Happy first week of fall, y’all! Today I’m sharing a new recipe in my coffee and tea drink series: a Macro-Friendly Iced Dirty Chai Latte. If you’ve never heard of a dirty chai latte before, it’s basically a combo of chai tea, espresso, and milk and it’s totally delicious. What makes it dirty you may ask? Well it’s really just the shot of espresso, and I assume it’s called “dirty” because the dark espresso muddies up the color of what would otherwise just be a regular chai latte.
We’re in the weird time of year where it’s officially fall, but there are still some pretty warm days (depending on where you live, of course). So an iced coffee drink that includes those incredible masala chai warming spices is absolutely perfect! This one is actually really easy to make, and you can make it even easier by making a big batch of the chai concentrate ahead of time (or just buy some at the store). That’s what you see in the middle of the photo below.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for this latte:
Chai Tea Bags – to make sure that the chai flavors still shine in this latte, you’ll need to brew a really strong cup of tea. I call for 3 tea bags steeped in just 1/2 cup of water, which will essentially give you an easy chai concentrate. You can also buy chai concentrate at the store if you prefer.
Espresso – If you can find it, I’d recommend using a blonde espresso in this drink since it yields a milder and sweeter flavor than the darker roast of espresso. This helps to avoid overpowering the chai spices in the latte. Don’t worry if you can’t find it though, regular will work just fine too!
Ultra filtered milk – I used Fairlife Skim here, but any ultra filtered milk will do! I do like the little bit of richness you get with a 2% version, but skim is the most macro friendly and still creates a nice cold foam.
Sugar free vanilla and Cinnamon Dolce syrup – This is where the sweetness and nice complementary flavors come from, so be sure to get yummy syrups! I like the sugar free syrups made by Skinny Mixes. They have a huge variety of flavors and I’ve really enjoyed the ones I’ve tried so far. If you don’t want to get both vanilla and Cinnamon Dolce flavors, you can definitely opt for one or the other here.
Ground spices – If you want to taste even more of those yummy chai flavors, you can add some ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves right in your latte! Not necessary, but definitely a great option if you like lots of spice.
Ice – I really like the small ice cubes created by these trays.
If you don’t have a milk frother at home, I highly encourage you to invest in one for all your coffee drink needs! Even if I can’t convince you, a protein shaker, blender, or mixer/immersion blender with whisk attachment will work in a pinch. The milk frother truly is the easiest and most convenient though!
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Recipe
Macro-Friendly Iced Dirty Chai Latte
Ingredients
- 1 cup ice
- 1-2 shots blonde espresso (1-2 fl oz)
- 1/2 cup Fairlife Skim Ultra Filtered Milk (4 fl oz)
- 1/2 cup water (4 fl oz)
- 3 chai tea bags
- 2 pumps Jordan's Skinny Syrups Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup (about 1 tbsp)
- 1 pinch each: ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves (optional)
Cinnamon Cold Foam
- 1/4 cup Fairlife Skim Ultra Filtered Milk (2 fl oz)
- 1 pump Jordan's Skinny Syrups Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce Syrup (about 1/2 tbsp)
Instructions
Prep tea. Heat water until almost boiling, then steep chai tea bags in hot water for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags.
Build latte. Add ice to serving glass, then top with tea, syrup, and spices (if using). Add milk, then top with espresso.
Make cold foam. Using a milk frother, froth milk and Cinnamon Dolce syrup until it is foamy and at least double in size. Pour over latte and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
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