The Journal · Craft & method
Dirty chai latte: chai with a shot of espresso
How to make a dirty chai latte at home, hot or iced: strong chai, a shot of espresso and frothed milk. No syrup, and no espresso machine needed.
By Santhosh Natesan · October 27, 2026 · 2 min read
A dirty chai latte is a chai latte with a shot of espresso in it. The name is usually said to come from the espresso "dirtying" the chai and turning it darker. It is a café drink, but it is easy at home, and it is far better made with real tea and spices than with a sweet chai syrup.
What you need for one dirty chai latte
- 1 level tablespoon of chai, about 5 g
- ½ cup (120 ml) water, just boiled
- 1 shot of espresso, about 1 oz (30 ml). Strong coffee from a moka pot or a French press works if you have no espresso machine.
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk, whole or oat
- 1–2 tablespoons of sugar or maple syrup, optional
How to make a hot dirty chai latte
- Make a strong chai. Put the chai in a mug, pour the just-boiled water over it, cover, and steep for five minutes.
- Make the espresso while the chai steeps.
- Heat and froth the milk. Heat it until it steams, then froth it for about 20 seconds.
- Strain the chai into your cup, stir in the sweetener, and add the espresso.
- Pour in the frothed milk.
Iced dirty chai latte
- Make the chai and espresso as above and sweeten the chai while it is warm. Then let both cool completely, or chill them in the fridge, so they do not melt the ice.
- Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour in the chai and the espresso.
- Top up with about 1 cup (240 ml) of cold milk, and stir once.
If you drink these often, make a batch of our chai concentrate. It keeps five days in the fridge, and then a dirty chai is just concentrate, espresso and milk.
Dirty chai or chai latte?
A chai latte is chai with plenty of frothed milk. A dirty chai adds espresso, so it tastes of coffee as well as spice, and it has more caffeine. If you are watching caffeine, here is what is in a cup of chai. For the version without coffee, see how to make a chai latte at home.
Which chai works best
Espresso is strong, so the chai has to be strong too, or the spice disappears. Our whole-leaf masala chai has six spices, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, clove and black pepper, and the ginger and pepper hold their own against coffee.