Summer is settling in with its warm glory, and this is the perfect time to enjoy a refreshingly cold, and healthy drink. Our chai can be prepared iced! However, for those of you who have traveled to India, and consumed chai in India, you will know that no matter the temperature of the earth, we typically only drink our chai hot. It could be 115° outside and you will still find us drinking a hot cup of chai. (Perhaps this is why friends will find me (Esther) continuing to choose hot water instead of iced water to drink with any given meal, any time of the year.) As ludicrous as it might sound, a hot drink on a hot day is actually proven to help lower your body temperature, and keep you cool. (There are also studies that show drinking a hot drink is beneficial to digestion.)

Nevertheless, due to popular request, and because it is simply delicious, I wanted to show you how to prepare our chai cold.

Now, this is not the typical, “throw a few tea bags into a cup with some milk and ice and call it a chai latte” type of recipe. To make an authentic cup of iced chai it will take a bit more time and effort, but I guarantee you the results will be worth it!!

(That said, I have included an alternative recipe for those who need to make a quick cup of our chai, without waiting for it to cool and refrigerate. I personally prefer the longer version, as I think it has far more flavour, but feel free to try both and let us know what you like best!)

Iced Cold Chai Recipe #1 (slow version, boil first, more flavour, worth the wait!) 

To get started, you will need your Chai Garden blend of choice. You can really choose any blend to do this recipe with. I chose Rose Petal Chai for this post, and it was beautiful, and delicious!

Add a table spoon of chai to a mortar and pestle, and grind thoroughly.

Pour ground mixture into a small pot. Cover with one part water, one part milk (I prefer my chai extra creamy, so I typically do 1/2 cup of water, and one cup of milk), and boil on high. When the chai bubbles and rises, turn the temperature down to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Turn off the stove, and set the chai aside to cool. When cold enough, place in the fridge for about an hour to chill. (Note: do not strain your chai yet! Allow the spices to sit in the chai so the flavors increase immensely whilst chilling in the fridge.)

After your chai has cooled in the fridge, strain into a glass. Add a few ice cubes, and a whole spice cinnamon stick and/or star anise, and enjoy!

{If you like the elegant tea strainer you see in these images, you can buy one from our shop!}

If you have followed some of our previous posts, you might have noticed that the first few steps are essentially the same method as How to Make Authentic Indian Chai. If you have not seen that post, I suggest browsing it for a few helpful tips. You can also watch out instructional video below, and simply cool your chai in the fridge after following the method in this video.

Iced Cold Chai Recipe #2 (no boiling, quick version)

ALTERNATIVE RECIPE: If you do not have time to invest into boiling and cooling your chai, you can try this alternative, faster method.

Add one table spoon of your chai blend to a food processor/blender. Grind on high until a fine powder forms. Sift the mixture to remove any remaining large spice pieces. I used our Elegant Tea Strainer to sift the blend.

Add one heaped teaspoon of the finely ground chai to a glass cup.

Pour 1 part cold milk and 1 part old water over spices.

Add honey, and stir thoroughly.

Add ice cubes, and a cinnamon stick and/or star anise, and enjoy!

(If you want to make this into a “Dirty” Chai, or Chai Coffee, follow this recipe.)

For the sake of readability and the convenience of printing, I have included these two recipes below. Please let us know if you have any questions, and we would love to hear your feedback when you try one of our recipes!

Print Recipe Iced Cold Chai Recipe #1 (slow version, boil first, more flavour, worth the wait!)  Prep Time15 minutes mins Cooling Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins Equipment boiling pot mortar and pestle tea strainer Ingredients 1 tbsp Chai Garden blend 1 cup milk (we like to use oatmilk) 1 cup water 1 tbsp honey 1/4 cup ice cubes Instructions Add a table spoon of chai to a mortar and pestle, and grind thoroughly. Pour ground mixture into a small pot. Cover with one part water, one part milk (I prefer my chai extra creamy, so I typically do 1/2 cup of water, and one cup of milk), and boil on high. When the chai bubbles and rises, turn the temperature down to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove, and set the chai aside to cool (about 30 min). When cold enough, place in the fridge for about an hour to chill. (Note: do not strain your chai yet! Allow the spices to sit in the chai so the flavors increase immensely whilst chilling in the fridge.) After your chai has cooled in the fridge, strain into a glass. Add a few ice cubes, and a whole spice cinnamon stick and/or star anise, and enjoy! Notes {If you like the elegant tea strainer you see in these images, you can buy one from our shop!} If you have followed some of our previous posts, you might have noticed that the first few steps are essentially the same method as How to Make Authentic Indian Chai. If you have not seen that post, I suggest browsing it for a few helpful tips. You can also watch our instructional video above, and simply cool your chai in the fridge after following the method in the video.

Print Recipe Iced Cold Chai Recipe #2 (no boiling, quick version) Prep Time15 minutes mins Equipment Food processor/Coffee Grinder Strainer/sifter Ingredients 1 tbsp Chai Garden blend 1 cup cold milk (we like to use oatmilk) 1 cup cold water honey ice cubes Instructions Add one table spoon of your chai blend to a food processor/blender. Grind on high until a fine powder forms. Sift the mixture to remove any remaining large spice pieces. I used our Elegant Tea Strainer to sift the blend. Add one heaped teaspoon of the finely ground chai to a glass cup. Pour 1 part cold milk and 1 part old water over spices. Add honey, and stir thoroughly. Add ice cubes, and a cinnamon stick and/or star anise, and enjoy! Notes If you find your chai blend does not grind small enough, I suggest straining it once more after you have added the milk and water and allowed it to sit for a few minutes.