Stay Toasty With Our Chai Latte Recipe
During the cold season, there’s nothing quite as comforting as a warm drink, wrapped up in a blanket in front of a roaring fire. While tea and coffee are strong contenders, it’s our Chef’s chai latte that has us wanting more.
Our Chef Maximus from Winnipeg’s Thermëa shared his simple, local, and delicious chai latte recipe with us to help warm up our winter!
What is Chai?
Masala chai is a delicious Indian tradition—masala meaning spices and chai meaning tea. Although many varieties of chai exist in India alone, other countries have adopted and adapted chai to their own palates.
The perfect cup of chai usually involves brewing a strong black loose-leaf tea with warming spices like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, cloves and sometimes, black peppercorns. Traditionally boiled in a water and milk mixture and then strained, the choice of the addition of sugar is fully up to the drinker.
The key to a great chai latte is the choice of tea and spices. Luckily for us, Chef Maximus recommended a blend from a local tea house: Cha Yi maison de thé. Chai Cha Yi is a house blend combining Assam tea and amazing spices—the perfect blend for a perfect chai latte.
By getting Cha Yi’s blend, you not only get a delicious drink, but you also support local!
Our Chai Latte Recipe
For a quick chai latte, simply boil your preferred milk with your tea blend, strain, add sweetness to taste and enjoy—easy as can be!
If you’re unfamiliar with milk alternatives, here are a few barista favourites that work quite well with chai:
- Soy milk is a high protein milk substitute with a creamy and mild taste. It’s the closest in nutritional value to traditional milk.
- Oat milk is naturally sweet and very mild in flavour. One of the newest kinds of milk on the scene, oat milk is a barista’s favourite for both its texture and taste.
- Coconut milk is creamy and sweet. The subtle coconut flavour goes quite well with the spice of the chai.
If you are an avid chai latte drinker and simply can’t get enough, you may want to make a concentrate. Start by briefly roasting your blend in a saucepan, add boiling water and simmer for a half-hour. You’ll then have concentrated chai which you can simply dilute with your favourite milk! It keeps up to two weeks in the refrigerator and is perfect for both warm and iced chai lattes!
For a touch of whimsy, sprinkle some cinnamon on top of your chai latte or go all out with some latte art.
Sometimes, the simplest recipes are the ones we come back to time and time again. What is your warm beverage of choice?