If you're a fan of Starbucks' chai tea latte but want a healthier, low-carb option, this keto iced chai tea latte recipe is perfect for you. It's easy to make at home with simple ingredients and allows you to control the sweetness and ingredients.
What is Chai Tea Latte?
Chai tea is a flavorful black tea infused with bold spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper. The word "chai" is the Hindi word for “tea,” which is derived from “cha,” the Chinese word for tea. The term for chai is a mixture of whole spices or “masala”, steeped into a hot tea beverage creating the spiced tea. Chai tea latte originated in India. A traditional chai tea latte is a combination of tea and milk.
Why Make Your Own Keto Chai Tea Latte?
Starbucks' version is unfortunately full of sugar and not keto-friendly. Making your own at home ensures you can control the amount of sugar used and customize the flavor to your liking. There is no need to go to the coffee shop when you can make a low carb homemade chai concentrate to have on hand anytime the craving strikes with a lot less sugar than the pre-made ones!
Key to an Amazing Iced Chai Latte: Homemade Chai Concentrate
What makes this iced chai latte AMAZING is the from-scratch chai concentrate. Pre-made concentrates or pre-mixed chai tea bags from grocery store never have the same great flavor as a fresh concentrate.
Recipe Overview
This easy recipe is two parts: first, make the chai concentrate. Then, chill the concentrate in the fridge. You’ll use 1/2 cup of homemade chai concentrate at a time to make a latte. The concentrate stores well in the fridge, for up to 2 weeks. You can make up to 4 lattes with 2 cups of concentrate.
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Total Time: Making the chai concentrate is the most time-consuming part of this recipe (10 minutes). Make the chai concentrate in advance, then pour into a mason jar and chill in the fridge. Once you have the chai concentrate made, an iced latte takes just 2 minutes to make.
Ingredients
Chai Concentrate
- 2 cups water
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 2 TB pure maple syrup (or keto-friendly sweetener alternative)
- 2 black tea bags (or Tazo chai tea bags)
Iced Chai Latte
- 1/2 cup chilled chai concentrate
- 1/3 cup cold milk of choice (dairy or dairy-free)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups ice cubes
- Optional: Cinnamon and nutmeg for sprinkling
Instructions
Make the Chai Concentrate
- Combine spices and water: In a medium saucepan, bring the water and spices to a boil. Whisk the spices in the water.
- Simmer: Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the heat and allow the spices to steep in the water for 5 minutes.
- Add tea bags and sweetener: After 5 minutes, turn the heat back on and add the black tea bags and maple syrup. Return to a slight boil (the goal is a hot liquid for steeping).
- Steep: Once boiling, turn off the heat. Steep the tea bags in the water and spices for 5 minutes.
- Strain: Remove the tea bags and strain the tea through a fine mesh strainer and into a heat-safe jar.
- Cool and chill: Allow the concentrate to cool at room temperature (about 30 minutes), then place in the fridge to chill. Store the chai concentrate in a jar in the fridge up to 2 weeks (sealed with a lid).
Alternatively, to make a low carb homemade chai concentrate:First you will need to get out a large pot that will hold your black tea concentrate. Boil up 4 cups of water in your large pot. Once it comes to a boil remove from the heat and put your TAZO chai tea bags into the hot water. Let them steep for 8-10 minutes until the water is very dark. Do not steep them for much longer or it may become bitter tasting.Now remove the tea bags and use a wooden spoon to press them against the side of the pot to squeeze out as much of the tea as possible.Add in the keto brown sugar, or monk fruit sweetener to the boiling hot tea. Whisk it up well so the sweetener dissolves. You can of course leave it unsweetened if you want so you can customize your sweetness when you make your cup of chai.Let it cool for at least 10 minutes on the counter at room temperature before pouring into a lidded quart jar and putting in the fridge overnight like you would a cold brew coffee. If you do not have a large quart jar, any airtight container you can pour from will work.
For a quicker concentrate:First you will need to get out a large pot that will hold your black tea concentrate. Boil up 4 cups of water in your large pot. Let them steep for 8-10 minutes until the water is very dark. Do not steep them for much longer or it may become bitter tasting. Now put it into the fridge overnight like you would a cold brew coffee.
Make an Iced Chai Latte
- Fill glass with ice: Fill an 8-ounce drinking glass with ice cubes.
- Add chai concentrate: Pour 1/2 cup of the chilled chai concentrate over the ice cubes. I recommend using a small strainer, positioned over the glass, to pour the chilled concentrate through the strainer and into the glass. As the concentrate chills, some of the spices (that weren't filtered out when making the concentrate) and sweetener can clump together, so the strainer will catch this.
- Add milk: Add 1/3 cup of cold milk of choice (dairy milk or dairy-free milk) to the chai concentrate: vanilla or plain almond milk, coconut milk, or whole milk, etc.
- Stir and enjoy: Stir the chai tea concentrate and stevia in with the coconut milk. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg if desired.
Tips and Variations
- Sweetness Adjustments: If you prefer a sweeter chai, feel free to increase the amount of granulated sweetener (Allulose or Erythritol work best), or add a few drops of stevia.
- Dairy-Free Option: This recipe calls for almond milk and coconut milk, but if you're looking for a creamier version, feel free to swap the coconut milk with heavy whipping cream. To keep it dairy-free, stick with coconut milk or try cashew milk for a rich, velvety texture.
- Spice Variations: The spice mix in this recipe is quite flexible. If you don’t have all the spices on hand, you can use a pre-made chai spice blend. Want to intensify the flavor? Freshly grated ginger or a cinnamon stick added while brewing will give your latte an extra kick.
- Tea Choices: I used black tea bags for this recipe, but you can experiment with different types of tea. Try rooibos for a caffeine-free version, or use green tea if you're looking for a unique twist. If you are a diverse tea drinker, you can of course substitute the black tea for your own favorite tea.
- Iced Chai Cubes: Pour the chai concentrate into an ice cube tray and freeze. Add the ice cubes to a glass of milk. As the ice melts, you’ll have a delicious latte that isn’t watered down.
- Dirty Chai Latte: Add a shot of espresso to your cup of iced chai latte to make it a dirty chai latte! This adds an interesting twist and a depth of smoky flavor. For a cold drink, cold brew or iced coffee is used. For a hot dirty chai, a shot of espresso is added to the chai concentrate and milk.
- Milk Options: If you do not want to use unsweetened almond milk as your milk you could use any of the following plant-based milk: Oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk. Coconut milk adds an amazing tropical flavor to the spiced concentrate! I like canned coconut milk vs.
Serving Suggestions
Fill a quart jar 1/3 of the way with ice cubes. Add in half of your cooled chai concentrate and half of your milk of choice. Go enjoy your Low Carb Iced Tea Latte!
Make It Ahead
You can make the chai tea mixture in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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