An iced vanilla chai latte is one of the more popular tea-based specialty drinks you can get at a coffee shop like Starbucks. 

Even though the flavor of a vanilla chai tea latte is somewhat complex, brewing and assembling this drink is simple enough to do at home. All you need is chai tea, sweetener, milk, and vanilla. 

Keep reading to learn more about making an iced vanilla chai tea latte at home. You just may find that this Starbucks copycat recipe becomes your go-to iced chai latte recipe for a warm day.

What Is an Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Latte? 

Making an iced vanilla chai tea latte at home from this easy recipe instead of getting it through the drive-through can save you hundreds of dollars over the course of a year in breakfast drinks.

An iced vanilla chai tea latte is a tea-based drink that is cut with milk, seasoned with chai spices, and served over ice cubes. It provides that great chai latte taste with a hint of vanilla. 

These lattes are sweetened with simple syrup and flavored with vanilla extract. 

Here is how the drink is described on the Starbucks menu:

Black tea infused with cinnamon, clove, and other warming spices are combined with milk and ice for the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.

Starbucks

How to Make an Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Latte

Since iced vanilla chai tea lattes are a cold drink, making chai concentrate ahead can provide enough tea for you to make lattes for the whole week. 

Ingredients for Making Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Lattes

These are the ingredients Starbucks uses:

• Milk
• Ice
• Chai Tea Concentrate (Water, black tea, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, natural flavors, star anise)
• Sugar
• Honey
• Ginger Juice
• Natural Flavors
• Vanilla
• Citric Acid

To make this drink at home, our ingredient list is a bit shorter. There are just a few simple ingredients you’ll need to gather to make an iced vanilla chai tea latte.

They include:

• Chai tea bags: Chai tea bags are spiced tea mixes that are flavored with black pepper, ginger, cardamom, star anise, and other spices. A blend of black tea with these spices is known as masala chai. Chai tea bags can be used to make homemade chai concentrate. 
• Sweetener: Either brown sugar syrup or maple syrup make good sweetener matches for vanilla chai lattes. The caramelized flavor of these syrups pairs well with chai spices. 
• Milk: Whole milk or plant-based milk like unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, and soy milk can be used. To keep your iced vanilla chai tea vegan, avoid dairy milk. 
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract gives this chai latte its vanilla flavor. Vanilla extract can be bought or made at home using split vanilla beans. 
• Ice cubes: Along with the water needed to brew the chai tea, you also need ice cubes for assembly to make this an iced latte. 

After you gather the ingredients you need, it’s time to gather your supplies for making iced vanilla chai tea lattes. 

This post may contain affiliate links. My full disclosure policy is sort of boring, but you can find it here.

Supplies for Making Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Lattes

There aren’t many tools you need for making iced vanilla chai tea lattes at home. 

Here is the equipment you’ll need: 

• Saucepan: A small saucepan is needed for making simple syrup and vanilla syrup. You’ll also need the saucepan for brewing chai concentrate, which has a stronger chai flavor than regular chai tea. 
• Mason jar: If you use chai concentrate to make your iced vanilla chai tea lattes, you’ll need a sealed Mason jar or other airtight container to store it between uses. 
• Glass for serving: A tall glass is a practical option for this drink since it’ll leave you plenty of room for ice. 

Once you have your tools and ingredients gathered together, it’s time to start making lattes.

Steps for Making Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Latte

The process of making iced vanilla chai tea lattes at home is simple and well worth the trouble to learn. 

This method can have you out the door with a customized cafe drink in less than ten minutes, especially if you make the simple syrup and chai concentrate ahead of time. 

Make the Chai Tea Concentrate

Making your own chai concentrate is a superior choice for making chai tea lattes over regular chai tea for several reasons.

Some include: 

• It can be stored ahead. Instead of having to brew tea every day, you can make enough chai concentrate to make a week’s worth of lattes. 
• Concentrates need less liquid. You can still get a strong chai flavor from concentrate without adding a bunch of liquid, leaving room for both the milk and ice in the latte. 

To make a chai tea concentrate, brew chai tea bags as directed, but use twice as many tea bags as instructed. 

This will make a strong batch of chai hot tea that can be cooled and stored in the fridge in a Mason jar and used as a foundation for iced vanilla chai tea lattes. 

Make the Vanilla Syrup

Mix half a cup of white or brown sugar and half a cup of water in your saucepan and bring it up to medium heat. 

Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or a split vanilla bean and simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Like chai concentrate, vanilla syrup can be made ahead of time, cooled to room temperature, and stored. Simple syrup flavored with vanilla can last 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Assemble the Latte

Once you have your chai concentrate and vanilla syrup ready, it’s time to put the iced vanilla chai tea latte together. 

Here are the steps:

• Layer ice cubes into your glass or cup. 
• Pour 1/2 cup of chai concentrate and 1/2 cup of milk over the ice cubes. 
• Add half a tablespoon of vanilla simple syrup to the latte and stir to combine. 
• Taste the drink and adjust the sweetness by adding more vanilla syrup if necessary. 

If you have a handheld milk frother, you can add a cap of cold foam to bring it all together. Otherwise, your iced vanilla chai tea latte is ready to drink!

If you make a lot of copycat drinks at home, I totally recommend this fancy milk frother/steamer. You can make hot or cold drinks feel super fancy. I got this for Christmas and I love it!

Can You Use Premade Chai Concentrate for Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Lattes? 

For those who don’t want to make chai concentrate, a ready-made version is available at most grocery stores to make iced vanilla tea lattes even easier to put together. 

Buying a premade cold chai mixture prevents you from having to brew any tea at all to make your lattes. 

The most popular chai concentrate used in copycat Starbuck vanilla chai tea lattes is the packaged Tazo Chai concentrate.

Can You use Premade Vanilla Syrup?

If you’re short on time, use premade vanilla syrup in place of the homemade version. I like this kind:

What kind of Milk goes into this Iced Chai Tea Recipe?

One of the best things about making your own copycat drinks at home is you can tailor the recipe to suit your tastes and dietary needs. This recipe works great with dairy milk or plant-based milk like:

• Whole milk, reduced-fat milk, or fat-free dairy milk
• Almond milk (vanilla almond milk gives an extra boost to the vanilla flavor)
• Oat milk
• Coconut milk
• Any other plant-based milk of your choice.

More Delicious Chai Tea Recipes

Do you love a good chai latte as much as I do? Check out all these other variations on this tasty drink that you can make at home:

• Original Copycat Starbucks Chai Tea Latte
• Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte
• Iced Chai Tea Latte
• Homemade Chai Tea Latte Mix
• Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate
• Homemade Chai Spice Blend
• Dirty Chai Latte (add a shot of espresso to your chai latte)

More to Know About this Drink

Does this drink have caffeine?

Since it’s made with a black tea base, this drink does contain caffeine. If you’re eliminating caffeine from your day, you can always make it with decaf chai black tea, or decaf Tazo chai tea concentrate.

What does an iced vanilla chai tea latte taste like?

It’s a combination of sweet and spicy. The masala chai spices give warming hints of cinnamon, pepper, and cardamom, while the vanilla syrup and milk add a sweetness that’s the perfect match.

How to cut calories in this drink?

The calories in this drink can sneak up on you if you like it sweet. If you’re trying to cut back on calories, try making it using Tazo Skinny Chai Latte Concentrate instead of the regular version.

Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Lattes Are Worth It

It takes a bit of work to make some simple vanilla syrup and chai concentrate ahead of time, but it’s well worth the effort.  And if you’re not in to making it from scratch, you can use premade chai concentrate and vanilla syrup.

This homemade version of the classic Starbucks latte is a treat that is easy and quick enough to drink every day. Here’s a link to an article all about the health benefits of chai so you can feel even better about mixing up this refreshing drink on a hot day. 

Other Copycat Starbucks Recipes

If you love a good Starbucks copycat recipe, I have tried a ton. Here are my all time Starbucks drinks you can make even better than the Starbucks’ version, and save so much money !

• Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Recipe
• Iced Chai Tea Latte Recipe
• Iced Guava Black Tea Lemonade
• Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Latte
• Iced Guava White Tea Lemonade Recipe
• Mango Dragon Fruit Refresher
• Iced Sugar Cookie Latte
• Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino
• Strawberry Acai Refresher
• Iced Matcha Green Tea Latte
• Hot Matcha Green Tea Latte
• Iced Passion Tea Lemonade
• Hot Chai Tea Latte
• Medicine Ball Tea
• Iced Caramel Macchiato
• Iced London Fog Tea Latte
• London Fog Drink – Earl Grey Milk Tea
• Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte
• Iced Papaya Green Tea (Panera Copycat)