The Starbucks iced chai tea latte is one of the most popular drinks sold by the coffee shop chain. 

This creamy, cold concoction of chai tea and milk is the perfect balance of creamy mouthfeel and warming spices. An iced chai tea latte is delicious on a warm day or any time of the year you want to indulge in a fancy coffee drink. 

Below you’ll find a copycat latte recipe for Starbucks’ iced chai tea latte and the steps for how to make this easy recipe in your own kitchen. Read on to learn more about the Starbucks iced chai tea recipe and the benefits of drinking it. 

What is an Iced Chai Tea Latte?

This 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 Website

What ingredients are in a Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte?

These are the ingredients Starbucks uses:

• Milk
• Ice
• Chai Tea Concentrate (water, black tea, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, natural flavours, star anise)
• Sugar
• Honey
• Ginger juice
• Natural flavours
• Vanilla
• Citric acid

To make this drink at home, our ingredient list will be a lot shorter.

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

How to Make a Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte

An iced chai tea latte from Starbucks is easy to reproduce at home using only a few simple ingredients, so there’s really never an excuse to waste money buying this drink through a drive-through.

To get started making this homemade version, you’ll need a few basic supplies and ingredients. 

Copycat Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte Ingredients

Along with these tools, you’ll also need the ingredients for the iced chai tea latte. These are the ingredients needed:

• Chai tea bags: Chai tea bags can be used for making iced chai tea lattes, or loose-leaf chai blend can be added to a tea infuser for steeping in hot water. Chai tea bags are a blend of black tea with chai spices. 
• Chai spice: If a more pronounced chai flavor is wanted in the iced chai tea latte, additional chai spice can be added. 
• Milk of your choice: Choose the kind of milk you like the best. Options include either dairy (whole milk, reduced fat, non-fat milk), or plant-based milk such as coconut milk, almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, and oat milk. 
• Maple syrup: Maple syrup is a suitable sweetener for chai tea lattes because its flavor meshes well with the spices in the tea. Agave nectar, simple syrup, and brown sugar syrup can also be used if maple syrup is not preferred.
• Ice cubes: Ice is needed to finish the assembly of the iced chai tea latte. Larger ice cubes will melt more slowly and prevent the drink from diluting quickly. 

The equipment needed for making iced chai tea lattes is minimal. Here’s the equipment that you’ll want to collect: 

• Electric kettle: A saucepan or electric tea kettle is needed to boil water to steep the chai tea bags. 
• Tall glass for serving: Since the iced chai tea latte is served cold, the glass you use doesn’t have to be temperature-safe. 

Since iced chai tea lattes can be assembled with just a couple of ingredients, it’s easy to prepare this drink recipe at home by following the steps below. 

Steps for Making Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte

Once you have your ingredients gathered together, there are only a few additional steps necessary for making and assembling a copycat Starbucks iced chai tea latte. 

Prepare the Chai Tea

The first step in making an iced chai tea latte is to steep the chai tea. Boil water and pour over the chai tea bags.  

Allow the chai tea bags to steep in the hot water for ten to fifteen minutes. Optionally, additional chai spice can be added to the chai tea mixture during steeping to give it a stronger flavor. 

Once the chai tea is finished steeping, discard the used tea bags and allow the tea to cool to room temperature.  It’s even better if you let your tea concentrate chill overnight.

Assemble the Chai Tea Latte

To assemble the chai tea latte, pour ice into a tall glass or mug. After arranging the ice in the glass, pour a cup of the chai tea mixture over it. 

Once you’ve iced the chai tea, add milk to the glass to finish filling it.  You can either stir it up, or wait for the swirls to distribute themselves on their own.

Finish off the chai tea latte by sweetening it with maple syrup or some other liquid sweetener if desired. Serve immediately to avoid dilution from the melting ice. 

What Does an Iced Chai Tea Latte Taste Like?

An iced chai tea latte is a perfect drink for summer. This iced drink has a cool latte taste from the inclusion of milk that is complemented by warm spices.  Sweet and spicy.

If you want your iced chai tea latte to taste more mellow, you can add more sweetener and sugar to soften its flavor profile. If you prefer a stronger chai flavor, try adding chai concentrate or additional chai spice during the brewing process. 

What Spices are in a Chai Tea Latte?

The spices in this copycat Starbucks iced chai latte are the same ones you’d find in a masala chai spice mix. They can vary based on where you live, but they will always have some combination of the following whole spices that are ground together:

• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Allspice
• Cloves
• Cardamom
• Nutmeg
• Black peppercorns
• Star anise

Do Iced Chai Tea Lattes Have Caffeine?

Like all black tea-based blends, chai tea contains caffeine. At 26 mg of caffeine per serving (Source: USDA), a Starbucks iced chai tea latte is a great way to get an energy boost to start your day.  If you’re reducing your caffeine intake, try making this drink with caffeine free chai tea bags.

Can You Make Iced Chai Tea Lattes with Chai Tea Concentrate?

If you don’t have time to make fresh chai tea for an iced chai tea latte, there are several options you can take to make the process less tedious. 

Store-Bought Chai Tea Concentrate

For an authentic Starbucks chai tea latte flavor, using a liquid chai tea concentrate from Tazo will help you replicate the same flavor profile of the Starbucks drink.

Another advantage to this Tazo chai concentrate is that it can be kept in the fridge for use throughout the week. 

Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate

Another option for quick iced chai tea lattes is to brew a large batch of concentrated chai tea at the beginning of the week and store it in the fridge in an airtight container for later use. 

Making your own chai tea concentrate allows you to adjust the spices in the blend to your liking. Here’s how I make my own homemade concentrate. 

Using either freshly brewed chai tea or chai tea concentrate will work for iced chai tea lattes depending on how much time you have to prepare them. 

Large batch chai concentrate can reduce your morning chai assembly to a matter of minutes. 

What is a Dirty Chai Tea Latte?

To make a “dirty” iced chai tea latte, brew some espresso and add a shot of this strong coffee to the latte for an extra boost of caffeine and flavor. 

Benefits of Drinking Chai Tea Lattes

Most people drink iced chai tea lattes because of their delicious flavor, but these drinks are also healthy if you don’t add too much sugar. The inclusion of chai masala and other spices gives this spicy drink a nutritional boost that more plain-flavored teas don’t have. 

These are some of the health benefits associated with drinking chai tea lattes: 

• Antioxidants: The spices and black tea in chai lattes are full of antioxidants that help prevent degenerative diseases like cancer, stroke, heart attack, and diabetes.
• Vitamins: Adding dairy milk to a latte provides a significant boost of Vitamin D and calcium that can help prevent osteoporosis and other metabolic disorders. 
• Immune boost: The chemical compounds in chai masala and the other spices included in chai lattes provide a boost to the immune system, helping the body naturally fight off colds and other diseases.

Along with being a tasty option, iced chai tea lattes can go a long way toward maintaining your overall good health.

Is the iced chai tea latte healthy?

Chai is healthy, but make sure to watch the amount of sugar you add to your drink.  This does have quite a bit of sugar, especially if you add more sweetener. To make this healthier, use non fat dairy milk, or low fat plant based milks.

You can even swap out the Tazo concentrate with this Tazo Skinny Chai Latte Concentrate to cut back on calories from sugar.

More Delicious Chai Tea Recipes

If you love the taste of a delicious Starbucks iced chai tea latte but you can’t fit these expensive tea-based drinks into your daily budget, you’re in luck.  If you love a good chai latte as much as I do, check out all these other variations of this tasty drink that you can make at home:

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

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)