Apple Cider Chai Recipe: Hot or Iced

The Tasting Table / Fall recipes

Apple cider chai combines a strong infusion of spiced black tea with apple cider. This easy chaider recipe makes one generous cup, with directions for serving it hot or over ice.

Some afternoons call for a mug of something warm without the richness of a latte. Apple cider chai fits that moment: apple brings sweetness and a little tartness, while black tea and spice give the drink a deeper finish.

The ingredients are simple. Brew the tea separately, strain it, then add the cider. That keeps the steeping time under your control and lets you adjust the balance before the first sip.

Jump to the recipe · Make it iced · Common questions

What is chaider?

Chaider is a casual name for chai mixed with cider. Here, it means brewed masala chai and real, nonalcoholic apple cider. There is no milk in this version, which keeps the apple and spice flavors clear.

For the tea, use The Bazaar, our Assam black tea blend with cloves, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, star anise, and cinnamon and cardamom flavorings. The spices are already part of the prepared blend, so you do not need to simmer a separate pan of whole spices.

Choose the cider first

Look for plain, nonalcoholic apple cider with no added sweetener or spices. It already has sweetness from the apples; taste the finished drink before adding syrup. A heavily spiced cider can overwhelm the tea.

Use drinking cider, not apple cider vinegar or hard cider. If apple juice is what you have, it works too, though its flavor depends on the juice. Begin with the same amount and adjust after mixing.

A note on the tea strength: this recipe uses the usual 2.5 g tea dose with half the water in our standard infusion, leaving room for the cider. It is a concentrated tea base for a mixed drink. For a regular cup, follow our loose leaf masala chai brewing guide.

How to make it iced

Brew and strain the same concentrated tea, then cool and refrigerate it until chilled. Keep the cider cold; skip the warming step. Combine the chilled tea and cider, taste, and pour over ice in a glass with enough room for both the drink and the cubes.

Cooling the tea first matters. Pouring it hot over ice melts the cubes quickly and can leave you with a diluted drink.

Adjust the cup to your taste

• Too sweet? Skip the maple syrup and replace a little cider with brewed tea.
• Not enough spice? Try a little more tea in the next batch while keeping the same steeping window.
• Too bitter? Use the shorter, 5-minute steep and remove the leaves promptly. Longer steeping is not the best way to make the tea stronger.
• Making two? Double the tea, water and cider. Keep the temperature and steeping time the same.

Common questions

Does apple cider chai contain caffeine?

This version does because The Bazaar contains Assam black tea. The amount varies with the tea and preparation; adding cider does not make it caffeine-free.

Can I use apple juice instead of cider?

Yes. Substitute the same amount, then taste before adding any sweetener. Plain apple juice gives the drink a different apple profile, but you can use the same hot or iced method.

Can I use bottled chai concentrate?

Yes, but follow its recommended dilution as a starting point. Concentrates differ in strength and sweetness, so the equal-parts ratio above is not a universal instruction for bottled products. Add cider gradually and leave out the maple syrup until you have tasted it.

Start with The Bazaar masala chai and a cider you enjoy on its own. Once you find your preferred balance of tea and apple, write it down—the next cup will be easy to repeat.