Gluten Free Classic Chai Latte

Total time20 min

Prep time5 min

Cook time15 min

4.8

(8)

Warm, deeply spiced, and endlessly comforting, this homemade chai latte is the kind of drink that makes you want to curl up on the couch and let the world slow down for a minute. Whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black peppercorns are simmered low and slow to coax out every bit of their fragrance before the tea and milk ever hit the pot — and the difference compared to a powder packet is genuinely remarkable. Because every single ingredient here is naturally free of gluten, there's no label-reading anxiety or worrying about what's hiding in a premixed blend. Fresh ginger adds a gentle heat that plays beautifully against the sweetness of honey, and you can dial that sweetness up or down completely to your taste. Straining everything through a fine-mesh sieve at the end gives you a silky, clean cup with none of the gritty bits. This is the kind of recipe that quickly becomes a morning ritual or a cozy evening wind-down — simple enough to make on a weeknight, but special enough to serve to guests.

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Ingredients

2 servings

1 cup water
1 cup whole milk
2 black tea bags (or 2 tsp loose-leaf black tea)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
4 whole black peppercorns
1 star anise (optional)
2 tbsp honey, or to taste

Instructions

1
Combine the water, ginger, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, and star anise (if using) in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid is fragrant and lightly amber.
2
Add the tea bags and milk to the saucepan. Raise the heat to medium and bring the mixture just to a gentle simmer — small bubbles at the edges, not a rolling boil — then reduce the heat to low and steep for 4 to 5 minutes, until the chai is deep brown and richly spiced.

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