Dirty Chai Recipes: A Hot Dirty Chai Latte, Iced Dirty Chai, and No Espresso Machine Needed

The first method uses a concentrate, which is closest to how cafés make it and lets you make several cups in a row. The second is a single pot of stovetop masala chai, the way it is made across India.

Method 1: Dirty chai latte with chai concentrate

For the concentrate (makes enough for about four mugs)

• 5 teaspoons loose-leaf masala chai
• 400 ml hot water

For one dirty chai latte

• 80 ml chai concentrate
• 1 shot of espresso (about 30 ml), or 2 shots for a stronger coffee taste
• About 150 ml milk, heated and frothed
• Sugar or honey, to taste
• A pinch of ground cinnamon, to finish (optional)

1. Make the concentrate. Put the chai in a pot, pour over 400 ml of hot water and let it steep for 10 minutes. Strain out the leaf.
2. Sweeten the chai. Pour 80 ml of the concentrate into a large mug and stir in sugar or honey to taste. Sweetening at this stage lets it dissolve properly.
3. Pull the espresso. Make a single or double shot and pour it into the mug.
4. Add the milk. Pour in the hot milk, holding back the foam with a spoon, then spoon the foam over the top.
5. Finish. Dust with a little cinnamon if you like, and drink straight away. Keep the rest of the concentrate covered in the fridge for later cups.

The concentrate method is the one we shared for a chai latte in January 2020: 5 teaspoons of chai steeped in 400 ml of hot water for 10 minutes, then 80 ml per mug, sweetened, topped with hot milk and, for a treat, whipped cream. For a dirty chai, the only change is the shot of espresso. More on making and storing concentrate in Chai concentrate, powder and syrup.

Method 2: Stovetop masala chai with a shot

• 1 teaspoon CTC black tea, or a CTC masala chai blend
• ¾ cup (about 180 ml) water
• ½ cup (about 120 ml) full-cream milk
• 2 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• ¼-inch piece of fresh ginger, crushed
• ½-inch piece of cinnamon stick
• Sugar, to taste
• 1 shot of espresso (about 30 ml)

1. Boil the tea. Bring the water to a boil and, as it starts to bubble, add the tea. Let it boil for about 2 minutes.
2. Add the spices. Add the cardamom, ginger and cinnamon, and simmer for another minute. (Skip this step if your blend is already spiced.)
3. Add the milk. Pour in the milk and simmer for 2 to 5 minutes, letting it rise to a boil a couple of times, until the chai turns a deep toffee color. Stir in sugar to taste.
4. Strain and add the coffee. Strain the chai into a mug and pour in the espresso. Stir and serve.

This is our everyday masala chai recipe, with coffee added at the end. It makes a richer, more robust dirty chai than the concentrate method, with less foam. For a deeper dive into the base, see How to make masala chai at home, and for building your own spice mix, Chai spices and chai masala.

• Use a strong tea. A malty Assam CTC holds its own against coffee; a delicate Darjeeling will disappear. Why CTC brews so strong is explained in Orthodox vs CTC tea.
• Lean on the warm spices. Cinnamon, cardamom and ginger sit well with roasted coffee. Delicate floral blends, such as saffron and rose, are easily lost under it.
• Start with one shot. A double shot quickly turns a dirty chai into a spiced coffee. Taste first, then add more.
• Sweeten before the milk. Sugar dissolves best in the hot chai, before the milk and coffee go in.

Our tasters’ notes explain the first two tips. Avishek, from our procurement team, found our Assam Masala Chai “a full-bodied cup” that, with milk, becomes “impressively dense, full-bodied and sweet,” while our Kashmiri Saffron Rose Chai is “medium-bodied” and “dessert-like.” The fuller cup has the weight to carry coffee; the lighter, floral one is better on its own. More on choosing a base in Which chai is best for a dirty chai?

The shot is the other half of the balance. Our 2016 writer found the café dirty chai “less cofftea … and more of a flavored coffee,” because the coffee and syrup drowned the tea. One shot over a strong chai keeps the tea in front.

Iced dirty chai needs a little planning, because the chai should be properly cold before it meets the ice, or the ice melts and the drink turns thin.

• 2 teaspoons Assam loose-leaf black tea
• 2 cups (about 480 ml) water
• ½-inch piece of cinnamon stick
• ½-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated or crushed
• 3 to 4 green cardamom pods, seeds only
• ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
• Sugar or honey, to taste
• About 1 cup (240 ml) cold milk, divided between the glasses
• 2 shots of espresso (about 30 ml each), cooled
• Ice

1. Brew the chai. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the tea and all the spices, and simmer for about 4 minutes.
2. Cool and sweeten. Turn off the heat, strain out the leaf and spices, and let the chai cool. Stir in sugar or honey while it is still warm.
3. Chill. Pour the chai into a jug or flask and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Pull the espresso. Make two shots and let them cool for a few minutes.
5. Build the glasses. Fill two tall glasses with ice. Pour in the chilled chai, top each with cold milk, then pour a shot of espresso over the top. Stir before drinking.

Where the recipe comes from

The chai part of this recipe comes from our Still Steeping writer Meeta Sharma, who arrived at iced chai when a hot cup of masala chai cooled in an air-conditioned room. Her original tops each glass with about 4 tablespoons of milk; we use more, because the espresso needs it. Her full recipe is in Forgive Me Chai, It’s Summer (Iced Chai Recipe), and a strong Assam such as our Classic Assam Black suits it. For more cold tea ideas, see How to make iced tea.

If you would rather start from a concentrate, our 2017 iced tea drinks all used 120 ml of tea concentrate per glass, which is a good chai portion for one iced dirty chai.

What matters is concentration. Weak coffee adds volume and dilutes the chai without adding much flavor.

• Moka pot or stovetop espresso. The closest to café espresso at home. Use about 60 ml per mug.
• French press or filter coffee. Brew it at double strength and use about 60 ml, reducing the milk slightly to keep the balance.
• Instant coffee. Dissolve one level teaspoon in a tablespoon of hot water and stir it into the chai. The simplest version of the old “cofftea” habit: one Still Steeping writer’s family friend made his with a heaped teaspoon of instant coffee and a tea bag in the same mug.
• Cold brew. Good for an iced dirty chai, because it is already cold. Use about 60 ml of concentrate per glass.

If you want the coffee to lead, borrow the ratio of Hong Kong’s yuanyang, three parts coffee to seven parts sweet milk tea. For a mug of chai that works out to roughly a 75 ml pour of strong coffee to 175 ml of chai and milk, far more coffee than a single shot, so the drink tastes coffee-first.