Best Chai Concentrate, Because Coffee Shops Are Too Expensive

The best chai concentrate is an easy shortcut to making chai lattes that rival the $6 ones you find at your local coffee shop. (They charge $7.50 for a chai at the cafe near me. Robbery!) We’re talking warm, cozy spices mixed with earthy, floral black tea. Maybe there’s a touch of sweetness—maybe there’s a lot of sweetness. It all depends on your preferences. And no matter those preferences, we found the best chai tea concentrate for you. 

I tried 11 chai concentrates—all mixed with oat milk. Because that’s the type of milk we had in the Sporked fridge. I mixed them per the instructions on the packaging (pretty much all of them called for a one-to-one ratio) and evaluated them based on both flavor and how well they mixed into the milk. I looked for a range of chai latte concentrate flavors. I wanted to find a chai latte mix that could be a dupe for Starbucks’ chai. I wanted to find the best unsweetened chai concentrate. I wanted to find a super spicy chai concentrate. And I tried my best to find a good decaf chai concentrate—but I failed. I’ll keep trying, though, I promise. And I’ll update this ranking when I find a truly delicious decaf chai concentrate. 

Here’s the best chai concentrate to buy, my budding baristas. (Looking for the best chai tea bags instead? We tasted and ranked those, too.)

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Best Unsweetend Chai

Bhakti Fresh Ginger Chai Sugar Free Unsweetened

I don’t think you should drink completely unsweetened chai. I really think a chai latte needs some sweetener to be successful. But if you disagree or if you prefer to add your own sweetener (please add your own sweetener), then this is the best sugar free chai tea concentrate. It packs a ton of fresh ginger paired with some good, tannic black tea flavor. You gotta promise to sweeten it, though. It needs it.

Credit: Merc / Amazon

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Best Cinnamon Heavy

Yogi Classic Organic Chai

If you hear “chai” and you think “cinnamon,” then this is the chai mix for you. Seriously, whoever made this has a heavy, heavy hand with the cinnamon shaker. But Yogi manages to rein it in just before it becomes overwhelmingly cinnamony. And there’s just a light hint of ginger. Don’t love super spicy chai concentrate? This is the chai latte concentrate for you. It’s cozy, it’s easy going, and would be nice on a fall day.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Starbucks Dupe

Tazo Classic Chai Latte

Many, many, many people’s first (and sometimes only) experience with chai lattes is at Starbucks. Well, say goodbye to the ‘Bucks, because you can make your own Starbucks chai latte at home thanks to this chai tea latte concentrate. It’s very boldly flavorful with a lot of zippy spices. Personally, I’ll be using this chai concentrate for my dirty chai lattes (chai lattes spiked with espresso), because the very strong flavors won’t be overcome by the coffee.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Spicy Chai

Bhakti Fresh Ginger Chai

Do you want it spicy? Like, do you want your chai so spicy it might as well as be a scrambled premium cable channel from the ‘90s? Then the best chai tea concentrate for you is Bhakti Fresh Ginger Chai. They aren’t lying about the ginger. This stuff is crazy gingery—like a ginger cookie made with fresh grated ginger. It all comes together to make a chai tea latte that tastes like something from a cool, local spot.

Credit: Merc / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Minor Figures Barista Chai Concentrate

This new chai concentrate from Minor Figures (maker of Minor Figures oat milk, a celebrated brand among foodies), is more than just really aesthetically pleasing packaging. It’s also the best chai concentrate I tried. It’s somehow both mellow and spicy. You can taste the ginger and cinnamon, but the spices don’t blow out your palate. There’s a touch of sweetness that weaves the spices and the tea together—and there’s a lot more of that actual tea flavor in this chai tea concentrate than any of the others. This is a carefully and thoughtfully crafted chai mix. And the only negative is that you need to buy it through the website. And you have to purchase at least two containers. But once you try it, I don’t think you’ll have any problem finishing your shipment.

Credit: Merc / Minor Figures

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Other chai tea concentrate brands we tried: Oregon Chai Sugar Free, Oregon Chai Slightly Sweet Chai Tea Latte, Oregon Chai Spiced, Oregon Chai Original, Tazo Decaf Chai Latte, Tazo Skinny Chai Latte


About the Author

Justine Sterling

Justine Sterling is the editor-in-chief of Sporked. She has been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and is an avid at-home cook and snacker. Don’t worry, she’s not a food snob. Sure, she loves a fresh-shucked oyster. But she also will leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and loves a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.