HOMEMADE CHAI CONCENTRATE
on Oct 01, 2024, Updated Jun 23, 2025
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No need to go to your favorite coffee shop. The perfect chai tea is just a few steps away thanks to this easy, refined sugar-free chai concentrate recipe.
It’s true: I’m a matcha girly at heart. Still, that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate other special beverages, especially during the holiday season.
This Homemade Chai Concentrate is the ultimate hack for having ready-to-make fun beverages to make all fall and winter long.
While there are plenty of chai concentrates available at grocery stores, unfortunately, most of them are loaded with cane sugar and natural flavors!
Many chains are using these sugary concentrates and mixing them with nut milk loaded with gums and fillers. While I’m all about balance, I like to control where my sugar is coming from.
For me, that means whipping up a batch of this easy-to-make and free-of-refined sugar concentrate so I can sip without the risk of a sugar hangover.
This homemade chai has so much more flavor than anything you can grab at the store and only uses maple syrup for sweetness.
Adjust the measurements as you see fit, adding more or less syrup depending on your preference and bumping up some of the spices for a real kick.
You can use this concentrate to make your own DIY iced chai lattes at home or even a dirty chai with a shot of espresso.
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While I rarely drink coffee these days, my husband Kyle is a huge fan and it’s nice to spice it up by adding some of this concentrate to his iced lattes.
Hope you give this chai concentrate a try this season and let me know what you think over on my Instagram, @olivia.adriance. Cheers!
Ingredients for Homemade Chai Concentrate
Ready to make your own DIY chai concentrate? Here’s everything you’ll need.
- Water: The base of the mix is plain old water.
- Maple Syrup: The only sweetener in this recipe is pure maple syrup.
- Spices: A blend of ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and ground cloves creates the perfect chai mix, in my opinion.
- Tea: I used regular black tea bags; the same that I would use if I was enjoying a cup of tea at home.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a touch will do.
- Cinnamon Sticks: To add even more flavor, I throw a few into the mix as it steeps.
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Pin ItHow to Make Chai Concentrate
To make the chai concentrate, add water, maple syrup, ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and cloves to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, watching carefully so it doesn’t overflow.
Once boiling, remove from heat and add in the black tea bags.
Add the vanilla extract and cinnamon sticks. Allow the mixture to steep for at least 15 minutes. The longer it sits, the more flavor it will have!
Once the tea has steeped, squeeze the bags and remove them along with the cinnamon sticks. Strain the mixture using a strainer over a large bowl.
Pour into a jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Enjoy cold or warmed with your favorite nut milk, or add a shot of espresso for a dirty chai (see notes for instructions). Enjoy!
Other Cozy Dairy-Free Drinks:
- Creamy Vanilla Cashew Milk
- Honey Matcha Latte
- Pumpkin Spice Cashew Creamer
- Iced Honey Cardamom Latte
- Bone Broth Hot Chocolate
HOMEMADE CHAI CONCENTRATE
Ingredients
Chai Concentrate:
- 4 cups water
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 black tea bags
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cinnamon sticks
For Serving:
- Nut milk
- Shot of espresso (for a dirty chai latte)
Instructions
- To make the chai concentrate, add water, maple syrup, ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and cloves to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Once boiling, remove from heat and add in the black tea bags.
- Add the vanilla extract and cinnamon sticks. Allow to steep for at least 15 minutes.
- Once the tea has steeped, squeeze the bags and remove them along with the cinnamon sticks. Strain the mixture and store it in a jar in the fridge. The concentrate will last in the fridge for a week. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Could you Recommend a tea to use for this? New to the tea world and hoping for decaf?
Hi, Laura! Hmm I haven’t tried it with anything but black tea. I feel like any of the no-caffeine herbal teas would throw off the flavor. You could try dandelion or look for decaf black tea.
Wow! This concentrate is SO good! Thank you!
Thanks so much, Elle!
Please can you tell me how to use this in a warm drink with just milk?
Hi Lauren! Just heat up the concentrate with some milk over the stovetop and you’re good to go 🙂
This tastes just like the concentrate I buy in stores. Is there a way to estimate calories per serving? I used sf maple syrup, and looking at the other ingredients I believe it is low.
Thank you, Kara! I’m working on adding estimated macros to the site but you can plug in all of the ingredients into an app like My Fitness Pal and it will tell you!
Having my first sips of a chai tea latte I made with this concentrate, and it’s just as good as Starbucks!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So happy you love it, Laurel! Thank you!
THRILLED to GET THIS AND MAKE IT! THANKS ANNMARIE SANTA BARBARA CALIF.
Hi there, Could you freeze the chai concentrate into an ice cube tray etc. to preserve longer?
Hi Christine! I haven’t personally tried but that sounds like it would work great.