and aromatic spices topped with creamy steamed milk. It is one of the most ordered drinks on the Starbucks menu, and this homemade version lets you skip the $6 price tag while actually tasting better — because you are using real spices instead of a pre-made syrup.
Why This Recipe Works
Starbucks uses a chai concentrate that is then mixed with steamed milk. This recipe takes the same approach but builds the concentrate from scratch using whole spices, which gives you a much more vibrant, aromatic result. The combination of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger is the classic chai spice blend, and simmering them whole extracts deeper flavor than ground spices.
Pro Tips
- Make a large batch of the chai concentrate and store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Just reheat and add steamed milk whenever you want a latte.
- For an iced chai latte, let the concentrate cool completely, pour it over ice, and top with cold milk.
- Use 2% milk for a lighter version or oat milk for a dairy-free alternative that froths beautifully.
- Adjust the honey to taste — Starbucks’ version is quite sweet, so start with less if you prefer it less sweet.
