This easy and vegan-friendly Chai Latte with Chocolate is a simple and warming flavored tea latte. Skip the coffee shops, and be your own barista at home!
Who here was a fan of Teavana? Who else loved their free tea samples, fanciful tea concoctions, and splurged on their pricey but delicious loose leaf teas?
(If you have no idea what I'm talking about-- Teavana was a loose leaf tea store that was recently bought out, and then shut down, by Starbucks. I'm still in mourning.)
My absolute favorite Teavana tea was their chocolate chai blend, and when the tea shop closed all its doors for good-- I knew I needed to either find a new chocolate chai, or make my own. This homemade Chai Latte with Chocolate is an easy homemade tea latte that's ready in minutes.
What Is Chai?
Chai translates to "tea" in India, and refers to tea mixed with Indian spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Usually it's made with black tea, sometimes it's made with green tea.
You can mix up a batch of chai tea from scratch, but for this recipe-- we'll just use pre-made chai.
If you're looking for a tasty chai to try-- my I love STASH chai.
What Kind of Chocolate Can I Use?
For this chai latte, I use cocoa powder or cacao powder, because I always have one or the other in my pantry, and it easily dissolves into the tea.
You could switch the powder out for cacao nibs, and you could even melt unsweetened or sweetened chocolate bars or chips, and then stir the melted chocolate into the brewed tea.
Do I Need a Teapot?
Nope. You can brew this right in a mug if you don't have a teapot. But, if you do own a teapot-- this chai latte is a great time to break it out!
How Do I Froth The Milk for a Chai Latte?
To froth the milk, you can use a milk frothing attachment on an espresso machine. Or-- you can totally skip the frothing, and simply add warm milk to the tea.
How to Make a Chai Latte with Chocolate
To make this latte, simply brew chai tea along with a little cocoa powder. Sweeten to taste, and top with frothed milk! Serve immediately.
Now that Teavana is closed, I need a new tea shop! What's your favorite brand of tea?
Want more HOT DRINKS? Try these:
Want more CHOCOLATE drinks? Try these:
Chai Latte with Chocolate
This recipe makes 2 8oz lattes or 4 4oz lattes.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups hot water
- 2 teaspoons chai tea, loose leaf (or 2 tea bags) I use chai made from black tea
- 1 teaspoon cocoa or cacao powder, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon honey, or more to taste Or substitute sweetener of choice
- ½ cup milk or milk substitute
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil. Pour into a teapot, or divide into 2 large mugs.
- Add tea and cocoa powder, and allow to steep for 5-7 minutes. Sweeten to taste with honey.
- While tea steeps, heat and froth milk.Frothing Tips: Use a milk frothing attachment on an espresso maker, an electric milk frother, or heat milk and use a handheld frother. Alternatively, skip frothing and simply warm the milk.
- If using a teapot, pour tea into mugs or teacups. If steeping tea in mugs, remove the tea ball or bag from the mugs.
- Top the tea with the frothed milk. Dust with a little cocoa powder. Serve immediately.
Sarah says
Teavana’s chocolate chai was the best! This is awesome!
Annemarie says
Oh, Teavana's gone? I knew it was in trouble, but I'm going to miss visiting the one in the mall here during our yearly pilgrimages. However, I think your chocolate chai lattes are a great way to work though my sadness since they look delicious and I love chai.
champagne-tastes says
Yessss and I missed the going out of business sale! Boo! (And you’re right- drown your sorrows in some chai tea lol)
michele says
I have been in mourning for Teavana too.... it was my favorite place to hit at the mall when I was there. My sister is going to flip when I make this for her.... their chai tea latte was her absolute favorite! I did a test run today and it was Fan-flipping-tastic!(even better than at the store if I do say so myself!!)
champagne-tastes says
Wahoo! I’m so glad you like it! And if we’re all going to be in mourning, at least we can drink this together 😉
Amanda says
I, too, miss Teavana! We had one in our local mall and I could never resist stopping in and buying all the things. It's been so long since I've had a chocolate chai latte. I can't wait to cozy up with one of these. Can we also talk about how absolutely adorable that teapot is? I'm in love! It makes me want to host a tea party!
champagne-tastes says
Teavana was the best!! We’ll keep consoling ourselves while we drink this lol. And thank you!
Sasha @ Eat Love Eat says
Ooh this sounds lovely! I don’t drink black tea but I can imagine this being delicious made with redbush instead!