Easy Tazo Chai Tea Concentrate Recipe (Copycat Starbucks)

The perfect blend of warm spices and rich black tea, this Tazo Chai Tea Concentrate Recipe is addictive! It’s ready in less than 30 minutes and keeps well in the fridge for a month. Use it to make any Starbucks chai drinks at home like iced tea, iced tea lattes, hot teat or a hot latte.

What do you like to order when you visit a coffee shop? If it’s not an Earl Grey, I am always so tempted by chai. Whether it’s hot or cold, it has to be one of the best tasting teas out there. It’s so creamy, sweet and laced with the richest spices, who can resist a treat like that? It’s like dessert in a teacup.

Making your own chai concentrate is surprisingly easy and just tasty as Tazo tea (the one that Starbucks uses). It reminds me a little of the masala chai that I had in India a decade or so ago. It’s a rich blend of black tea and warm spices, plus a hint of vanilla, and sugar. I like that I can add whatever sweetener I like, which is usually brown erythritol to save on calories, and carbs, and skip the extra sugar.

Speaking of skipping sugar, this chai concentrate works for many different diets. It’s naturally gluten-free, can be made vegan, and can also fit easily into a keto diet, or even paleo. It’s such a treat, you really can’t tell that this is a healthy drink!

This homemade chai concentrate can easily be made into a Starbucks chai tea latte recipe by adding your milk of choice. My favourite way to drink it is by mixing it with creamy oat milk (Oatly barista to be precise) over ice, but sometimes I opt for unsweetened almond milk if I’m aiming for something even healthier.

A great thing I discovered about this recipe is when I visited family for a month, I left about half a bottle of this chai concentrate in the fridge. When I came home, it still tasted amazing! All I had to do was swirl it around a bit as some of the chai concentrate had separated a little, but after that, it was good to go!

Even if you’re not a tea drinker, you will love this Copycat Tazo Chai Tea Concentrate recipe! Let me know how it goes =]

Why you will love this recipe

• It’s easy! Homemade chai concentrate takes just a few simple steps: Toast the whole spices and then steep them in simmering water with, ginger and black tea bags. Add a little sweetener and vanilla and allow it to cool. That’s it!
• Delicious flavour: This Tazo classic chai latte concentrate is loaded with yummy spices! I added the spices found on the back of a box of Tazo chai tea concentrate: black pepper, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, and fresh ginger.
• Drink it hot or cold: I enjoy this chai concentrate over ice cubes or heated up on the stove or microwave. It’s perfect all year round!
• Make a latte or have it black: This makes an amazing hot or iced chai latte mixed with any kind of milk you prefer, but it’s also great as a spicy strong black tea as well. Just mix it with boiling or cold water instead of milk!
• It keeps for quite a long time! The best part (for me!) is that I can make a double batch of this and it will keep for a long time. I left one batch in my fridge for a month and it still tasted great when I tried it again. You just have to swirl it around a little as some of the spice separates.

Key Ingredients for Tazo Chai Tea Latte Concentrate

• Whole spices: I added the spices found on the actual packaged Tazo chai Concentrate carton: black pepper, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cardamom. This spice blend is rich and warming. It tastes just like a Starbucks chai latte!
• Ginger: Instead of using ginger juice (which is what Tazo adds) I threw in some sliced fresh ginger instead. I always have it on hand and I think I managed to get the ginger ratio just right.
• Tea: Instead of using chai tea bags, I opted for bold black tea bags. I used PG Tips as that’s what I have on hand at the moment, however, loose black tea would work, or your favourite black tea bag brand. 
• Vanilla extract: Adding vanilla emphasises the natural warmth and sweetness of the spices and the sweetener you use.
• Sweetener: The sky is the limit here! I added brown erythritol to keep it carb-free and keto-friendly, and a touch of honey at the end for flavour (not enough to impact the carbs much), however, you could also add regular brown sugar, cane sugar, maple syrup, simple syrup, or sugar-free vanilla syrup to bring even more warmth.
• Water: Plain old filtered still water, or whatever water you prefer to drink will be fine.

How to make this Homemade Chai Concentrate recipe

1. The first thing to do is begin by heating up a pan over medium heat and dry roast the whole spices: black peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cardamom (I crush mine to bring out more flavour), and toast them for 3-5 minutes, until they are fragrant. This helps to release their natural flavors, plus your kitchen will smell amazing.
2. Add (ideally hot or warm) water and black tea to a medium-sized pot on the stove and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the fresh ginger and toasted spices, and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
4. In the last 5 minutes of simmering, add your sweetener of choice and mix well.
5. Turn off the heat and remove the tea bags, whole spices, and ginger. I find that doing this with a slotted spoon works well. I squeeze the tea bags against the pot a little to get all of the chai concentrate out.
6. Stir in the vanilla extract and add a touch of honey if desired.
7. Allow the Starbucks chai concentrate to cool down to room temperature before storing it in a jar or bottle in the fridge.
8. Store for up to a month in the fridge!

Recipe Notes & Tips

• Use fresh whole spices if possible! Fresh spices have the best flavour. Spices that have been sitting for 6 months or longer begin to lose their power, although they are still edible.
• When the chai concentrate is finished simmering, the chai tea will have reduced to about 1/2 of the amount (around 250ml instead of 500ml, or 1 cup of water instead of 2 cups of water). That is great, and makes the flavours even more concentrated meaning you can use less of the chai concentrate when you make a drink!
• When making a homemade chai tea latte, use a ratio of 1:4-5, concentrate:milk (or water).
• Mix it with water or a milk of your choice. My favourites are oat milk (so creamy), unsweetened almond milk (low carb), and vanilla soy milk.
• Make it hot or cold! Hot chai is the perfect cup of tea for getting cosy when it’s a little chilly, whereas iced chai is a refreshing treat to cool down.
• For a perfect for a night time chai, make it decaf by adding decaf black tea instead of caffeinated.
• Make it skinny! To make a skinny chai tea latte, use a sweetener like brown erythritol and low-calorie milk like unsweetened almond milk.
• Coffee lovers, try making a Dirty Chai Latte by adding a shot of espresso. If that doesn’t wake you up, I don’t know what will!

More tea recipes you will love:

• Copycat Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte Recipe
• Sumac Tea
• Butterfly Pea Milk Tea

Was this the perfect cup of tea for you? I’d love to know all about it! Share with me on Instagram, Facebook, or pin it on Pinterest. Don’t forget to sign up to the email list for sparkly new recipes in your inbox!