Chai Spice Mix

Chai Spice Mix is a delicious and easy way to have your favorite chai latte drinks whenever you like. Perfect for cold weather sipping in lieu of coffee and a great afternoon treat. I enjoy them in warmer weather too by making an iced drink.

Chai Spice Mix

Wonderfully aromatic spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice are combined to create a rich, Chai Spice Mix for drinks and baked goods. Authentic and relaxing, we enjoy chai latte drinks both warm and iced.

A chai latte takes the flavors associated with masala chai, a common spiced tea drink throughout India (and most of the world), and increases the milkiness with frothy steamed milk borrowed from the technique for homemade lattes.

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What we may call a Chai Latte is really Masala Chai...the word tea is redundant since chai literally means tea. Additionally, the milk is heated rather than steamed so it's easy to make on your stovetop, no special equipment is required.

Chai is almost always made with milk and is brewed with milkiness in mind, but the tea is not to be forgotten, you'll need to brew a batch of black tea, flavor it with this Chai Spice Mix, and sweeten it slightly.

You can use this delicious drink mix to make Hot or Cold Chai Lattes or Hot Chai; forgoing the milk if you choose. Also great to use for baking or to sprinkle on your warm oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast. I like substituting for cinnamon in some favorite muffins.

Chai Lattes consist of these four components.

Black tea (use loose-leaf, decaf when possible if you plan for an evening soother.)
Spices (Typically cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, finely ground black pepper, and allspice; use more, less, or eliminate if one is not your preference)
Sweetener (honey, raw/demerara sugar, or a bit of maple syrup)
Milk (whole milk, 2%, 1%, skim, or milk substitutes)

The ingredient list is simple, seven spices most of us have in our pantry including cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, finely ground black pepper, and allspice.

It's as easy as combining all of the ingredients in a bowl or container, heating them slightly to release their flavor and then cooling and storing the spices to mix using your favorite method; hot or cold. They're at their peak for about a month...if kept longer, you might want to add a bit more spice when making drinks.

If I have them, I will grind my own cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper...a combination with fresh spices is a bit more robust and might last longer, but ground spices are fine too; once you start making your own drinks with this Chai Spice Mix...it will disappear quickly!

Tips For Making Chai Latte

Using loose-leaf black tea is best for brewing chai for lattes.
Add your Chai Latte spices and sweetener to the warm tea base while steeping.
Whisk, blend, or shake your milk to froth it for for lattes. True confession? I seldom do this step, it's fun but I don't think absolutely necessary!
For non-dairy milk, use an immersion blender to froth before heating.

Loose-leaf black tea is best for brewing chai for lattes. Ideally, it is made with an Assam or Ceylon tea, but English Breakfast or other black tea blends work wonderfully too. Loose-leaf tea is generally of a higher quality than what is found in tea bags.

How To Froth Milk for Any Latte

You've brewed, spiced, and sweetened your tea, and if you decide you must froth your milk - there are a couple of options even if you don't own an espresso machine or a frothing wand. There are three ways you can froth your milk for lattes.

Whisk it: You can vigorously whisk your milk while heating it on the stove-top. This method works best with 2% dairy milk and coconut milk.
Blend it: You can also froth the milk with an immersion blender before heating the milk in a sauce pan on the stove-top. This method is best for non-dairy milks, like soy or almond milk, but also works with coconut milk, whole milk, or 2%.
Shake it: The other method is to shake the milk in a jar and then heat the milk post-frothing. This method works especially well with whole milk and nut milks.

A favorite breakfast? A Chai Latte and a spice muffin I've made using the Chai Spice Mix; so yummy!