Homemade Starbucks Iced Chai Latte with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam

It’s easy to recreate a Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte with Vanilla Cold Foam at home with this easy 5-ingredient recipe.

This next-level homemade chai latte tastes of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves combined with a rich, cloud-like layer of vanilla sweet cream.

It’s so good, you may not even miss getting one from your favorite coffeeshop.

The chai tea latte is a cinch to make. And the cold foam topping is just as simple to “whip” up. Just use my quick tips below.

In no time you’ll be enjoying one of my favorite chai sips.

Why You’ll Love this Vanilla Iced Chai Latte Recipe

• Creamy vanilla with spiced chai tea is so delicious. Whether you order this chai latte modification at Starbucks or make it at home, I promise you, you’re going to love it.
• This Starbucks copycat is easy to put together in minutes. Once you see how easy it is to make cold foam, you can use it to top all sorts of other iced drinks.
• While I love going to Starbucks, it’s not always convenient and, let’s face it, the cost can add up. With this recipe you’ll save both time and money and can make it whenever you crave a chai latte topped with cold foam.
• This handcrafted latte is made with ingredients readily available at the store. No fancy equipment or gadgets are needed.

Ingredients

This recipe is for an individual chai latte that’s the same size as a grande Starbucks beverage. But you’ll have enough ingredients to put together around ten lattes.

Chai Tea Latte Ingredients

• Chai Black Tea Concentrate
• Milk
• Ice

Vanilla Cold Foam Ingredients

• Heavy Cream
• Milk
• Vanilla Syrup

Chai Black Tea: For the richest chai flavor, make sure to use concentrated chai tea since it will be combined with an equal portion of milk.

I either make homemade chai concentrate or use Tazo chai tea concentrate.

Milk: Use your preferred milk for the latte. I normally make chai tea lattes with 2% milk like Starbucks, but you can select a plant-based milk like almond or oat.

Keep in mind, the vanilla cold foam topping is made with heavy cream, so it’s not possible to make this a completely dairy-free latte.

Ice: You might think it’s not worth mentioning ice as an ingredient, but ice is a major component in an iced chai tea latte.

When the ice is crisp and flavorless, it goes unnoticed. But when it’s unfiltered and has strange flavors, it completely changes the taste of the latte.

This is why I always recommend using ice made with filtered water. A Brita water pitcher is a great little investment for making better tasting ice and drinks.

Heavy Cream: A must for making vanilla sweet cream cold foam, heavy cream is thinned with a little milk and whisked into a foamy consistency.

Vanilla Syrup: Vanilla syrup is what puts the vanilla in vanilla sweet cream cold foam. It also adds sweetness.

You can use homemade vanilla syrup or store-bought syrup.

For an at-home vanilla chai that tastes as close as possible to the real deal, I get a bottle of Starbucks vanilla syrup.

You can even buy one from a barista if they have enough in stock to sell (and it’s way cheaper than getting it online).

How to Make an Iced Chai Latte with Vanilla Cold Foam

Recreating a Starbucks vanilla cold foam iced chai tea latte at home is a simple three step process: prepare the sweet cream cold foam, make the chai latte, assemble the drink.

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

1. Make the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam Topping

Whisk vanilla syrup, heavy cream and milk for 1-2 minutes. For best results use a cold bowl and whisk that’s been placed in a freezer for a few minutes. Set aside

For thicker cold foam, return the bowl with cold foam to the freezer for a minute, remove and whisk again.

Another option is to aerate it in an electric milk frother on the cold setting.

2. Make the Chai Tea Latte

Pour chai tea concentrate and milk in a cup that holds at least 16 ounces. Top with ice, leaving some space at the top for the cold foam.

3. Assemble the Vanilla Cold Foam Chai Tea Latte

Slowly pour the vanilla sweet cream cold foam on top of the chai latte. For the best layered look, pour the cream onto an ice cube so it doesn’t plunge down into the drink.

Tips for Making the Best Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam

The secret to how Starbucks turns vanilla sweet cream into the perfect cold foam consistency is all in the aeration process.

They use the expensive commercial version of a Vitamix blender equipped with an aer disc container. Basically the disc has holes in it that pull air into the cold foam.

Since most of us don’t have equipment like that at home, I’ve been perfecting my homemade cold foam process for some time now.

To make vanilla sweet cream cold foam, I use the exact same ingredients as Starbucks, so getting it just right is a matter of the foam’s consistency, not flavor.

Tip #1: If I had to give you one tip for making the best cold foam at home, it’s to use cold ingredients, equipment and tools. The goal is to achieve a thinned-out whipped cream consistency and cold goes a long way in getting us there.

Tip #2: Be patient, and either whisk the vanilla sweet cream or shake it in a sealed jar vigorously long enough for it to start to thicken. Both methods add air (aerating) which is how you take sweet cream to cold foam.

Tip #3: If you’re not satisfied with the thickness level after aerating by hand, put the bowl or jar in the freezer for a few minutes and then whisk it again. This always seems to do the trick. Another favorite option is to froth it using a milk frother.

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