Caffeine-Free Chai Latte with Protein (No Tea, No Caffeine)

A caffeine-free chai latte with protein is steamed milk whisked with a chai-spiced protein mix instead of brewed black tea. You get the cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla of a coffee-shop chai with no tea, no caffeine and about 14g to 24g of protein depending on your milk. It takes one scoop, 10 oz of milk and a two-minute stir, with nothing to steep and no blender.

This is the drink I make at 8 p.m. after the boys are in bed. Below you'll find how it compares with a regular chai, the hot and iced methods, a caffeine-free "dirty" version, and a couple of ways to get the same flavor into breakfast.

What is a caffeine-free chai protein latte?

A traditional chai latte starts with black tea simmered with spices, topped with steamed milk and usually a sweet syrup. A chai protein latte leaves out the tea. The spice and the protein come from one mix, so the only thing you heat is the milk.

Our Chai flavor of Bone Broth Protein Mix is warm chai spice and vanilla on the same grass-fed bone broth base as our chocolate flavors. Each scoop has 14g of protein, 10g+ of naturally occurring collagen, 0g sugar, 4g of carbs and 90 calories, and it's sweetened with organic monk fruit. The ingredients are grass-fed beef bone broth, organic oat milk, organic coconut milk, natural chai flavor, natural vanilla flavor and organic monk fruit. There's no tea in it, so there's no caffeine. It does contain coconut and oat.

How much caffeine is in a regular chai latte?

It depends on the tea and how strong it's brewed. USDA data puts a cup of brewed black tea at about 47mg of caffeine, and a coffee-shop chai made from concentrate can land higher or lower. That's less than coffee, but it isn't nothing, especially at night. The FDA cites 400mg a day as an amount not generally linked with negative effects in most healthy adults, and it recommends talking with your health care provider about caffeine if you're pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding.

How to make a hot chai protein latte

This is our Classic Chai Latte recipe. Five minutes, one mug.

1. Heat 10 oz of milk until it steams, not boils. Oat milk gets you closest to the coffee-shop version.
2. Put one scoop of Chai in your mug with 2 tablespoons of the hot milk. Stir into a smooth paste.
3. Pour in the rest while stirring, or froth for 10 seconds.
4. Dust with cinnamon or cardamom. If you like it sweeter, add half a teaspoon of honey.

Since the spice is already in the Mix, there's no tea bag to steep or strain. The paste step is what gives you a latte texture without a machine.

“At night, I love making the Chai with warm milk in a big mug, and sometimes I'll add an extra sprinkle of cinnamon on top. My husband loves our Chai with water, ice and a splash of milk. It's quickly become our favorite.”

Skotie Rae, RN, founder

Iced chai protein shake (no blender)

On warm afternoons I'd go with our Iced Chai Shake. Pour 10 oz of cold milk into a shaker or jar, add one scoop of Chai, shake for 15 seconds and pour it over ice. Add a cinnamon stick if you want it to look like it came from a café. The Mix dissolves in cold milk, so you won't get clumps and you don't need a blender.

Can you make a dirty chai with no caffeine?

A "dirty" chai is a chai latte with a shot of espresso. You can get that coffee note with little or no caffeine two ways.

• Decaf espresso: make the hot latte above with 8 oz of milk, then pour a shot of decaf espresso over the top. Decaf still has a few milligrams of caffeine, but only a few.
• Half and half: use half a scoop of Chai and half a scoop of Mocha, which has a coffee flavor and 0mg of caffeine.

If you do want caffeine, our Dirty Chai recipe has a version with half a scoop of Caffeinated Chocolate (about 30mg of caffeine) and a classic espresso version.

Which milk makes the best chai protein latte?

• Oat milk: the creamiest and most like a café chai, about 17g of protein.
• Almond milk: lighter, about 15g of protein.
• Dairy milk: the most protein, about 24g.
• Water: works in a pinch at 14g, but the spice tastes thinner.

The Mix itself is dairy-free, so it stays dairy-free with any plant milk. There's more on that in is bone broth protein dairy free.

Chai protein overnight oats and other ways to use it

The same scoop works outside the mug. For our Chai Overnight Oats, you whisk the Mix and cinnamon into 3/4 cup of milk, add rolled oats, chia and Greek yogurt, and refrigerate overnight. With yogurt and almond milk that's about 22g of protein, and it keeps in the fridge, so a few jars cover several breakfasts. You can also blend it with banana and pear for a chai smoothie.

Is a caffeine-free chai latte OK at night, for kids, or in pregnancy?

With no tea and no caffeine, it's an easy evening drink. For kids, our label has no separate directions, so ask your pediatrician how much makes sense. As for the spices, the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that cinnamon is likely safe in the amounts commonly used in food. If you're pregnant, breastfeeding or managing a health condition, the simplest thing is to show the ingredient list to your clinician.

If you'd rather have chocolate in the evening, the caffeine-free Classic Chocolate is covered in is bone broth hot chocolate good for you. And if you're rethinking your morning cup too, see protein coffee vs regular coffee.

Where to get Chai

Chai is the newest flavor of our Bone Broth Protein Mix, and it's in stock now on the Chai page. A 26-serving bag is $59.99, or $52.99 a bag with Subscribe and Save. All the numbers for every flavor are on our Rae Basics facts page.

Quick answers

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central. Beverages, tea, black, brewed, prepared with tap water (FDC ID 173227). About 20mg caffeine per 100g, or about 47mg per 8 fl oz cup (237g).
2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?
3. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Cinnamon.