Chai Tea Simple Syrup
This Chai Tea Simple Syrup captures the warm and licorice-like flavors of masala chai aka chai tea in an easy-to-make simple syrup infusion. Just a splash delivers a delightful blend of aromas and cozy spices to cocktails, hot tea, coffee, baked goods, and more!
Masala chai aka chai tea is made with a blend of loose-leaf black tea and a variety of fragrant warming spices like ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove. This recipe fuses the vibrant flavors of chai tea with a quick 1:1 simple syrup.
Ready to learn how to this easy chai syrup? Let’s do it!
👉 Why you should make simple syrup from chai tea
Chai simple syrup comes in handy when you’re baking and mixing drinks. Drizzle chai syrup over the top of breakfast pastries, scones, and muffins or in between cake layers for flavor and moisture. Add a tablespoon or two to coffee or hot tea or add it to mixed drinks in place of traditional simple syrup.
To sum it all up, you should make chai simple syrup because…
- It tastes better than store-bought and doesn’t contain any weird chemicals or preservatives.
- You can make Starbucks-like chai tea drinks for a fraction of the cost.
- There are only 3 ingredients, and it’s very easy to make
- DIY tea-infused syrups, including earl grey syrup and green tea syrup, make great gifts for the tea drinker in your life.
🫖 Ingredients
A few things to keep in mind while you gather the ingredients.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar or caster sugar. The granules are fine and dissolve easily in hot water.
- Water – Thickens into a sticky, pourable syrup when simmered with sugar. For the best flavor and to lessen the risk of bacterial growth, use distilled or filtered water.
- Chai tea – You can use loose-leaf chai tea or chai tea bags. What’s most important is using a quality product with deep warm and earthy flavor.
- Recommended tools: You’ll need a saucepan, tea infuser, and a sanitized glass jar or bottle for storing.
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Heat sugar & water
To start, bring the water and sugar to a simmer over medium heat.
2️⃣ Step Two: Dissolve sugar & steep chai
Add the loose-leaf chai tea to a tea infuser. Then, submerge the tea infuser in the simmering liquid (If you’re using tea bags, immerse them directly), and let steep while the sugar continues to dissolve and the mixture thickens.
3️⃣ Step Three: Remove from the heat & steep
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the tea steep for another 5-10 minutes (the longer it steeps, the stronger the chai tea taste will be).
4️⃣ Step Four: Let cool & store
Remove the tea infuser and let the syrup cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
💡 Questions + quick tips
- Make vanilla chai syrup – Add chai tea to this 3-ingredient vanilla simple syrup as it simmers.
- Brown sugar chai tea syrup – Replace white sugar with brown sugar for a darker syrup with a deeper caramel and toffee-like flavor.
At its core, simple syrup is sugar dissolved in water. To add chai flavor, loose-leaf chai tea or chai tea bags are steeped in the sugary syrup as it simmers to infuse flavor.
Starbucks uses Tazo chai concentrate made with black tea, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, natural flavors, star anise, sugar, honey, ginger juice, and vanilla. This homemade version delivers the same dynamic flavor to your favorite drinks.
Use this chai-infused syrup where ever you normally use unflavored simple syrup or liquid sweeteners like coffee, tea, cocktails, baked goods, and pastries. You can also drizzle it over pancakes and waffles!
🧋How to serve
Looking for more ways to use chai-flavored syrup? Add a splash to these specialty chai lattes to sweeten and intensify the tea flavor.
🥃 Chai syrup for cocktails
Replace traditional simple syrup with bar syrup in these classic cocktails.
- Old Fashioned
- Whiskey Sour
- Manhattan
- Hot Toddy
🧊 How to store
- Refrigerator storage: Most homemade simple syrup is best kept in the refrigerator and used within 2 weeks.
- Freezer storage: Feel free to freeze your syrup for later. Try freezing simple syrup into ice cubes that can then be thawed for individual use.
🥄 More simple syrup recipes
Looking for more DIY simple syrup flavors? We’ve got you covered:
- Lemongrass Simple Syrup
- Gingerbread Simple Syrup
- Sage Infused Simple Syrup
- Blueberry Simple Syrup
- Green Tea Simple Syrup
For even more simple syrups to choose from, check out our
blissful collection of homemade simple syrup recipes!
Chai Tea Simple Syrup
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 tea infuser
- 1 glass jar or bottle
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar granulate white or brown
- 1 cup water filtered or distilled
- 2 tablespoons loose leaf chai tea or 2 chai tea bags
Instructions
- Add the sugar and water to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Add the loose-leaf chai tea to a tea infuser. Then, submerge the tea infuser in the simmering liquid (If you're using tea bags, immerse them directly), and let steep while the sugar continues to dissolve and the mixture thickens.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the tea steep for another 5-10 minutes (the longer it steeps, the stronger the chai tea taste will be).
- Remove the tea infuser and let the syrup cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
