How to Make an Iced Chai Latte

This is one of the drinks that the team miss most since closing our Tea Bar on Leather Lane - deliciously creamy with the perfect balance of sweet and spice! We used to make the chai concentrate once a week in the kitchen downstairs and the heady aroma of chai spices would float up to the cafe floor, prompting customers to regularly ask what it was that smelled so good….And now you can make it at home!

The recipe for our Masala Chai Spice Mix from which to make hot chai lattes can be found on p. 126 of Emilie’s book, Good & Proper Tea: From leaf to cup, how to choose, brew and cook with tea but this version is a small tweak that we think works particularly well iced. The concentrate is ingredient-heavy but all are readily available and worth the bother if you can - plus you can keep the concentrate in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and it’ll make a good number of drinks.

What you need (for approx 10 drinks)

• 1ltr water

• Approx 50 cardamom pods (5g)

• Approx 30 black peppercorns

• 18g cinnamon sticks

• 6g whole cloves

• 3 star anise

• 6g nutmeg (roughly 2 whole, broken)

• 50g fresh ginger, unpeeled and sliced

• 6g fennel seeds (2 tsp)

• 1 vanilla pod, halved and seeds removed

• 150g dark soft brown sugar

• 18g (approx 7 tsp) Assam tea (or other robust black tea) 

• Your favourite milk - we love Oatly Oat milk!

Preparing your Concentrate

• Add your sugar and spices to a pan with the water and bring to the boil with a lid on.

• Simmer gently for 10 minutes

• Add the tea leaves & simmer for a further 5 minutes

• Set aside for at least 30 minutes

• Use a fine strainer or muslin to strain into a clean, lidded bottle or jar and allow to cool fully

• Keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks

• Make your Iced Chai Latte as per below!