Ahh, the Starbucks Chai Tea Latte. Rich, creamy, sweet, and spicy — all in one delicious cup of goodness. A perfect drink to cozy up with while you watch your favorite movie or as a much needed pick-me-up when you’re feeling drowsy. But what’s actually in a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte?
The Starbucks Chai Tea Latte is made from a black tea concentrate infused with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, star anise, and other warming spices. It’s blended with steamed milk for a creamy texture and sweetened with a classic syrup or honey, providing the perfect balance of spicy and sweet.
Whether you’re a fan of the classic version or something more adventurous — like the Coconut Milk Chai Tea Latte — there’s no denying that Starbucks knows how to make a delicious chai tea latte. It’s always a treat when you order one, and it’s even better when you make it at home! So, let’s break down what’s in a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte and how to make it yourself.
What Is a Chai Tea Latte?
A chai tea latte is an aromatic milk tea made with a blend of black tea, ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and black pepper. Some recipes also call for star anise or fennel seeds.
All the ingredients are combined and simmered until the mixture is nice and warm, and then it’s strained and served with milk.
Chai tea originated in India, where it’s known as masala chai. It’s a 1,500-year-old drink, but the West fully embraced it in the 1990s when coffeehouses began adding it to their menus.
Starbucks was among the first cafe chains to offer chai tea in the form of the Chai Tea Latte, and now it’s one of their most popular drinks.
Traditionally, chai tea is served hot, but Starbucks offers it in both hot and iced varieties, making it a great drink for any season.
Which Ingredients Are in a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte?
The Starbucks Chai Tea Latte is made with a black tea concentrate, steamed milk, milk foam, and their signature syrup or honey. According to their official ingredient listing, Starbucks tea concentrate includes water, black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, clove, star anise, and natural flavors.
They’ve also mentioned vanilla, sugar, honey, and ginger juice, but whether these are all included in the concentrate or just added to the beverage itself is unclear.
For sweetening, Starbucks uses its classic syrup in standard Chai Tea Lattes, but you can always substitute it for honey or alternative sweeteners. You can also customize your Chai Tea Latte with non-dairy milk like coconut, almond, or soy — or ask for add-ins like flavored syrups.
A popular version of the Chai Tea is the Dirty Chai Latte, which basically means a shot of espresso is added to the mix.
How Much Caffeine Is in a Chai Tea Latte?
The Starbucks Chai tea Latte is made with black tea, so it does contain some caffeine. The exact amount of caffeine in a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte depends on the size you order and any modifications to your order.
In general, a Small (8 oz) Chai Tea Latte contains about 50mg of caffeine, a Tall (12 oz) contains about 75 mg, a Grande (16 oz) contains about 90 mg, and a Venti (20oz) contains 120 mg.
This is still less caffeine in a chai latte than in a cup of coffee, so it’s a great choice if you don’t want to be overly caffeinated.
Unfortunately, Starbucks doesn’t serve decaffeinated teas. But if you need a caffeine boost, you can get extra espresso shots to kick it up a notch.
How to Make a Chai Tea Latte at Home
Making a Chai Tea Latte at home is surprisingly easy, but the best part is that you can customize your drink to fit your exact tastes. Here we have two methods of making a chai tea latte at home.
The Easy Method
For a quick, hassle-free latte, you can use a pre-made chai concentrate to make your drink. Many people recommend Tazo Chai Concentrate (on Amazon), which is closest to Starbucks’ version. You can easily find it online and in most supermarkets.
Starbucks uses a 1:1 ratio of tea concentrate to milk. But their concentrate is stronger than the one available in stores, so you may want to try a 2:1 ratio of concentrate to milk. If this creates too thin of a latte, then adjust the ratio as needed to match your taste preferences.
To make the latte:
- Mix your tea concentrate and milk in a pan and boil for a few minutes to evaporate some water and make it more creamy.
- Once it’s nice and steamy, pour the mixture into a mug, add a sweetener of your choice (such as honey or agave) and stir. Many chai concentrates already come loaded with sweeteners, so make sure you taste your drink before adding more.
- Whisk the mixture until it’s nice and frothy, then top off with some freshly-grated nutmeg or a sprinkle of cinnamon. And voila! You have a delicious chai tea latte.
The Homemade Method
For the most authentic chai tea latte experience, you can make the whole drink from scratch. This is pretty easy and economical since it only requires a few simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. This method also gives you more control over how many calories you’re consuming.
The first step is to gather your ingredients, which are:
- 4 bags of black tea or 2 teaspoons of loose black tea leaves (preferably an Indian brand)
- 2 cardamon pods
- 1 inch of ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon of fennel seeds
- 3-4 teaspoons of honey or brown sugar
- 2 cups of a milk of your choice
- 2 cups of water
This amount of ingredients will make about three cups of tea. If you don’t have all the ingredients, don’t worry; you can use what you have, and it’ll still turn out great. Once you have all the ingredients, you can start brewing:
- In a saucepan, add water and all the spices and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Then, turn the heat down to low and add the tea bags or loose leaves. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes until the tea is strong.
- Heat the milk in a separate pot over medium heat and stir with a whisk to make it frothy.
- Once the tea is ready, strain the mixture through a sieve and pour it into a cup.
- Add the hot frothy milk, stir, and add honey or your preferred sweetener to taste.
- Add a dash of vanilla syrup for authentic Starbucks-style sweetness.
And that’s it! You’ve got an amazing homemade chai tea latte ready to enjoy.
Tip: These methods should help you get the delicious warm taste of Starbucks’ Chai Tea Latte right at home.
But if you want to get even closer to the original version, try to get some froth or foam on the top. If you don’t have a milk frother, an immersion blender (on Amazon) or a French press can do the trick.