Apple Cider Chai Latte
Hot apple cider steeped with a chai tea bag, sweetened with a little maple and topped with frothy milk and cinnamon. A cozy, alcohol-free mug for chilly fall nights.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup apple cider non-alcoholic; unfiltered cider or 100% apple juice
- 1 chai tea bag black tea chai, or rooibos chai for caffeine-free
- 1 to 2 tsp pure maple syrup or brown sugar, to taste
- 1/3 cup milk whole, 2%, oat or coconut
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon for dusting
- 1 cinnamon stick optional, for garnish
- 1 star anise pod optional, garnish only; don't eat it
Instructions
- Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan and heat over medium until it's steaming and tiny bubbles form at the edge, about 3 to 4 minutes. Don't let it boil hard.
- Take the pan off the heat, add the chai tea bag and steep for 4 to 5 minutes. Longer steeping means stronger spice (and more caffeine with black tea chai).
- Remove the tea bag, giving it a gentle squeeze, and stir in the maple syrup. Taste and add a little more if you like it sweeter.
- Heat the milk in the microwave or a small pan until hot but not boiling, then froth it with a handheld frother, a whisk, or by shaking it in a tightly sealed jar with a towel over the lid (careful, it's hot).
- Pour the spiced cider into a mug, then spoon the milk foam on top and pour in the rest of the milk slowly.
- Dust with cinnamon, tuck in a cinnamon stick and float a star anise pod on the foam. Sip carefully, it's hot.
Notes
How to order one at a coffee shop or bar: At a coffee shop, ask: "Could I get a chai latte made with steamed apple juice or cider instead of half the milk?" Plenty of cafes keep apple juice around for kids' steamers, but not all, so a regular chai latte with a pump of cinnamon or caramel is a cozy plan B. At a bar, warm drinks are rare, so ask for apple cider or apple juice over ice with a splash of ginger beer and a cinnamon stick if they have one. Just say "no alcohol, please," since lots of fall bar drinks get spiked by default.
Allergens: contains dairy as written. For dairy-free, use oat milk (it froths best) or coconut milk. Almond milk works too, but it's a tree nut. Check that your chai blend has no added milk powder.
Caffeine: black tea chai has caffeine. Use a rooibos chai for a caffeine-free bedtime mug.
Star anise: it's a garnish only, so don't eat it. Buy it from the grocery spice aisle (culinary star anise), and skip it for babies and toddlers.
Hard cider check: buy regular non-alcoholic apple cider or apple juice from the juice aisle or refrigerated section, not hard cider.
Make it a batch: multiply by 4, steep 4 tea bags in 3 cups of cider, then froth the milk right before serving.