Starbucks Dirty Chai Latte- Recipe and Everything!

Morning Joe and afternoon pick-ups are essential to our busy culture. Thanks to Starbucks for shouldering the responsibility to bestow tempting and rejuvenating beverages. 

Starbucks’ Dirty chai latte is one such refreshing and toothsome drink that captivates chai lovers. Chai lattes are very famous these days, and it is possible that an admirer of Starbucks would have tried it at least once. While it is a delicacy to enjoy with the beautiful ambiance of Starbucks coffeehouse, it is also an effortless drink that can be prepared at home with an array of flavours.

If you adore the spicy goodness of tea, you will probably love a dirty chai latte too. Where the flavours of Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves in the black tea offer warmth, the espresso compliments the drink with some intense taste. Nevertheless, the mixture amalgamates different savours making it unique and flavourful. Does it feel mouth-watering yet? Read the article for more facts about the Dirty tea latte, beneficial information for placing an order for it to your doorstep, or preparing the recipe right in your kitchen. 

While placing an order-

Regardless of the season and time, a dirty tea latte can be enjoyed, and both are served with frothy steamed Milk or over-iced. In terms of sizes, a Starbucks hot dirty tea latte is available in short, tall, grande, and Venti. At the same time, the iced dirty tea latte is available in tall, grande, and Venti

In terms of espresso roast, Starbucks’ signature espresso is primarily used for almost all espresso beverages. It is dark roast and standard. Along with this, there are caffeine contained-blonde roasts and decaf espresso. Nevertheless, this drink is caffeine-rich, as black tea is already considered to be the most caffeinated Starbucks drink. At the same time, espresso adds more to it, both caffeine and taste. Here are some tips and step-by-step instructions for you to try the espresso at your home.

Let’s begin with a recipe overview

As mentioned above, the Starbucks dirty tea latte is made with only three ingredient, including black concentrate tea, Milk, and espresso. These products can be bought ready-made from the stores or can be easily prepared in your kitchen.

The typical Starbucks Dirty chai latte recipe contains reduced-fat milk. At the same time, the replica of it can have the Milk of your choice, including almond, oat, soy, or other. In the case of a hot tea latte, make sure to steam the Milk, or else for iced tea, use cold Milk.

Starbucks prefers their signature espresso roast for making dirty chai, along with offering choices including blonde and decaf. However, you can use your preferred espresso.

Along with a dirty chai latte with one espresso shot, Starbucks also serves double dirty chai with two espresso shots. Therefore, you can select the number of espresso shots in your replica customized recipe.

What are the required ingredients?

required ingredients
  • Concentrated black tea or chai
  • Preferred Milk
  • Spices Including Cinnamon powder and nutmeg (optional)
  • Shot of Espresso

For espresso, if you have an espresso machine, Bravo. All you need to do now is to use either your favourite coffee beans. Or else, you can use Starbucks Espresso Roast Coffee Beans and make espresso in a Moka pot or French presser.

All these can help you prepare the standard cup of dirty chai latte. Whereas, if you desire to have a blonde espresso for a chai latte, here is the recipe provided by us.

Before diving into the recipe preparation, let’s look into the required equipment-

required equipment
  • Tea Kettle
  • Measuring Spoons 
  • Espresso Maker
  • Milk Frother
  • Serving Glass of your required size 
  • Sprinkler

Here are the steps to make Starbucks Dirty tea Latte-

Step 1: Pour the black concentrate tea into a cup

Using homemade chai; well and good. However, while using a store-bought tea, follow the instructions on the pack to have an accurate Starbucks delicacy. Make sure to adjust the amount of chai according to yours.

Step 2: Make Chai Latte 

  • For Hot Tea Latte, steam Milk –
steam Milk

Warm up the Milk using either stove, microwave, electric kettle, or steam wand. Make sure not to exceed the temperature over 65 degrees. Once your Milk is prepared with some froth, texture, and glossy look, pour it over the chai.

Skip steaming and add cold Milk with ice to the glass.

Step 3: Brew Espresso-

This is the second last step to prepare Starbucks Dirty Chai Tea Latte. Brew espresso and add it to the chai latte. All you need to decide at this moment is the number of espresso shots you want to add to your Dirty tea latte

Brew Espresso

Step 4: Sprinkle a little powdered cinnamon or add nutmeg syrup to give it more flavour if you like it. And there, you are all set to enjoy a homemade Starbucks Dirty tea latte.

Choices offered by Starbucks to make your dirty tea latte more healthy and delicious-

For less-calorie Dirty Tea latte-

If you are one of the fitness-admiring or calorie-obsessed people, here are some pro tips on how you can enjoy the Dirty chai latte with fewer calories and more healthy options.

Dirty chai latte is among the delicious beverages offered by Starbucks, and sometimes it’s quite uncontrollable to suppress our cravings for them. However, being cautious about calorie intake is also an appreciation. So, here are some insights into the calories contained in the Dirty chai latte.

