A traditional Indian beverage, the chai latte is nothing new in the world of tea. Yet over the years, it has become a staple in cafés across North America. This comforting blend of black tea, spices, and milk is loved for its rich flavor and warming character.
In India, chai is often prepared with condensed milk, making it quite sweet. Here, however, flexibility is key: dairy milk, soy, almond, or coconut milk can all be used, with sugar added to taste. That said, achieving a well-balanced and full-bodied chai latte depends on a few essential details.
Below, we’re sharing our best tips, based on testing and experimentation by our team, to help you avoid common mistakes and consistently prepare a chai latte that truly stands out.
Method 1: Chai Latte Concentrate
As an alternative to commercial boxed or syrup-based concentrates, we developed sachets made with our signature organic Chai Camellia tea. These sachets allow you to easily prepare a homemade chai latte concentrate that is both authentic and cost-effective.
The preparation is simple, and the result is a rich, flavourful chai latte with a cost of approximately $0.36 for a 12 oz serving. At service time, simply reheat the concentrate with the milk of your choice.
Key Tips for This Method
Water temperature
One of the most common mistakes is using water that isn’t hot enough. To fully extract the spices and tea flavors, the water should reach ideally 100°C (212°F), at least 90°C (194°F).
Water from coffee machines is often between 85 and 90°C (185–194°F) and can lose even more heat when making multiple infusions or preparing a larger batch, such as a 1.2 L concentrate using a 40 g sachet.
Our recommendation: use a kettle whenever possible and preheat your infusion vessel.
The right tea-to-milk ratio
For a well-balanced chai latte, we recommend:
a 50/50 ratio of tea to milk, or
⅔ tea and ⅓ milk for a bolder flavour profile.
Method 2: Chai Latte with an Individual Tea Sachet
This method is perfect for quick preparation, as long as a few key rules are followed.
Steeping time
Steep the tea for at least 3 minutes to ensure a flavorful and aromatic chai.
Steeping directly in milk: a common mistake
You may be used to adding hot milk right away while the tea is steeping. However, this lowers the overall temperature, since hot milk is typically around 70°C (158°F), which prevents proper extraction.
For best results, allow the tea to steep in water for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the milk afterward.
Other Factors to Consider
Several additional elements can influence the final taste of your chai latte:
the quality and type of milk used,
the amount and type of sweetener,
and the milk frothing technique, especially for hot chai lattes.
We encourage you to use these recommendations as a starting point, then experiment to find the combination that best suits your taste—or your customers’.
Have questions or need support integrating chai lattes into your beverage offering?Our team is always happy to help you create chai lattes you’ll be proud to serve.