A dirty chai latte is a chai tea latte with a shot of espresso added. Spiced black tea is mixed with steamed milk, sweetened, and “dirtied” with one or two shots of espresso. It tastes like a spiced latte: creamy and warming, with cinnamon, cardamom and ginger on top of the coffee. You can make it hot or iced in about five minutes.
It’s also one of the easiest ways to use an espresso machine for something other than a plain latte. This guide covers the classic recipe with chai concentrate, a from-scratch version with tea and whole spices, the iced version and how much caffeine to expect. For the milk basics, see our guide on how to make a latte at home.
The short answer
| Dirty chai latte (12 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Chai | 4 oz chai concentrate, or 4 oz strong spiced black tea |
| Milk | 4–6 oz, steamed to 60–65 °C (140–150 °F) |
| Espresso | 1 shot (1 oz) or a double (2 oz) |
| Sweetener | Built into most concentrates; 1–2 tsp honey or sugar if brewing from scratch |
| Iced | Same amounts, cold milk, poured over ice |
| Caffeine | Roughly 100–180 mg (estimate; see below) |
These are typical café-style proportions, not an official recipe.
What is a dirty chai latte?
Chai simply means tea in Hindi and many other languages. In the US, “chai” usually means masala chai: black tea brewed with spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and black pepper, then sweetened and mixed with milk.
A chai latte is that spiced tea served with steamed milk, café style. A dirty chai latte adds espresso. The coffee flavor stays in the background, but it adds body, a little bitterness to balance the sweetness and a second source of caffeine.
Dirty chai vs chai latte
| Chai latte | Dirty chai latte | |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Spiced black tea + milk | Spiced black tea + milk + espresso |
| Flavor | Sweet, spicy, tea-forward | Spicy with roast and body; slightly less sweet |
| Caffeine source | Tea only | Tea and coffee |
| Machine needed | No | Espresso machine or moka pot for the shot |
Ingredients for a dirty chai tea latte
- Chai: either a store-bought chai concentrate or black tea plus whole or ground spices.
- Espresso: one or two shots. A medium or medium-dark roast works best against the spices. See our guide to espresso beans if you’re choosing a bag.
- Milk: whole milk steams sweetest. Oat milk is the most popular dairy-free choice and pairs well with spices; our guide to making a latte with oat milk covers how to steam it.
- Sweetener: honey, maple syrup, brown sugar or none, if your concentrate is already sweet.
- Garnish (optional): a pinch of cinnamon on the foam.
How to make a dirty chai latte with chai concentrate
This is how most cafés make it, and the fastest version at home.
- Warm the cup. Rinse a 12 oz mug with hot water.
- Pull the espresso. Brew one or two shots straight into the mug.
- Add the chai. Pour in about 4 oz of chai concentrate. Most concentrates are meant to be mixed with milk at about 1:1; check the carton.
- Steam the milk. Steam 4–6 oz of cold milk to 60–65 °C (140–150 °F) with a thin foam layer. No steam wand? Heat it and foam it with a handheld frother.
- Pour and garnish. Pour the milk into the mug, top with a little foam and dust with cinnamon.
For more on steaming, see our guide to espresso with milk.
How to make a dirty chai from scratch (tea + spices)
Making your own chai takes about 10 minutes and lets you control the sweetness and the spices.
Makes one 12 oz drink:
- 3/4 cup (6 oz) water
- 2 black tea bags, or 2 teaspoons loose Assam or English breakfast tea
- 1 cinnamon stick, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3–4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 3–4 thin slices fresh ginger, or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 whole cloves and a few black peppercorns
- 1–2 teaspoons honey, maple syrup or sugar
- 4–6 oz milk
- 1–2 shots espresso
- Simmer the spices. Bring the water and spices to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Steep the tea. Take the pan off the heat, add the tea and steep for 3–5 minutes. Longer steeping makes it stronger but more bitter.
- Strain and sweeten. Strain into your mug and stir in the sweetener. Reduce the water slightly if you want a stronger, more concentrated chai.
- Add espresso and milk. Pull the shot into the chai, then top with steamed or frothed milk.
No espresso machine? Use about 1–2 oz of strong coffee from a moka pot. Our guide on how to use a moka pot walks through it. The flavor is slightly different, but it’s close.
How much caffeine is in a dirty chai latte?
A dirty chai has caffeine from both the tea and the espresso. Exact amounts vary a lot with the tea, steeping time and concentrate brand, so treat these figures as general estimates:
| Component | Caffeine (approx.) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Brewed black tea, 8 oz | about 47 mg | USDA: 20 mg per 100 g |
| Brewed black tea, 12 oz | about 71 mg | FDA figure |
| Espresso, single 1 oz shot | about 64 mg | USDA: 212 mg per 100 g |
| Espresso, double 2 oz | about 127 mg | USDA: 212 mg per 100 g |
So a dirty chai with chai equal to roughly 8 oz of black tea plus one shot has about 110 mg of caffeine, and with a double shot about 175 mg. That’s an estimate. Chai concentrates vary widely, so check the label if the brand lists caffeine. The FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most healthy adults. For more detail on the coffee side, see how much caffeine is in espresso.
For a lower-caffeine version, use decaf chai or rooibos chai and a shot of decaf espresso.
How to make an iced dirty chai
- Fill a 16 oz glass with ice.
- Add the chai. Pour in 4 oz of chai concentrate or cooled homemade chai.
- Add cold milk. Pour in 4–6 oz of milk and stir.
- Top with espresso. Pour one or two shots over the top. Letting the espresso cool for a minute first helps keep the ice from melting too fast.
For a café-style finish, top it with cold foam: froth a few ounces of cold skim or 2% milk with a handheld frother until thick, then spoon it on.
Dirty chai variations
- Pumpkin dirty chai: add 1 tablespoon of pumpkin purée or pumpkin spice syrup to the hot chai.
- Vanilla dirty chai: stir in 1–2 teaspoons of vanilla syrup, or a few drops of vanilla extract.
- Brown sugar oat dirty chai: sweeten with brown sugar and use oat milk.
- Stronger spice: add an extra slice of ginger and a pinch of black pepper.
- Less sweet: brew chai from scratch without sweetener, or use an unsweetened concentrate.
If you like sweet espresso drinks, you may also enjoy a Spanish latte, which uses condensed milk instead of chai and syrup.
The bottom line
A dirty chai latte is a chai tea latte with one or two shots of espresso. Use about 4 oz of chai concentrate or homemade spiced tea, 4–6 oz of steamed milk and a shot on top, or build it over ice for the iced version. Expect roughly 100–180 mg of caffeine depending on the tea and the number of shots.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central: Tea, black, brewed, prepared with tap water (20 mg caffeine per 100 g)
- USDA FoodData Central: Coffee, brewed, espresso, restaurant-prepared (212 mg caffeine per 100 g)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much? (400 mg per day; 71 mg per 12 oz black tea)
