Chai Coffee Recipe (Frothy, Delicious + Works with ANY Coffee!)

5 from 1 vote

This chai coffee recipe is just as delicious as coffee shop versions and so easy to make.

Prep Time5

Step Time10

Total Time15

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Chai Coffee

Servings:

Pour the milk into a small saucepan. Add the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. Heat the mixture on a medium heat setting, stirring occasionally. Bring it to a slight simmer, then turn the heat down and let it infuse for about 5 minutes. Avoid boiling the milk.

While the milk is infusing, make your coffee in your coffee maker (espresso shots, double-strong drip coffee, or instant coffee).

After the milk has been infused with the spices, strain it to remove the ground spices. You can use a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

Pour the brewed coffee into a large mug. Add the strained, spiced milk to the coffee. Sweeten with sugar according to your taste.

Here are your options for strong coffee:

2 shots espresso (2 fluid oz or 60 mL)
2-3 tsp instant coffee dissolved in ¼ cup boiling water
½ cup coffee brewed at 4x strength (so use the normal amount of beans you’d typically use, but with ¼ the quantity of water)

To make frothy chai coffee:

You have a few options, from fancy to super simple:

Use an espresso machine's milk steaming wand or a standalone milk steamer instead of a saucepan to heat the milk.
Use an inexpensive hand-held milk frother to foam it up after heating it (you can even get them at dollar stores or Ikea)
OR you can do the authentic Indian chai method of pouring the coffee into your cup from a height (even pouring back and forth between two cups) to make it frothy and delicious.

Finally, you can skip the frothy milk and top the dang coffee with whipped cream and love your life.