Chai syrup is a sweet, rich, and aromatic syrup with a delightful blend of Indian spices to flavour drinks and foods. This spiced tea sweetener has an amazing strong flavour, and making your very own version of Starbucks chai syrup is healthier and more affordable.
Instead of spending a fortune at coffee shops, our homemade concentrate makes preparing your cafe-style drinks more affordable and nourishing.
We discovered our perfect magical combo after experimenting with various spices.
Our chai syrup recipe doesn't contain preservatives and is quick and easy to make. We love how it tastes incredibly earthy and comforting.
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What is Chai Syrup Made From?
Generally, chai syrup is made from water, sugar, and aromatic spices, including ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, whole cloves, fennel seeds, and black peppercorns. Some recipes will also add other spices like nutmeg to make a different variety. Once you've tried our base recipe, feel free to experiment to make your rendition of chai syrup.
Our chai syrup recipe is caffeine-free and can be used as a substitute for an instant drink without the hassle of using too many ingredients. To keep our syrup versatile, we won't use tea in our recipe.
We don't recommend adding tea as it limits you to making chai tea using syrup. If you just infuse spices in the syrup, you can use the spice flavouring for different types of drinks and desserts without worrying about the flavour of the tea.
Best Chai Syrup Brands
Torani and Jordan's are two well-known chai syrup brands that are the closest store-bought tea base to the taste at Starbucks. While you can easily purchase tea-flavoured anything from stores, using your homemade sweetener is the secret to making your drink taste amazing.
That's why we think it's better to make it from scratch. You can customise it by adding more or less of your favourite or least favourite spices.
Chai Syrup Ingredients
To make our homemade spiced tea concentrate, you only need water, sugar, vanilla extract, and a blend of spices.
Chai Spices
For our chai syrup, you want to use fresh ginger, green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, fennel seeds, and black peppercorns.
We only use fresh ones for a more vivid and pronounced flavour and aroma. You can use a different ratio of spices if you prefer one spice's taste over others, but as a start, we recommend using our blend as a base.
Tea
You don't need tea to make the syrup. However, if you insist, we recommend infusing Assam or Ceylon tea into the syrup.
Sugar
You can use any type of sugar you want. For our recipe, we used simple white sugar. White sugar adds a sweet flavour to the concoction that complements the spices and creates a rich consistency.
However, we recommend using at least 1 ½ cups of sugar to taste closer to the Starbucks version. You can also use brown sugar to give it a faintly toasted caramel flavour.
You can substitute sugar with stevia, agave, or maple syrup to make a healthier, sugar-free chai syrup.
How to Make Chai Syrup?
To make our chai syrup recipe, first, you need to add cardamom, cinnamon, whole cloves, fennel seeds, and black peppercorns to a pestle and mortar. Separately, peel your ginger and slice it into thin slices.
Lightly smash them until they break apart to release their oils. Or, give them a gentle smack under the knife blade. Do not grind them into fine powder, as it will be difficult to strain them out.
Then, in a saucepan over low to medium heat, dry roast them for less than a minute to release even more flavour. However, avoid roasting the spices until they get toasted, which will create a bitter taste.
In the same saucepan, add the sugar and water. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to low. Add the sliced ginger. Then, allow it to simmer gently for at least 10 minutes.
We like to keep our syrup thin and runny, so pouring and spooning it is easier. It also helps prevent us from adding too much syrup in one go.
If you prefer a thicker syrup, let it simmer for longer. The longer the mixture simmers, the richer the spice flavours become. However, be cautious not to make the mixture too thick, as it will be hard to use and may crystallise when cool.
Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool until you can safely handle it. Then, using a fine-mesh strainer or a mesh bag, strain the syrup into a clean jar with an airtight lid.
Like that, your homemade chai syrup is ready, and you can use it whenever you like.
Homemade Chai Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chai Spice Mix
- 3 tbsps ginger chopped
- 6 cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
Cooking Instructions
- Remove the skin of the fresh ginger root using a spoon. Then, slice the ginger and put them aside for later. Crush the other spices using a pestle and mortar.
- Then, add them to a saucepan and roast them for less than a minute over low to medium heat to release flavour.
- Then, combine the sugar and water in the same saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Add the sliced ginger.
- Stir well, then continue to simmer for at least 10 minutes. Remove the concoction from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Let the mixture cool until it can be handled.
- Pour the chai syrup mixture into a mixing bowl using a fine-mesh strainer or a mesh bag. When refrigerated, funnel the base into a sealed jar with a cover and use it within 4 weeks.
Recipe Notes
- If you are using tea bags, add the tea to the water to brew the tea, then add the sugar and bring it to a boil as stated in the recipe. Use at least three tea bags for every cup of water.
- Also, remember that the longer the tea is steeped, the stronger the tannin concentration, resulting in a bitter, unpalatable base.
- If you use honey instead of sugar for a chai skinny syrup, brew the tea in water and cool it down before stirring in the honey.
- Don't skip the vanilla extract addition at the very end. It helps enhance the aroma of the syrup and adds a soft sweetness to the syrup.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimate.
Uses Of Chai Syrup
We recommend drizzling it over sweets like ice cream or dessert. This simple sweetener can also up your breakfast game. Serve with pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, or a yoghurt bowl. All you'll need is a drizzle.
It's perfect for coffee and tea drinks. Depending on your taste, add a teaspoon or two to use our chai syrup for coffee.
We also played with the concentrate to learn how to make chai syrup for a latte. Add 2 - 3 tablespoons of syrup to hot, foamy milk for a quick chai latte.
Add 2 teaspoons of this sweetener for a perfect cup of dirty chai latte with espresso and foamy milk. You can also add it to your vanilla chai for an extra dose of flavour.
If you are feeling adventurous, stir this tea base into your alcohol to make your unique chai syrup cocktail.
Ingredients Variations
While our chai tea syrup recipe is delicious, you can try these other variations.
Using Tea Bags
If you do not have the spice blend or want to infuse the tea taste into this mixture, you can supplement the spices with tea bags. Please keep in mind that this will result in a caffeine-infused tea concentrate. Not only that, but using tea bags also makes the base more velvety and dark in colour.
Here's a quick tip on how to make chai syrup with tea bags. For 1 cup of water, add 3 teabags of Assam or Ceylon. This ratio will add more flavour to the concoction. Make sure you prepare a strong tea. Otherwise, the flavours of the syrup will be lost.
Making Chai Skinny Syrup
Our sugar-free, healthier version of this classic sweetener has all the flavour of a traditional sweetener without the extra calories. For the chai skinny syrup recipe, you can substitute sugar with honey, stevia, or maple syrup.
To make chai skinny syrup, replace equal parts of maple syrup with sugar. Because honey loses its health benefits when heated, we recommend making the tea in water and cooling it before adding it.
How To Store
You can keep chai syrup at room temperature for up to two weeks or in the fridge for up to four weeks in a sterile, airtight container or sealed jar with a lid.
Alternatively, you can add a quarter teaspoon of citric acid to extend the shelf life by up to six months. Another option is a 2-to-1, sugar-to-water ratio, which produces a thick syrup with enough sugar content to prevent bacteria growth for up to six months.
You can pour the concentrate into ice cube trays and freeze it until solid to save for later. Then, place the cubes in a freezer bag or an airtight container. The cubes can be frozen for 6-12 months. Then, use 1-2 cubes for each drink and enjoy.
After cooling, the chai syrup may become cloudy. This is because of the caffeine and tannins emitted from the tea leaves and spices at high temperatures. When they are chilled, they eventually bond. But it is safe to use as long as it smells good and shows no signs of mould.
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