As lovely as coffee shop trips can be, sometimes you just want your fix in pyjamas you know? Let’s arrange that…
I’ve already taught you how to make your own syrups for all the fancy flavour shots now it’s time to tackle the mysterious Chai Latte *wavey arms*. For some reason, people seem to think Chai is edging in to the too complicated zone. They’re wrong. Just think malty, milky spiced Assam.
I’m using Blue Diamond Almond Milk to make this recipe friendly for vegan and dairy free tums. Believe it or not, it’s almost half the calories of semi skimmed milk so you can whip these up all day long, guilt free.
To steal this Starbucks classic, all you’ll need:
Almond milk – I’m using Blue Diamond‘s 1 Chai tea bag per person Nutmeg or Cinnamon for serving (optional)This is one of those times where I can’t give you precise measurements, how big is your favourite mug? We’ll work in thirds.
Chai needs water on a rolling boil so start brewing the second your kettle gets there. We want all the lovely spices trapped in that tea bag to make it into our latte. Add a tea bag and fill 1/3 of your mug with the water. Leave to one side whilst we prepare our milk.
You’ll need around 1/3 of your mug of milk in a jug. In the ideal world you’ll have a steam nozzle to froth your milk to perfection but if you don’t, you can still make this work. Put your milk in to a jar and screw the lid on tight. Shake, shake, shake it until the milk has nearly doubled and there’s a good layer of foam on top – this works best in jars with plenty of room. Be a cheaty microwaver and warm, lid off for around 90 seconds.
Take your teabag out of the mug and pour in the silky micro-foam milk.
Here’s the point where Starbucks would pile in a whopping amount of sugar but as an added bonus, almond milk is naturally sweet. You probably won’t need to add any but if you’re a sweet tooth, make it raw cane or demerara.
If you like some extra spice or prettiness, top with grated nutmeg or cinnamon.
Arm yourself with one of these and a lemon and poppyseed muffin and we’re pretty much there- coffee shop hopping in your pyjamas.
P.S For the Iced Chai Latte lovers, skip the microwaving and pile in the ice. Easy.
Rosie says
I SO badly want to like Chai tea, but when I tried it last it was just so sweet. Do you find that, or did I just have an overly sweet (Starbucks!) one?
Vicki Higham says
I’d say so. If you bought the tea bags to make one yourself there really isn’t any sweetness to it, just spice. I dread to think how much sugar Starbucks lump in to them.
princessnorm says
I will try this tonight! I am having some serious pregnancy cravings and buying a daily Iced Chai is getting craaaazy lol… Thanks for sharing!