Enjoy the spicy flavors of chai tea with this instant vanilla chai tea mix. This instant chai tea mix makes it quick and easy to create chai tea lattes to enjoy as a flavorful winter drink. Or gift this vanilla chai tea mix to friends and family as an affordable homemade holiday food gift. Discover how to make an easy, instant vanilla chai tea recipe for lattes for a cozy winter treat now!
How to Make Instant Vanilla Chai Tea Mix for Homemade Holiday Food Gifts
I first discovered loose leaf tea during my first marriage. Once I’d tried tea this way, it was over. There was no looking back. I soon had an entire shelf in my pantry that was nothing but flavored loose leaf teas. Once I tried my first chai tea, well. That was the ultimate luxury. And truth be told, I wasn’t even a coffee drinker at this point. That came years later.
While my instant vanilla chai tea is a powdered mix, not a loose leaf tea, it’s still as yummy as the real deal. There are a number of advantages of making a powdered tea mix versus using loose leaf tea. It travels well. It’s super quick to make, there’s less waste and it’s super easy to gift. Simply package your instant vanilla chai tea mix in a mason jar to give as homemade holiday food gifts. Or use mason jars for easy storage in your pantry.
While I prefer to brew fresh assam tea for my vanilla chai latte recipe, an easy alternative is to mix an instant tea into vanilla chai latte spice mix. (I give directions on how to make both instant chai tea lattes and traditional chai tea lattes using loose leaf tea.)
Health Benefits of Drinking Chai Tea
Chai tea doesn’t just taste amazing, it also has a number of health benefits. According to Healthline, masala chai tea (or rather spicy Indian chai tea) can help improve your health by providing benefits for heart health, digestion and blood sugar level control.
How Chai tea supports a healthy heart.
By consuming as little as 120 mg of cinnamon a day, you can help lower your bad cholesterol. In addition, the black tea used to make my chai tea mix can also aid in lower cholesterol levels. While increasing consumption of black tea to three or more cups a day may lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Drink Chai to help control blood sugar.
The cinnamon in chai tea does more than lower bad cholesterol though. When combined with ginger it’s possible that it may reduce insulin resistance as well as fasting blood sugar levels. In fact, just a few grams of each everyday can help lower blood sugar levels even in those with type 2 diabetes. Just be sure to skip the sweetner. (I promise, chai tea is still fantastic black!)
Chai tea supports health and wellness.
As every chai tea mix is made with ginger, it naturally helps to ease symptoms of nausea. Additionally, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and even black pepper have antibacterial properties. What this means for you is that drinking chai may support healthy immunity and give your body a boost when fighting seasonal winter colds or the flu.
Ready to enjoy the benefits of sipping this warm and spicy tea this winter? Here’s the recipe to make your own instant vanilla chai tea mix!
Vanilla Chai Tea Mix Recipe
Ingredients for Instant Chai Tea:
2 Tablespoons cardamom powder
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon allspice powder
1 Tablespoon nutmeg powder
3 Tablespoons ginger root powder
2 teaspoons clove powder
2 teaspoons sweet cinnamon powder
1 whole vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened black instant tea, optional (see below)
Directions for A Making Instant Chai Tea with Vanilla Bean:
To make this vanilla chai tea mix, begin by scraping the vanilla beans out of the vanilla bean pod, if using. Then measure out the remaining spices, and instant tea if using, into a glass bowl. Mix well.
Evenly divide the vanilla chai mix between three 4 oz. mason jars for gifts. Alternately you also use a large jar for your own personal storage.
Alternate directions for DIY Vanilla Chai Tea Mix:
If you prefer to brew fresh assam tea for your vanilla chai lattes, then omit the instant tea. Instead, increase amounts of the spices to fit inside mason jars in your choice of size. Then gift the mix with a box of Assam tea bags. Alternately you can also gift your chai tea mix with loose leaf Assam tea or vanilla black assam tea (and omit the vanilla from the spice mix recipe.) Just be sure to include a tea strainer or disposable tea bags with your gift if you opt for gifting loose leaf tea.
