5-Minute Iced Chai Tea Latte with Tea Bags

Easy Iced Chai Latte

This homemade iced chai tea latte recipe shows you how to make a quick, ice-cold chai latte using tea bags.

To keep things simple and cost-effective, the latte gets all its chai flavor from black tea bags infused with warming chai spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

And it could not be easier to make!

The brewed chai tea is sweetened, mixed with milk and poured over ice, for a delightful spiced sip.

I have to say, this is one of my favorite fall drinks when I’m craving cozy flavors, but don’t want a piping hot drink.

Why You’ll Love this Homemade Iced Chai Latte

Budget-Friendly. An iced chai tea latte from Starbucks costs nearly $6, as of this writing! For that price you can buy enough tea bags to make about 10 homemade chai tea lattes.

Made with basic ingredients that are easy to keep on-hand. Keep a box or tin of your favorite blend of chai tea in the pantry and you probably already have all the other ingredients needed to make this quick latte whenever you want.

Completely customizable. I make chai lattes with 2% milk and table sugar, but you can use your favorite milk and sweetener to make this drink completely your own.

Looking for more iced tea latte recipes to try? Check out my Starbucks copycat recipes for an Iced London Fog tea latte and an Iced Royal English Breakfast tea latte. Both taste amazing!

Ingredients Needed

• Chai Tea Bags
• Hot Water
• Milk
• Sweetener
• Ice

Chai tea bags are a blend of black tea and chai spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, black pepper and cloves.

Use your favorite brand of chai tea bags for this recipe.

Since we are making concentrated chai tea, double the tea bags are used compared to normal. This means, for a single latte, use 2 tea bags per cup of water.

Hot Water – Use boiling water to brew the tea bags, preferably filtered. This Brita water filter pitcher works great if you need a way to filter water.

Milk – Use your preferred milk, dairy or non-dairy. The choice is yours.

Sweetener – I use regular granulated sugar to sweeten my chai lattes, but you can use your favorite sweetener or sugar alternative. Honey is a great option, that pairs well with spiced chai drinks.

Ice – If you make this iced chai according to the recipe with freshly brewed hot chai tea, you need to shake the latte with ice to cool it down. (The half-melted ice gets strained out.)

If you have chai tea that you previously made and is already cooled down, then shaking with ice isn’t necessary.

Ice is also used to fill up the drinking glass.

How to Make an Iced Chai Latte with Tea Bags

You need a drink shaker or jar with lid to turn hot chai tea into a cold iced latte.

1. Steep 2 chai tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard.
2. To a drink shaker or jar with tight lid, add the brewed chai tea, sugar, cold milk, cinnamon and about 1 cup of ice.
3. Shake the latte about 10 times, then immediately strain into a drinking glass that’s filled with fresh ice. (Straining the chai latte separates the partially melted ice from the drink.)
4. Garnish with cinnamon if desired. Drink immediately.

Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.

Brew the chai tea concentrate.

Brew the chai black tea for no more than 5 minutes, otherwise it may taste bitter.

Shake chai and other ingredients with ice.

Shaking the latte cools down the hot tea, dissolves the sweetener, and blends the drink together.

Strain latte into glass full of fresh ice.

Straining the shaken chai latte immediately, removes partially melted ice and prevents the drink from getting watery.

Recipe Notes

Make the chai tea concentrate in advance and refrigerate it for a homemade iced chai latte that’s super cold and even faster to prepare.

Be sure to use twice the amount of tea bags than what you normally would for a regular cup of tea, so the the tea is strong enough for a milk-filled latte.

Do not steep chai black tea anymore than 5 minutes, otherwise it will start to taste bitter. For stronger tea, always use more tea, not more time! Here’s a list of more tips to make black tea delicious every time.

Shake the tea with ice to cool it down and blend it together. Some of the ice in the shaker will melt. Strain it out, and pour the latte over fresh ice cubes for a perfectly cold drink.

More Chai Tea Drink Recipes

• Easy Chai Tea Latte Recipe with Tea Bags
• Iced Chai Latte with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam
• Iced Chai Tea Latte with Pumpkin Cold Foam
• Iced Gingerbread Oat Milk Chai Latte

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