Even though Tazo makes it easy to get your chai tea fix with their tea bags, sometimes it’s more convenient to have a strong chai tea concentrate on hand. And if you’re a big chai tea fan, this is the easiest way to customize your blend. But how exactly do you make your own Tazo chai tea concentrate?
Get a few Tazo Chai Tea bags, remove the strings, and add them to boiling water. Let the tea bags boil for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add the sweetener. Finally, pour the concentrate into a glass jar and store it in the fridge.
Tazo has become the go-to brand for many tea lovers, especially for those who love Starbucks Chai Tea Lattes but don’t want to leave their homes or spend $5 on each drink. Tazo Organic Chai is the next best thing, and it’s very easy to find in most stores. So, grab a pack of Tazo Chai Tea, and let’s make some delicious Tazo chai concentrate at home.
How to Make Tazo Chai Concentrate

The chai concentrate is basically a super-strong tea that you can make in advance and store in the fridge. When you’re ready to drink it, you just add milk (dairy or non-dairy), sweetener, and water to dilute it to your liking.
You can also use this concentrate to make iced chai tea, cocktails, or even baking recipes for a chai-spiced twist.
Generally, you need two ingredients to make a chai tea concentrate: tea bags (or loose tea leaves) and some water.
But the great thing about making your own concentrate is you can control the strength, sweetness, and spices to your liking. You can make it strong, to enjoy a creamy milk tea, or weaker to enjoy a refreshing iced tea.
And if you want to get really fancy, you can even add some extra spices like fennel seeds, cloves, or black pepper to the mix. It’s all up to you!
Here’s what you’ll need to follow this recipe:
- Tazo Organic Chai Tea Bags (on Amazon)
- Water
- Sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.)
- A kettle or pot to boil water, a strainer, and a glass jar or container to store the concentrate
- Optional: Additional spices like funnel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, or black pepper
Now, let’s get into the step-by-step guide on how to make your own Tazo Chai Tea Concentrate. We’ve included some tips along the way to incorporate these add-ons to make your chai concentrate even more special.
Step 1: Remove All Tea Bags From Packaging (And Remove the String)
Take at least 10 Tazo Chai Tea bags out of the packaging. These 10 bags will make a strong concentrate for at least 12 servings. You can use more or fewer tea bags depending on how strong you want your chai to be.
Cut or tear off the string holding the tags with each bag. You don’t need these strings; they’ll just get in the way.
If you like, you can also tear the bags open to use the tea as loose leaves. This will make for an even stronger concentration. It will also increase the caffeine content, especially since chai is made from black tea. Beware that this method will likely leave some residue, and you’ll need a fine strainer to remove it later.
Step 2: Bring Water and Tea Bags to a Boil
Fill your kettle or pot with filtered water. You’ll need about 10 cups, or 2.5 liters, of water to make concentrate enough for 12 servings. But again, you can add more or less depending on how strong the concentration you want to make.
Always use filtered water when making tea; it’ll make for a much clearer and smoother concentration. And choose a deep pot with a cover; you’ll need it later to steep the tea.
Now you’ve got to boil the tea leaves. There are two methods for this:
- The simple and easy method is to bring the water to a boil and then add the tea bags to it. Let the water boil for 2 to 3 minutes and then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes (which is our next step).
This method will produce strong and slightly more astringent chai. But the flavor will be perfectly fine when you’ll use it with milk. - The second method is to bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, and then add the tea bags. No simmering is involved; instead, you let the tea bags steep for about 20 to 30 minutes or longer if you want a strong concentrate.
This method will give you a smoother and more robust flavor since the tea has time to release all its flavors into the water.
Step 3: Reduce Heat and Simmer for 15 Minutes
Once you’ve added the tea bags, reduce the heat and let the tea leaves simmer for 15 minutes. You’ll need to keep an eye on it and add water if it starts to dry out.
Now, this is also the point where you can add additional spices if you want. Tazo chai tea bags already have ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, and star anise.
If you want a stronger flavor of any of these spices, you can add them now. Just be careful not to add too much since they can quickly overpower the tea.
Besides these spices, we recommend adding a few cloves and a 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds. Fennel seeds will give the chai a slight anise flavor, similar to licorice but not as sweet.
For the best flavor, crush the fennel seeds before adding them to the tea. Some people also like to lightly toast the fennel seeds to bring out their flavor, but that’s optional.
After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the tea bags (or strain if you opened the tea bags or used extra spices).
Step 4: Add Sweetener of Choice and Stir Until Dissolved
Now it’s time to add sweetness to the concentrate. You can use granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, or any other sweetener you like. You can also use stevia leaves (on Amazon) or powder if you want a sugar-free concentrate. Some people also like to add a bit of vanilla extract at this stage.
Just remember that the sweetness will be more pronounced once the concentrate is cold. Be careful not to go overboard with it.
You can also skip the sweetener altogether and add it to your cup of chai when you’re ready to drink it.
Step 5: Pour Into a Glass Jar and Store in the Fridge
Just like coffee, tea concentrate is also best preserved in glass jars. So, as soon as the liquid cools down enough, transfer it to a glass jar and seal it tightly.
Then store it in the fridge, where it’ll keep fresh for up to 2 weeks. It’s a good idea to tag the jar with the date, so you know when to use it by.
Sometimes people notice that their chai concentrate turns cloudy after a few days. This is perfectly normal and doesn’t affect the flavor or quality of the liquid.
The cloudiness is caused by the tannin (a natural compound) and caffeine released from the tea leaves during boiling. It’s more pronounced in tea concentrates since they have a higher concentration of these compounds.
Tea steeped at a lower temperature for a longer time usually produces less cloudiness. But there’s no method to prevent it altogether.
The only way to avoid cloudiness is to freeze chai concentrate in ice cubes and thaw as needed. This isn’t the most practical solution since it takes up a lot of time, and you won’t always want a cold cup of chai. But if you go this route, you can save the Tazo tea concentration for as long as you want.
There you have it — a quick and easy guide to making your own Tazo chai tea concentrate at home. With this recipe, you’ll never have to buy a Starbucks chai latte ever again. Go ahead and give it a try!
Serving Suggestions

When you’re ready to drink your chai, heat a half cup of concentrate and add an equal amount of hot milk. Of course, it’s not really a fixed recipe, so feel free to add more or less milk, depending on how strong you want your chai. And you can use whatever type of milk you like — dairy, almond, soy, etc.
For a nice cold beverage, mix the concentrate with cold milk and pour it over ice. You can also add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to make a delicious frappe.
If you have chai cubes in hand, you can also enjoy a quick iced tea. Fill a glass with chai cubes and pour chilled water over it. Top it off with lemon slices or mint leaves. The tea will melt in no time, and you’ll have a refreshing drink to enjoy.