Here's a Dirty Chai Recipe Hack to Improve Your Morning Routine

Cafe regulars know the dirty chai drink well, a concoction that combines the forces of coffee and chai spices to make one perfect cup of caffeine. For those who love shaking up their regular coffee order with the occasional dirty chai latte — chai tea, steamed milk, and a shot of espresso — but are tired of dishing out the cash at Starbucks, there's a super simple trick to making a similar drink at home, no espresso maker necessary.

For a chai coffee recipe that's way less stressful than waiting to see if the barista will correctly pronounce your name, just add chai spices to your coffee filter before brewing. The spices mix beautifully with the coffee grounds, and the resulting brew is wonderfully aromatic. Honestly, the smell alone is reason enough to try this one out.

As fall approaches and the weather gets a little chillier, lean on this recipe hack to spice up your cozy morning routine and start each day with a deep inhale of the delicious, comforting goodness that is chai coffee.

Friendly reminder that "chai" actually just means "tea" in Hindi — it's not a specific flavor. The chai tea lattes that we've come to love in the US are technically a type of masala chai, combining spice-infused black tea with milk, sweetener, and foam. The spices in the popular chai lattes that available at virtually any coffee shop in the US typically include some combination of the following ground spices:

The cinnamon, clove, and cardamom add warmth to the flavor profile, while the ginger and peppercorns give the tea its signature bite.

First, I combine all my spices. I use half a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns, and 1/4 teaspoon of all the rest. Next, I add a touch of sweetness and creaminess with vanilla almond milk.

The chai flavor is subtle with these ratios — if you want to amp up the flavors, you can double or even triple the amount of spice, or try it out a few times and see which ratios you prefer. (More cinnamon? Less ginger?) You probably have most or all the spices in your cabinet already, so it's definitely worth a shot — you might discover your new favorite way of drinking dirty chai, and you'll save yourself many trips to the coffee shop. And that's the tea.

Erin Cullum is a former PS Trending and Viral Features editor.