The short answer: to make chai concentrate, toast cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and star anise, then boil them with sliced ginger in 1.2 litres of water for 10 minutes. Add 5 tablespoons of loose black tea, simmer for 5 minutes, take it off the heat and stir in 100 g sugar. Strain, chill, and mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part milk. It keeps up to 5 days in the fridge.
Chai concentrate is spiced black tea brewed extra strong and sweetened, so one jar makes a chai latte in the time it takes to heat milk. The café version is often mostly sugar. Homemade chai concentrate tastes of real cardamom and ginger, and you decide how sweet it is. One pan, about 35 minutes, 8 lattes.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Time | About 35 minutes |
| Makes | About 1 litre, enough for 8 lattes |
| To serve | 1 part concentrate to 1 part milk, hot or iced |
| Keeps | Up to 5 days in the fridge |
Ingredients
- 1.2 litres (5 cups) water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 10 green cardamom pods
- 8 cloves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 30 g (a thumb-sized piece) fresh ginger, sliced
- 5 tablespoons loose black tea, such as Assam, or 8 tea bags
- 100 g (½ cup) sugar, white or brown, to taste
- Optional: ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, a pinch of grated nutmeg
Use whole spices. Ground spices make the concentrate muddy and leave grit in the bottom of every cup. Assam is the classic tea for chai: it is malty and stands up to milk. English breakfast tea works too.
How to make chai concentrate
- Crack. Crush the cardamom pods, cloves and peppercorns lightly in a mortar or under a heavy pan. Break the cinnamon sticks in half.
- Toast. Toast the spices in a dry pan over medium heat for about 1 minute, stirring, until they smell warm and sweet.
- Boil. Add the water and ginger. Bring it to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes so the spices give up their flavour.
- Add the tea. Stir in the tea and simmer for 5 minutes. Not longer: tea boiled too long turns bitter.
- Sweeten. Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Leave it to steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain and chill. Pour it through a fine sieve into a clean jar or bottle. Press the spices gently. Close the jar and put it in the fridge once it has cooled.
How to make a chai latte from concentrate
| Drink | Mix | How |
|---|---|---|
| Hot chai latte | 120 ml concentrate, 120 ml milk | Heat together until steaming, froth if you like |
| Iced chai latte | 120 ml concentrate, 120 ml cold milk | Pour over a glass full of ice |
| Dirty chai | Hot chai latte plus 1 espresso | Pour the espresso in last |
| Chai with oat milk | 1:1 with oat milk | Oat milk froths well and tastes sweet |
Do not boil the milk hard once the concentrate is in. Heat it until it steams and small bubbles form at the edge.
Make it your chai
- More ginger heat: use 50 g of ginger and grate it instead of slicing.
- More cardamom: go up to 15 pods for a sweeter, more floral cup.
- Less sweet: cut the sugar to 50 g, or leave it out and sweeten each cup.
- Honey: stir it in once the concentrate is warm, not boiling. Honey is not for babies under 12 months.
- Caffeine-free: use rooibos instead of black tea.
- Quick spice hit: stir a spoon of our ginger syrup or cinnamon syrup into a plain latte when the jar is empty.
Other ways to use chai concentrate
- Overnight oats: soak oats in half concentrate, half milk.
- Baking: swap some of the milk in pancake or muffin batter for concentrate.
- Chai affogato: pour a little hot concentrate over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Chai cold brew: mix it half and half with our cold brew coffee and milk over ice.
- Chai and vanilla: add a teaspoon of vanilla syrup to a hot chai latte.
How long chai concentrate keeps
- Fridge: in a clean jar or bottle with a lid, up to 5 days.
- Freezer: freeze it in an ice-cube tray, then keep the cubes in a bag. Melt them into warm milk, or use them in iced chai.
- Not at room temperature: cool it and get it into the fridge within 2 hours of making it.
- Throw it away if it smells sour, fizzes or turns cloudy.
Mix milk in only when you serve it. Never store the concentrate with milk already added.
Common mistakes
- Boiling the tea: more than 5 minutes makes it bitter and dry in the mouth. Add the tea last and keep the time short.
- Ground spices: they cloud the jar and settle as grit. Use whole spices.
- Skipping the toast: raw spices taste flat. One minute in a dry pan wakes them up.
- Weak tea: the concentrate gets diluted 1:1, so it must taste too strong on its own. Use the full amount of tea.
- Making a month's worth: it keeps 5 days. Make a jar each week, or freeze half.
Questions
What is chai concentrate?
Chai concentrate is black tea brewed strong with whole spices and sugar, then strained. Mixed 1:1 with milk, it makes a chai latte without brewing tea each time.
How long does homemade chai concentrate last?
Up to 5 days in a clean, closed jar in the fridge. Freeze it in an ice-cube tray if you want to keep it longer.
What is the ratio of chai concentrate to milk?
1 part concentrate to 1 part milk, for example 120 ml of each. Use more milk for a milder latte.
Why is my chai concentrate bitter?
The tea boiled for too long. Add the tea after the spices have simmered and keep it to 5 minutes before you take the pan off the heat.
Can I use tea bags for chai concentrate?
Yes. Use about 8 black tea bags for 1.2 litres of water, and take them out after 5 minutes so the tea does not turn bitter.
