Make Iced Chai Lattes at home! This simple method uses cold-steeped chai, honey syrup, and milk. Make a big batch and enjoy it all week long!

Photography Credit: Emma Christensen

Last summer, I was all about cold brew coffee. This summer, my obsession is iced chai lattes. And my friends, I am deeply obsessed.

The size (and frequency) of my batches seems to have become larger and larger as the summer has progressed. At first, I was just drinking one or two glasses in the morning. And then another glass in the afternoon started to seem perfectly reasonable.

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When I switched from water glasses to pint glasses, I knew I was in trouble.

I take a fairly simple, uncomplicated approach to my iced chai — minimum effort for maximum payout.

I like cold-steep my tea for at least a few hours, though sometimes I leave it all day. The beauty of cold-steeping is that the tea stays mellow and smooth even if you forget about it for a while. (There are Quick Steeping directions below if you need your iced chai a little more urgently.)

I think four bags of tea per quart of water makes a nicely spicy cup of iced chai. I recommend starting there, but if you think you’d like your chai lighter or stronger, just adjust the number of tea bags as needed.

I sweeten my chai lattes with a quick honey syrup made of equal parts honey and water. A syrup like this mixes more easily into the tea than straight honey.

You could mix the syrup with the full batch of chai once it’s finished steeping, but I prefer to mix them in the glass. That way I can adjust the sweetness to my taste, or to the taste of any guests who happen to wander by in need of a cool, refreshing beverage.

Top off your glass of iced chai with as much or as little milk as you like. Creaminess is a highly personal decision. I like to use whole milk, but 2% milk, almond milk, or coconut milk are all lovely.

One final thought: If you like to sip your iced tea slowly and don’t want it to get watered down with ice cubes, make an extra batch of chai and freeze it into ice cubes!