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Mix up a batch of Chai Tea Mix and skip the coffee shop! Enjoy a steamy mug of Chai Tea at home with this easy recipe. Mix with hot water, then breathe in the spicy, soothing aromas of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamon with every sip!
This EASY recipe is a fragrant mixture of some of my favorite pantry spices — cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cardamom — along with non-dairy powdered creamer, dry milk powder, sugar, and unsweet instant tea.
All it takes is five minutes and a few ingredients from your pantry!

Instant chai tea mix
Today may be the official first day of Spring, but early mornings and evenings are still quite chilly around here. Chilly temps are a perfect time for getting cozy and sipping on a warm mug of Chai tea.
A friend shared this recipe with me for Instant Chai Tea Mix, so now it’s easy and convenient to enjoy Chai without making a special trip to the coffee house — and it’s much cheaper, too!

Spiced milk tea
“Chai” is the common word for “tea” in many parts of the world. What we’ve come to enjoy at American coffee houses actually originated in India as a spiced milk tea generally made up of a sweetened rich black tea, heavy milk, and a combination of various spices.
With this instant recipe you don’t actually seep the tea so it’s not particularly authentic, but for a quick drink you can make at home it’s actually very tasty.

Ingredients
There’s nothing unique about these ingredients, but together they make a delicious cup of tea:
- Non-fat dry milk powder
- Sugar
- Non-dairy powdered creamer plus non-dairy French vanilla powdered creamer
- Unsweet instant tea
- Spices: ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cardamom
To make this recipe, you may need…
Chai tea mix is a great gift idea, so you might want to make a double batch to package as Easter or teacher appreciation gifts. I love these glass jars from Amazon with hinged lids and matching spoons — so pretty and perfect for chai tea!

Serving suggestions
This Chai Tea Mix recipe makes about 40 servings, so there will be plenty enough to share. To serve, place two heaping tablespoons of the mix into a mug. Add hot water and stir until combined, then enjoy!
Please share!
Your shares are how this site grows and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or on your favorite Pinterest board!

Chai Tea Mix
Ingredients
- 1 cup non-fat dry milk powder
- 1 cup non-dairy powdered creamer
- 1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsweet instant tea
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon all spice
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and store in a tight jar.
- To serve, place 2 heaping tablespoons of Chai Tea Mix into a mug. Add hot water and stir.
Can you change the French vanilla to a different flavor?
Diann, you can experiment if you like, but I think a vanilla variation will work best.
What’s the serving measurement per cup of hot water?
Shannell, add about 6 ounces of hot water to 2 tablespoons of the chai tea mix and whisk for a delicious drink!
Do you by chance know what the shelf life of this would be?
Kelsey, I’d determine the shelf life by looking at the expiration date on the ingredients’ package (that you use to make the recipe). Happy Holidays!
Do you grind the spices? I’ve made this and even blending it in my bullet, find it very granular. Very yummy, but granular. Some of the spices don’t dissolve. Have I done something wrong?
Hi, Cindy. You should definitely use ground spices in this recipe.