Chai Concentrate – Herbal Tea Concentrate (Masala Chai)

Homemade masala chai concentrate or herbal tea concentrate to make delicious, easy masala chai or herbal black tea or iced tea! This is quick, easy and simple to make at home and you can have warm masala chai or iced tea for days without having to prepare tea from scratch every single time. Also, there is a much more easier alternative way to make chai concentrate using masala tea bags instead of using black tea bags and spices which will be explained in the post!

Chai Concentrate Using Black Tea & Spices

This homemade chai concentrate is made using black tea bags (you may use black tea leaves or powder as well) and spices to make the herbal mix.

The prepared homemade tea concentrate will last for about two weeks in refrigerator and you can store it in the freezer for even longer periods of time.

Just add milk to the prepared chai concentrate and heat it in the microwave (use a microwave safe cup) to make easy, quick masala chai from the concentrate!

Or you can simply add more water and ice cubes to make quick iced tea.

Also, if you want the tea to be more sweet like sweetened iced tea, you can simply add more sugar while making the iced tea to adjust to your taste!

Chai Concentrate Using Masala Tea Bags

Another super easy and quicker way to make chai concentrate is to use masala tea bags!

These masala tea bags are already infused with spices required to make masala chai, so you do not need to add extra spices!

More easy recipes & posts on tea include orange peel tea, how long to microwave water for tea, pumpkin spice chai latte, iced tea latte with pumpkin cold foam, chamomile tea, honey green tea, royal milk tea, coffee milk tea, iced peach green tea and more!

So here is how you can make easy, quick homemade masala chai concentrate or tea concentrate.

How To Make Masala Chai Concentrate Or Herbal Tea Concentrate?

To make easy masala chai or tea concentrate, we use the following ingredients.

Ingredients

black tea bags 12 (English breakfast tea or any of your favorite tea or you can use 3 tablespoons of loose black tea leaves or powder)

water 5 cups (more as needed while making individual cups of chai or tea)

sugar 1 cup

cinnamon sticks 2 (small sized)

star anise 2

cardamom pods 4

ginger powder 1 teaspoon

to make tea or chai:

water as needed

milk as needed

ice cubes as needed

Notes: For alternate method using masala tea bags just replace black tea bags with masala tea bags and no need to use any spices since the tea bags are already infused with spices!

Step by step instructions

Add the water and sugar to a saucepan, stir well and bring the mixture to a boil. While you boil the mixture, stir often so the sugar will dissolve easily.

Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to medium low, add all the spices (here we use cardamom pods, star anise, cinnamon sticks and ginger powder), stir well to combine.

Simmer the contents for about 3 to 4 minutes until the flavors are well blended. If you simmer for more time, that may cause bitterness to the tea from the spices used.

Keep in mind that the water will reduce in amount as you boil the contents, which is natural.

Once it is done, turn off the heat and add the tea bags. Let the tea steep for about 5 minutes.

Once the tea is steeped, discard the tea bags and allow the mixture to cool down (do not leave the tea bags in the water for more time, since that may cause bitter taste to the tea).

Once it is cooled enough, strain the prepared tea concentrate so the whole spices and any residue from boiling the spices is removed.

Transfer the filtered tea concentrate to a jar or pitcher and keep it refrigerated for about two weeks!

If you wish to store this tea concentrate for longer periods, you will need to transfer the concentrate to ice cube trays and store in freezer.

Alternate Method Using Masala Tea Bags:

If using masala tea bags instead of regular black tea bags, you do not need to add any spices while making chai concentrate.

Just boil the water and sugar mixture, then steep the tea using masala tea bags for 3 to 4 minutes time.

Once the tea is steeped, discard the masala tea bags and allow the mixture to cool down to store in refrigerator (for about two weeks just like when using regular black tea bags) or you can immediately prepare tea from concentrate and enjoy!

To prepare chai from tea concentrate:

Pour ½ cup of tea concentrate to a cup. Add ½ cup of water to make black tea or add ½ cup of whole milk to make milk tea (masala chai).

Stir the ingredients to combine well. If you need more sugar, you can add more and stir well to dissolve.

If you want a warm cup of tea, use a microwave safe cup and heat in the microawave for about 1 minute or until the tea is hot enough, stir well and enjoy.

To prepare iced tea from tea concentrate:

If you want iced tea, add ice cubes to a cup (about 2 to 3 or as you prefer for a cup of tea), and pour the prepared mixture (tea concentrated mixed with water or milk) over the ice cubes and stir well, enjoy.

You may also add more sugar and stir well to dissolve with the prepared tea to suit your taste and you may also squeeze in some fresh lemon juice if desired!

Below you can get the recipe for chai concentrate or tea concentrate in detail.