Why this Recipe Works
What is Chai Concentrate?
Pre-Bottled Chai Concentrates
Not only are most pre-bottled chai concentrates severely overpriced, you also have no control over the flavor, sugar, and not to mention the preservatives. Half of the labels are unclear with their ingredients, too. But for some, it’s a mundane, time consuming process which requires too many dishes. And that’s understandable! It’s super convenient to have a tasty chai ready in a snap instead of standing over a pot. That’s where a great chai concentrate comes in! No trips to Starbucks necessary to get a Chai Tea Latte with how easy it is to make a weeks worth of Chai Concentrate at home. During the fall season, you can top it with the fan favorite Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam if not the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam. Add a shot of espresso to make a Dirty Chai Latte. A lot of recipes out there use readymade chai tea bags. These tea bags already have spices, which is fine! But you’re here because you’re looking for the best chai concentrate and a blend that you can customize. Not just any generic store bought “chai tea”. This recipe is all about personal preferences with which spices to use, how strong the black tea is, the amount of sugar, the milkiness. That’s why I’ve grown to love having homemade chai concentrate on hand for chai lattes! Making your own spiced chai concentrate means that you get to control the spices and the sweetness. Not to mention, you have a hot or iced cup of chai ready within minutes and it’ll last you the week. It’s an inexpensive option to have it homemade! It’s not quite the same as an authentic masala chai in terms of texture and balance. But the flavors are certainly there. Concentrate is not commonly found in the Indian subcontinent, but became popularized in the U.S. in the recent years to make chai lattes. It can be found at most grocery stores near the bottled coffees and in the form of syrups to add to drinks. A lot of chai concentrates put you at around $2 a cup, whereas mine is less than a $1 per cup. Once you have all the spices, you can make dozens of batches and even prepare your own blend. Starbucks uses a Chai Tea Concentrate for their famous Chai Tea Latte, which I find to be unpalatable due to the heavy cinnamon. The ingredients their website lists are water, black tea, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, natural flavors, and star anise for the base. They also add sugar, honey, ginger juice, more natural flavors (what is that???), vanilla, and citric acid (a preservative). Two concentrates that I do enjoy are South Asian-owned companies, the Chai Box and One Stripe Chai Co.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
The ingredients for chai concentrate is very similar to a cup of masala chai, there’s just no milk since that’s added separately.
Black tea - Assam tea work best for masala chai, and English breakfast is a good runner up. My favorite loose leaf black tea is Danedar and my favorite tea bags are Tetley British Blend. I do not recommend earl grey. You can use high quality green tea but it will be a much different flavor profile and adds earthiness. If you’re looking for a no-caffeine option, rooibos is a great option. Sweetener - Granulated sugar is the most typical sweetener, but brown sugar, stevia, honey, and even maple syrup will work. You can also omit the sweetener and add it in later when using the concentrate or use vanilla syrup. Readers have also reported that they used medjool dates to naturally sweeten their concentrate. Spices - My chai concentrate spice blend includes cloves, black peppercorns, nutmeg (freshly grated), star anise, cinnamon sticks, green cardamom pods, dried rose buds, and ginger. Spices can be added - like fennel and tulsi - or omitted based off of personal preference. Use whole spices for the best, robust flavor. You can also use a homemade Chai Spice.
How to make Spicy Chai Concentrate
Making chai concentrate is incredibly similar to making a cup of masala chai. However, there are a few extra steps that ensure that there is plenty of flavor from the spices and the tea is strong but not over steeped until bitter.
black pepper - spice and warmth cardamom - fragrance and sweetness cinnamon - spice and sweetness cloves - warming and bitter flavor to counteract sweetness
Honestly, you could get away with not using cloves as well but I think a small amount elevates chai.
How to use Tea Concentrate
Storage Instructions
Why is the Chai Concentrate Cloudy?
The tea may become cloudy after refrigeration. This is due to the caffeine and tannins that are released from the tea leaves at temperatures over 100°F. They eventually bond with each other when chilled. Water boils at 212°F, so this is pretty much unavoidable. If the concentrate is too bitter, the black tea has been steeped for too long or your tea leaves aren’t a good match for this recipe. Add more sweetener to offset the bitterness. The concentrate can be heated, steamed, or poured over ice with milk to make hot or an iced chai latte. If you’re looking to make a Dirty Chai Latte, you may want to use something more like a Chai Syrup for a concentrated, sweet flavor. It can can also be frozen for up to three months. To do this, pour the concentrate into ice cube molds and freeze for 5 hours. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag. When you’re ready to use it, you can melt the cubes in a microwave and add hot milk for a hot chai, or pour hot milk over the ice cubes for an iced chai. Not only that, but black tea has the highest amount of tannins. Historically, masala chai is made with low quality tea leaves (read more), which have high levels of tannin. The longer the tea is steeped, the higher the concentration of tannins which results in bitter, unpalatable tea. The cloudy tea is completely fine to consume. But if you have time on your hands or like to prep things overnight, you can also steep 10 black tea bags in 5 cups of room temperature water for up to 8 hours. Simply infuse the water with spices beforehand, strain out the spices, and let the water cool. Then add the tea bags to steep. You can also keep it in the sun for a partial day to have especially strong tea. This will result in clear black tea that is ready to be refrigerated or served over ice.
More Chai Recipes to try
Recipe
I’d love to know what you thought of this recipe! Don’t forget to leave a comment and ⭐️ star rating below! Thinking about making this recipe? Enter your email and I’ll send it straight to your inbox to save for later. Plus, get new recipe inspiration from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Masala and Chai.
