Instant Chai Latte Mix

Next week I start back off as a student, so I decided to find a student-budget-friendly version of my favourite morning pick me up- Chai Latte!

My recipe is based on one I found here at Tasty Kitchen. I like this recipe, but I wasn't keen to use dairy creamer, as it contains hydrogenated fat.  I decided to make a recipe that used normal milk and hot water, like a standard cup of black tea.I also left out the cloves, as I'm not a fan of eating them.

It took me a few attempts to get the mix how I like it, so you may have to play around to get the taste you like. I went for sweet and a hint of spice.

Prep time: 20 min

Makes about 60 cups (according to the jar)


1 40g jar Instant black tea (I used Tetley)
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 (half) teaspoon ginger
12 ( twelve) cardamom pods
6 desert spoons icing sugar
2 desert spoons caster sugar
4-6 drops of vanilla essence

1. Take the cardamom seeds out of the pods, I use scissors to cut off the tops and then peel the skins off. Be careful as they may jump out at speed and end up on the floor.
2. Crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar, taking care to remove any chaff from the pods.
3. Add the other spices in and crush.
4. Add in the icing sugar and tea, gently crush to reduce the size of the tea granules. The sugar will puff up into a fine cloud, so be gentle.
5. Add the vanilla essence to the caster sugar and stir well to allow the alcohol to evaporate, keeping the sugar dry, then add to the other ingredients.
6. Crush all the ingredients together one last time, then return to the jar and seal.
7. To make into tea add 1 teaspoon of tea mix to a mug, add hot water and milk to taste, just like a standard cup of tea.

If you don't have a pestle and mortar you can use the end of a rolling pin, with the ingredients in a zip lock-bag :)