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Tea + coffee

Dirty chai

Masala chai given an espresso shot.

Chai concentrateMilkEspresso

Where it came from

modern Australian and North American cafés

late 20th century

Dirty chai is café slang for adding espresso to masala chai. It emerged wherever espresso bars met the growing popularity of spiced chai lattes.

Make it at home

Starting recipe

You'll need

Chai concentrate
120 g
Milk
100 g
Espresso
36 g
  1. 01

    Build

    Heat chai concentrate with milk, then pour a double espresso into the cup.

  2. 02

    Serve

    Serve immediately and adjust sweetness or dilution to taste.

At a café

Recipes and café sizes vary. Use this as the clearest starting point, then make it yours.