Name: Homemade Chai Tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 12 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups water; 3 cups low fat milk (or alternative milk of choice); 1/4 cup brown sugar (loosely packed); 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; 8 individual individual tea bags (black tea) (regular or decaf)

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This post was updated on 12/29/23.

Homemade chai tea, in addition to being AMAZINGLY delicious, has opened my eyes to the fact that my tea knowledge was lacking. Like, seriously lacking. I was so uninformed that I thought chai was a type of tea leaf! Like green, black, and oolong! Boy, was I wonderfully, spectacularly wrong 😛

Once I clued myself in to the spices that typically make up a chai, I was absolutely hooked.

What exactly is chai tea?

Directly translated, saying chai tea is like saying ‘tea tea,’ since chai means ‘tea’ in Hindi. Chai is a daily staple in India, and consists of tea brewed with milk, sugar, and spices. It is served everywhere – in homes, in restaurants, on trains, and by street vendors.

The spice blend used to make this popular tea is often referred to as masala. There are many versions of masala, but standard ingredients usually include cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and clove. Other spices you may encounter include allspice, lemongrass, fennel, or black pepper.

In America, although it is redundant, we do call it ‘chai tea’ – probably to distinguish it from other ways of serving tea (eg., iced or hot or sweet). You can find chai type drinks, mostly tea and lattes, in coffee shops from the East to the West Coast. But, why buy it when you can make it exactly how you want it right at home?

OK, I’m ready to make it – how do I do it?

While the chai spice variations are endless, the making of this chai tea is truly simple. In about 15 minutes you’ll be holding a steaming, aromatic mug of delicious creaminess.

It really takes just 3 steps:

Boil milk, sugar, and spices
Add tea bags and steep
Remove tea bags and strain

While the black tea is steeped in the milk mixture, it is infused with the heavenly combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger. It’s easy enough to measure each of those spices out, but you can do yourself a favor by making my DIY Chai Spice mix ahead of time. Then just use that (about 3 1/2 teaspoons) instead!

Why we love it

There are a host of reasons to love chaitea. From a practical standpoint, you’ll save money and time by making it at home, and you can adapt it to your needs and preferences:

Caffeine sensitive? Make it with decaffeinated tea. Nobody will notice, I pinky-swear promise.
Dairy allergy? Make a dairy free chai by using soy or oat milk, which are great alternatives to cow’s milk because they’re creamy and rich-tasting.
Watching carbs? Cut the brown sugar in half, or cut it out altogether and stir in your preferred alternate sweetener after it’s done steeping.
Prefer your drinks iced? Even in the dead of winter, my fellow New Enganders love a delicious iced drink – call us crazy 🙂 Just let your brew cool to room temperature and pour it over all the ice. You do you, peep.

Also, it’s a hit with the young’uns, not just adults! I think I called this ‘warm cinnamon milk’ the first time I made it for my kids. They loved, loved, loved it with a passion typically reserved for rare Pokemon. I am pretty sure they broke out into the chai chai chai dance with me.

So, give it a try! Maybe you’ll be dancing, too

Cheers to wonderful you 🙂

This dreamy homemade chai tea has me dancing! One, two, chai, chai, chai!Click To Tweet