Dirty Tea latte

The Starbucks’ Dirty chai latte can have nearly 240 calories. However, you still get the choice to increase or decrease the number of calories by opting for specific Milk or replacing sugar content with fewer chai pumps.

Maintaining your calories is an important task in today’s unhealthy world. And let’s be real, there is no point in having a drink loaded with unnecessary empty calories. So, here we have brought you an entire Starbucks menu to help you thoroughly examine calories and other content and select what suits your healthy food routine.

Starbucks offers a wide range of beverages, most of which are milk-based. But thanks to their options for offering substitutes if required. Amid their offerings, Starbucks provides a list of Milk from the lowest to the highest calories.

Oat milk – 70 Calories

Non-fat Milk – 40 Calories

Soy Milk – 65 Calories

Almond Milk – 30 Calories

Coconut Milk – 40 Calories

2% Milk – 65 Calories

Whole Milk – 75 Calories

Based on your calorie counts, you can select any of the above Milk for your dirty tea latte. Also, you can order a skinny version of your drink at Starbucks, which contains non-fat Milk, sugar-free syrup, and no cream. Thereby helping you maintain your calories along with letting you enjoy a delicious drink.

Sweetening your drink- 

The majority of Starbucks drinks contain a couple of simple syrup pumps as a sweetener. And each pump of their sugar-free syrup has approximately 20 calories. So, to avoid increasing your calories to the extreme and enjoying a sweetened drink, go for sugar-free vanilla syrup. 

At the same time, you can opt for Splenda or Stevia in the raw packet. Compared to sugar, both are much sweeter; therefore, you do not require to use a large amount of them to sweeten up your drinks.

This is the mantra for ordering low calorie at Starbucks Dirty chai latte. However, you can opt for these options for your homemade replica of Starbucks’ Dirty tea latte. Your homemade dirty chai latte can also have some of your touches, which is why the ingredient selection is totally your choice. And when you can, why not make it delicious and healthy all at once? Enjoy your dirty tea latte without unnecessary calories. 

A complimentary tip to make your drink with less-calories-

Order a dirty tea latte with almond milk or non-fat Milk. For sugar content, try adding a store-bought sugar-free syrup or zero-calorie sweetener. More specifically, add vanilla syrup not just for sweetening but also for flavour. 

 Try a vegan Starbucks dirty chai latte?

 All you need to do is use a vegan milk and you are good to go, as other ingredients are already plant-based.

Wrapping it up-

Despite various coffeehouses having created numerous variations of dirty chai latte, Starbucks took the narrative forward to the future to hold off the opportunity to capitalize on the peerless taste of dirty chai latte. The dirty chai latte by Starbucks has become a big hit among both coffee lovers and non-coffee lovers, owing to its loose taste of coffee and flavourful sips.

This Chai Latte blesses the taste buds with a touch of warm spices and a refreshing savour of classic coffee. Its deep and diligent taste of spices dives into your tongue, offering an intense taste of espresso shots. The sugary syrup on top of it works wonders at the same time. Enjoyed in both iced and hot form, this dirty tea latte can be a great alternative to your morning sips or evening snack.

Dirty Chai Latte

Combined with espresso shots and chai concentrate, enjoy your dirty chai latte topped with comforting spices.
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Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes
Calories: 240kcal

Ingredients

Chai Concentrate-

  • Tea bag
  • Sugar Syrup/Honey
  • Ginger Juice

Dirty Chai Latte

  • Chai Concentrated or black tea
  • Preferred Milk
  • Spices Including Cinnamon powder and nutmeg (optional)
  • Shot of Espresso

Instructions

  • Prepare tea concentrate by heating 2 cups of water with the spices for over 5 minutes.
  • Add a tea bag and sugar or honey.
  • Let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes.
  • For Hot Dirty Chai Latte- Pour the concentrate in the cup, add milk, add espresso shot, sprinkle spices, and enjoy your cup of dirty chai latte.
  • For Iced Dirty Chai latte- Pour the concentrate in the cup, add ice cubes and cold preferred milk, add espresso shots, and enjoy.

Nutrition

Serving: 16g | Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Fat: 9g | Sodium: 110mg | Sugar: 45g

So, that’s it! We hope this replica recipe can help you with the same taste and elegance of Starbuck’s Dirty chai latte. The provided recipe is tried and tasted. What’s more, you can experiment with other chai-friendly spices if you like experimenting. All that we desire to ensure is to assist you in preparing the exact taste right in your kitchen with the available equipment you have. So, what is it that you are waiting for now? Try out this recipe and let us know your experiences in the comment section.

I'm a coffee lover, foodie, and blogger - passionate about coffee and all the things that go with it. I write about coffee, and news, learn about new coffees from across the world, do some home roasting, and share my thoughts on various other topics.