This premium homemade Chai Syrup with black tea brings the perfect blend of aromatic spices like cardamom, ginger, and roses directly to your coffees and teas, as well as other desserts. It delivers all the flavors of masala chai in an easy to make syrup.
This chai syrup only takes about 15 minutes to make! It's the perfect addition to fall bakes, desserts, and beverages. The spices make it so cozy and flavorful for warm dirty chai lattes.
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This Chai Syrup was a highly requested recipe! For anyone who's a fan of Torani and Monin Chai Tea Syrups, this is a great homemade version that's easy to make. It makes several servings of syrup and is super easy to scale for more.
It's especially great for chai lattes when you're looking to snuggle up in the fall and winter or for mixing into popular drinks like a copycat for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Lattes. The syrup is incredibly aromatic and delicious! I had to stop myself from drinking it straight. It's spiced to taste almost exactly like masala chai.
I promise, this is going to be so much better than the Starbucks Chai Tea Syrup!
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
The ingredients for chai syrup are very similar to a cup of masala chai, but of course, with lots of sugar.
- Black tea - Assam tea work best for masala chai, and English breakfast is a good runner up. My favorite loose leaf black tea is Danedar and my favorite tea bags are Tetley British Blend. I do not recommend earl grey. You can use high quality green tea but it will be a much different flavor profile and adds earthiness.
- Sweetener - Granulated sugar is the most typical sweetener, but brown sugar and even stevia will work. Maple and honey can also be added into it.
- Spices - My chai spice blend for this syrup includes cloves, black peppercorns, star anise, a cinnamon stick, green cardamom pods, dried rose buds, and ginger. More spices can be added - like fennel, tulsi, nutmeg - or omitted based off of personal preference. Use whole spices for the best, robust flavor.
- Vanilla extract - Adds a bit of additional flavor.
How to make Chai Syrup
Making a syrup is your typical 1-to-1 ratio of sugar to water, just like simple syrup. It's just a matter of infusing the flavors to make a chai simple syrup.
Start with the whole spices - cloves, black peppercorns, star anise, a cinnamon stick, green cardamom pods, dried edible roses, and ginger. Transfer them to a mortar and pestle and lightly crush them to release the oils. Alternatively, give them a light smash under the blade of a knife.
Next, transfer them to a sauce pan on low to medium heat and dry roast them for less than a minute so they release even more flavor. Immediately add in a cup of water and bring it to a simmer. Simmer the spices so the water infuses with them for around 5 minutes.
Then, remove the sauce pan from heat and add the sugar, vanilla extract, and black tea bags. Stir until the sugar fully dissolves. Allow the black tea to steep until the syrup fully cools.
Strain the syrup into a syrup bottle once it has fully cooled. Then, it's ready to use.
What to use the Syrup with
Chai Syrup is incredibly versatile for desserts and drinks.
I recommend drizzling it over desserts, like ice cream or any dessert a la mode. It's also perfect for smoothies, protein shakes, oatmeal, etc for a delicious additional spicy layer of flavor.
It's especially great for coffee and tea-based beverages! Add it as the sweetener for masala chai as an extra boost, or to dirty chai lattes with a shot of espresso and frothy milk.
My favorite quick beverage is a sweet chai latte with 2 - 3 ounces of the syrup with hot, frothy milk for fall and winter weather.
Storage Instructions
Store the chai syrup in an airtight syrup dispenser for up to two weeks at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to a month.
Add a ¼ teaspoon of citric acid to preserve it for even longer, for up to six months. Another option is a 2-to-1 ratio of sugar to water, a rich syrup which has enough sugar content to prevent the growth of bacteria for up to six months.
If the syrup gets a bit cloudy, it's totally fine! For more information, check out the science behind it from the Chai Concentrate recipe.
I grabbed this adorable syrup dispenser with the gold label from Etsy.
More Chai Recipes to try
- Chai Spice
- Masala Chai Canelés
- Chai Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chai Concentrate
- Masala Chai
- Chai Liqueur
- Chai White Russian
- Chai Hot Chocolate
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Recipe
Chai Syrup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cardamom pods
- 1 inch ginger, sliced
- 10 peppercorns
- 2 dried edible roses
- 2 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 4 black tea bags
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Lightly crush the cardamom pods, ginger, peppercorns, edible roses, cloves, cinnamon stick, and star anise in a mortar and pestle.
- Transfer the crushed spices to a sauce pan on medium heat. Dry roast for no more than a minute.
- Pour in the water and simmer the spices for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the tea bags, sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir until the sugar fully melts.
- Allow the tea bags to continue to steep as the syrup cools. Once it has cooled, strain the syrup into a syrup bottle.
- Use 1 ounce for lattes, smoothies, dessert toppings, etc.
Notes
- Store the chai syrup in an airtight syrup dispenser for up to two weeks at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to a month.
- Adjust the spices according to personal preferences - i.e. if you like more cinnamon, add a second stick. The amounts of spices in this recipe are based on high quality, single origin spices. Please taste the syrup and adjust accordingly by adding spices or reducing in the next batch.
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