(You can store your vanilla chai latte mix in an airtight container for up to a month.)
Don’t forget to include instructions with your DIY holiday gifts on how to use the vanilla chai tea spice mix to make the lattes! You can find the directions for brewing a latte (with dairy or non-dairy milk) using my spiced tea mix below.
Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup milk (or dairy free coconut milk or homemade almond milk)
organic sugar, coconut sugar or maple syrup, to taste
2 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla chai tea mix (or 1 Tablespoon if you omitted the instant tea)
2 Assam tea bags or 2 teaspoons loose leaf assam tea, optional (dependent on mix)
Directions on How to Make a Chai Latte Using an Instant Tea Mix:
If you included instant black tea in your vanilla chai latte mix recipe, you’ll need to follow these directions for making your latte.
Mix 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the chai latte mix with two cups (or 8 oz.) of warm milk or a dairy free alternative.
Mix well with an immersion blender, then sweeten to taste.
Directions on How to Make a Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Using Loose Leaf Tea:
Add the milk or milk alternative to a double boiler or small saucepan. Then add one Tablespoon vanilla chai tea mix. Mix with an immersion blender.
Heat the milk and spices over low until the milk reaches 130°F, stirring often to avoid scorching.
Next, add the chai tea bags (or loose leaf tea in a strainer or disposable tea bag.) Steep the tea in the milk and spices for 5-minutes or to desired strength.
Then strain the tea bags and add your choice of sweetener to suit. Mix again for good measure.
Now pour the latte into an 8 oz. mug. Then sip and enjoy.
Instant Vanilla Chai Tea Mix Recipe

Enjoy the spicy flavors of chai tea with this instant vanilla chai tea mix recipe for easy chai tea lattes to enjoy as a flavorful winter drink.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons cardamom powder
- 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon allspice powder
- 1 Tablespoon nutmeg powder
- 3 Tablespoons ginger root powder
- 2 teaspoons clove powder
- 2 teaspoons sweet cinnamon powder
- 1 whole vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder)
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened black instant tea
Instructions
- Scrape the vanilla beans out of the vanilla bean pod.
- Measure out the remaining spices and combine in a glass bowl with the instant tea. Mix well.
- Place the vanilla chai mix in a large mason jar.
Notes
To brew a vanilla chai tea latte, mix 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the vanilla chai tea latte mix with two cups (or 8 oz.) of warm milk or a dairy free alternative. Mix with an immersion blender until the ingredients are evenly dispersed, then sweeten to taste.
This vanilla chai latte mix can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
13Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 9Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
If you love traditional Masala chai tea, then be sure to check out my loose leaf chai tea recipe.Or try my healthy golden milk latte recipe.
More Homemade Holiday Food Gifts
What are some other ideas for making homemade holiday food gifts for friends and family? There are so many options for gifting food throughout the holiday season. Here are more of my yummy recipes for your homemade holiday food gifts this winter. Also be sure to check out these homemade food gift ideas on Pinterest.
- Vanilla Mocha Coffee Marshmallows Recipe
- Hot Chocolate Bombs with Marshmallows Recipe
- Homemade Caramel Apples with White Chocolate & Oreos
- No Bake Bourbon Balls Recipe with Woodford Reserve
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies with Pecan Streusel
- Easy Brown Sugar Drop Cookies Recipe
- Warm & Spicy Molasses Cookies Recipe
- Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe
- Organic Chai Tea Mix Recipe
- Easy Homemade Tea Gifts with Printable Labels
- Homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe from Scratch
This post originally appeared on Soap Deli News.
If you like my instant vanilla chai tea mix recipe, then be sure check out these other ideas for Christmas food gifts. You can also follow Becca Ink on Facebook and Instagram, for more great food recipes.