Easy Dirty Chai Latte Recipe (Iced or Hot)

Our dirty chai latte recipe is a delicious caffeinated mix between traditional masala chai (spiced Indian tea) and a shot of espresso. We love serving it with a cold milk splash for the perfect morning pick-me-up.

Dirty chai latte balances the taste of coffee and espresso by adding a third flavour- sweetness from honeyed syrup. Moreover, the velvety consistency of milk envelopes the entire drink with a rich feel and wholesome tastiness.

Depending on where you're from, you might know it as Java Chai, Red Eye Chai, Espresso Chai, or a filthy spiced latte. With sugar, spice, and everything nice, it's no wonder this hidden gem is on every hip coffee shop's not-so-secret menu.

Our easy recipe will have the coffee connoisseur in you jumping in delight. Trust us when we say it's an iced dirty chai latte recipe Starbucks doesn't want you to know about.

Jump to:

• Espresso Chai Latte Ingredients
• Dirty Chai Latte Recipe
• Making Iced Dirty Chai
• Making Espresso Chai Latte Vegan
• How To Store
• Chai Latte Vs Dirty Chai
• Origin
• Popularity

Espresso Chai Latte Ingredients

For our dirty chai latte recipe, you'll need black tea, espresso, ground chai spice, milk and honey.

Black Tea

Our recipe works well with most black tea blends. However, a traditional cup of masala chai uses Assam or Darjeeling tea. If you don't have them, get strong black tea that is robust enough to handle the explosive flavour of the spices. Alternatively, you can steep it for longer to extract more flavour.

Ground Chai Spice

Chai spices traditionally used to make dirty chai latte include fresh sliced ginger, cardamom pods, cinnamon, whole cloves, black peppercorns and fennel seeds. We love to use our homemade chai spice recipe as the base for our Indian spiced tea recipes.

However, you can also use a premade spice mix of your choice. When we've run out of our mix, we like to use Dishoom's spice mix. When using a store-bought mix, check if loose black tea leaves are already inside. If they are, there's no need to add black tea. Alternatively, you can also use a chai latte powder mix.

Honey

We love to use honey in our espresso chai latte recipe because its floral scent and delicate sweetness balance the earthy notes in our drink. However, you can also use alternative sweeteners like white sugar. We would avoid using brown sugar, as it could add a toffee-like taste to your spiced tea.

Making Iced Dirty Chai

You can prepare an espresso chai latte, hot or iced. For the iced version of our drink, you can make different layers by gently pouring the espresso, spiced tea and frothy milk over each other.

Start by adding ice and masala chai to a tall glass. Then add your foamed milk and, lastly, your shot of espresso. For a bit of extra flavour, ala Starbucks, add a generous helping of honey or caramelised sugar. Once done, you can enjoy the cool, refreshing treat as a way to beat the hot summer heat.

For a nicer presentation, we like to dust on some cocoa powder and garnish it with a whole cinnamon stick and star anise. However, this is entirely optional.

Making Espresso Chai Latte Vegan

You can make our espresso chai latte vegan by using plant-based milk.

We like oat milk, but almond and soy milk also work well in our vegan dirty chai recipe.

How To Store

The best way to store our spiced espresso is by keeping it in a refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.  Although you can keep your leftover dirty chai latte in the fridge for up to 3 days, it's best to enjoy it as soon as possible. However, if you're using more milk than recommended, it might only be able to hold up for a day or two.

Chai Latte Vs Dirty Chai

The main difference between a chai latte and dirty chai is that the latter has coffee inside. 

As there's no coffee inside a classic Indian spiced tea, you can taste the tea flavour more. Likewise, dirty spiced tea would be a better fit for coffee enthusiasts because of its dominant coffee flavour.

A filthy spiced latte will bless your taste buds with the warm-spiced sensation of ground spices and the refreshing tang of classic coffee. Though similar to the Korean misugaru latte in that both beverages are airy and light, this drink has a more complex flavour profile. It differentiates itself by having a deep yet diverse taste of spices that sinks delicately into your tongue.

With a good dose of milk poured into dirty chai concentrate, the intense taste of coffee and tea in a dirty chai latte will be mellowed down. Sugary substances like syrup or honey work in tandem with the hearty creaminess of milk in this fine beverage. 

Furthermore, the fragrant aroma of traditional Indian condiments adds to the charm of this espresso drink. Our dirty chai has about 240 calories, making it one of the very few coffee shop drinks with less than 300 calories. 

Origin

The foundation for a dirty chai latte, masala chai was invented in 1835. When the British first began setting up tea gardens in Northern India, they failed to appeal to the tastes of the natives. Therefore, Indians started to mix tea with milk and spices, which led to the birth of the infamous masala chai.

However, dirty chai latte wasn't introduced to the world until the 90s—and it was on accident, too. A barista was making a regular cup of masala tea when they mistakenly poured a shot of espresso into the drink. Regardless, the customer decided to try it out, and surprisingly, it tasted amazing. 

Popularity

Flash forward to the future. Starbucks grabbed the opportunity to capitalise on the unique taste of dirty iced chai. Due to the loose taste of coffee in the spiced espresso, a dirty chai latte became a hit with both coffee lovers and non-coffee lovers alike.

The odd combination, like matcha milk tea and bubble tea, initially made people sceptical. However, once positive reviews were pumped out due to general curiosity about this revolutionary concoction, this espresso drink rose in popularity.

Do you have what it takes to make a mean dirty chai? Share your creation on Instagram and tag @honestfoodtalks. Then, have fun concocting your magical tea coffee elixir.