Fall Honey Chai Concentrate (Make a Jar, Drink All Week)
Your Coffee Shop Chai, at Home
When the mornings get cool, we want something warm, spiced, and a little sweet. A chai latte from a coffee shop hits the spot, but it adds up fast. This concentrate gives you a week of chai for the cost of one or two drinks.
You simmer whole spices, steep black tea, and sweeten it all with honey. Then it lives in your fridge, ready to mix with milk whenever you want a cup.
Our fall honey is darker and richer than our spring honey, and it's a perfect match for cinnamon, clove, and ginger. We stir it in after the tea has cooled a bit, so the honey keeps its flavor.
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Honey Chai Concentrate
Warm spices, strong black tea, and raw honey.
| Prep10 min | Cook20 min | Total30 min | YieldAbout 3 1/2 cups |
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 10 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 8 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 star anise (optional)
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 8 black tea bags or 3 tablespoons loose black tea (Assam works well)
- 1/2 cup raw honey (we use our Beeholden Farms raw honey), or to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
To serve: milk of your choice (oat milk is our favorite).
Instructions
- Toast the spices. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, and star anise to a dry saucepan over medium heat. Toast for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Simmer. Add the water and ginger. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Steep the tea. Turn off the heat, add the tea, and steep for 5 minutes. Don't go much longer or it will turn bitter.
- Strain. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof pitcher or jar.
- Sweeten. Let the concentrate cool for about 10 minutes, until it's warm rather than steaming. Stir in the honey and vanilla until dissolved. Taste and add more honey if you like it sweeter.
- Store. Cool completely, seal, and refrigerate.
To Make a Chai Latte
- Hot: mix equal parts concentrate and milk in a saucepan or mug and heat until steaming. Froth the milk first if you like it foamy.
- Iced: fill a glass with ice, then pour in equal parts cold concentrate and cold milk.
Recipe notes: For a dirty chai, add a shot of espresso. For a caffeine-free version, swap the black tea for rooibos.
Make It Your Own
- More kick: add an extra inch of ginger or a few more peppercorns.
- Cozier: add a pinch of nutmeg or a strip of orange peel while it simmers.
- Extra spice: sweeten with a homemade chai-spiced or cinnamon-infused honey.
- As a gift: pour it into swing-top bottles with a tag that says "mix 1 to 1 with milk."
Storage and Safety Tips
- Refrigerate it and use within 1 week. Give the jar a shake before pouring.
- Add honey after cooling. Boiling honey dulls its flavor, so wait until the tea is warm.
- Not for babies. Honey in any form should never be given to children under 12 months old.
Sweeten It with Fall Honey
Chai season and fall honey season arrive together, and we don't think that's an accident. Our fall harvest has the deep, warm flavor that makes this concentrate taste like a hug in a mug.
Ready to brew? Shop our raw honey here. Local to Fremont? Pickup is free, and we offer free local delivery to the 94536 zip code on orders of $35 or more.
Curious why our honey tastes different each season? Read what our Bay Area bees are foraging on.
