Last verified 17 September 2026
Copycat Apple Butter Chai Latte Recipe
How to build the 7 Brew Apple Butter Chai Latte at home — 5 ingredients, 12 minutes, 297 calories a serving, and roughly $2.56 cheaper per drink than the $5.21 you would pay at the window. This is the recipe I keep coming back to when I am not standing in line.
What you are aiming for — a Apple Butter Chai Latte off the board. The stand's Medium is 297 calories; this version comes in at 297.
A Apple Butter Chai Latte is a chai build. Apple butter does something useful here: it thickens the drink slightly and carries both the fruit and the spice. Whisk a tablespoon into the chai while it is still hot and it disappears completely.
At a glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Prep time | 4 minutes |
| Cook time | 8 minutes |
| Total time | 12 minutes |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Yield | 1 drink (16 oz) |
| Calories (per serving) | 297 kcal |
| Sugar | 30 g |
| Caffeine | 150 mg |
| Home cost | $2.65 |
| Stand price (Medium) | $5.21 |
| You save | $2.56 (49%) |
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp loose chai or 2 chai bags
- 120 ml water
- 240 ml whole milk
- 1 tbsp loose chai plus 1 tbsp apple butter
- a cinnamon dusting
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Fine-mesh sieve
- Milk frother or whisk
- 16 oz mug
How to make it
- Put 1 tbsp of loose chai (or 2 bags) in a saucepan with 120 ml of water and bring it to a bare simmer.
- Simmer for 8 minutes. Spices give up their oils to hot water, not to hot milk — this is the step people skip.
- Add 240 ml of whole milk and bring it back to 65 °C. Do not let it boil over.
- Take it off the heat, stir in 1 tbsp loose chai plus 1 tbsp apple butter and let it sit for 1 minute.
- Strain into a mug if you used loose spice, then froth the surface with a whisk for 15 seconds.
- Finish with a cinnamon dusting and a light dusting of cinnamon or cardamom.
Tips that actually matter
- Whisk the apple butter into the hot chai base, not the milk — it dissolves better.
- One tbsp is enough. More turns the drink gloopy.
- This is a genuinely autumn drink; it is heavy for summer.
Variations
- Iced apple butter chai: chill the base fully first.
- Caramel apple chai: add 1 tsp of caramel syrup.
- Skip the chai spice and use it as an apple butter latte.
What it costs to make at home
| Component | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp loose chai or 2 chai bags | $0.55 |
| 120 ml water | $0.48 |
| 240 ml whole milk | $0.35 |
| 1 tbsp loose chai plus 1 tbsp apple butter | $0.35 |
| a cinnamon dusting | $0.35 |
| Total per serving | $2.65 |
| Stand price (Medium 24 oz) | $5.21 |
| Saving per drink | $2.56 |
Costs assume supermarket prices and a syrup bottle amortised over roughly 25 drinks. The first drink is more expensive than $2.65 because you are buying the bottle; by the fifth drink you are clearly ahead.
How this recipe compares
Across all 46 copycat recipes on this site, this one is the 46th fastest at 12 minutes and the 24th lightest at 297 calories — 5 calories below the 302-calorie average.
Same technique (chai)
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