It’s your Haus Barista here with a delicious latte recipe that’s so easy, it will have you patting yourself on the back! Today we will be making a Saffron Chai Latte. Yes, you’ve heard that right! This Saffron Chai Latte is powerfully flavorful and also sneakily contains 20 grams of protein. Yassss, protein goals!

I don’t know about you, but I just love it when something not only tastes delicious but is also great for my mind and body. Try swapping one of those guilt-ridden, overly sugary lattes for this recipe and I can guarantee you won’t regret making the swap. (But please, also have that latte you enjoy so much as a treat. Balance). 🙂

Why You Should Become Your Own At-Home Barista

I love a good local coffee shop visit. But, the prices on those lattes can add up rather quickly. Before you know it, it adds up to a monthly bill! So I’ve been experimenting with making my lattes at home. Becoming my own at-home barista has not only made my wallet happy, but it’s also become a fun new creative hobby. This Saffron Chai Latte was cultivated in one of the many experimental sessions in my home “cafe.”

Another great benefit to making your own lattes at home is that you are in full control of the ingredients list. Ingredient transparency is crucial in a world where we are more cognizant and intentional about what we are putting in our bodies.

Instead of white sugar and milk packed with filler ingredients, I have been opting for replacements like raw honey, agave, organic nut milk, ceremonial grade matcha, and high-grade loose leaf teas. You will literally feel positive changes in your body when you make these swaps in your morning lattes.

How This Saffron Chai Latte Came to Be

Now let’s chat a little about how this recipe came about. For starters, who doesn’t love a good chai? Since I don’t really drink coffee, tea latte variations are my jam. Chai almost reminds me of coffee due to its versatility and relatively high caffeine content. So the inclusion of chai in this recipe was a given.

Now as far as the addition of saffron to the recipe, I have to credit a creator named Valerie Ribon on TikTok for inspiring that. Valerie got me hip to the many benefits of saffron and she’s made several lattes (including our secret protein ingredient we’ll get to later) variations that I love!

The Benefits of Saffron and Why You Should Be Using It

Saffron, widely hailed as the “most expensive spice in the world.” is most commonly known for brightening up dishes with its vibrant color. But did you know that consuming this spice can benefit both your mental and physical health?

Let’s start with the mental health benefits. Did you know that in certain quantities, saffron can be as effective as an antidepressant? It is also widely used to treat symptoms related to anxiety and ADHD. I can personally attest to the calming effect I’ve experienced after drinking this Saffron Chai Latte. It is also a major mood booster.

Saffron also has a host of impressive benefits for our physical health. It is anti-inflammatory, and regarded as a powerful antioxidant. Saffron also has anti-cancer properties, may reduce the risk of heart disease, and may aid in weight loss. There are a ton of other saffron benefits, feel free to read up on them here.

The Secret Protein Ingredient You Won’t Suspect (or Taste)

I mentioned earlier in the post that this Saffron Chai Latte contains 20 grams of protein. What’s amazing is that it won’t give your latte a weird aftertaste. You won’t taste it at all, actually. Just 20 grams of unsuspecting protein in your Saffron Chai Latte silently helping you reach your daily protein goals and satiating you. 🙂

I introduce to you Bovine Beef Gelatin. Beef gelatin is an easily absorbable protein source with an impressive amino acid profile. It is commonly used to aid in building muscle, and it can improve both digestion and metabolic health. Did I also mention that it has beauty benefits? Consuming it regularly will have your skin, nails, and hair flourishing!

There are a number of ways to use this product, such as making collagen gummies (hmm, maybe we’ll get into that in a future blog post). But my favorite way to use it is by blending it into hot drinks.

PRO TIP: Make sure you enjoy your Saffron Chai Latte while it’s hot. Leaving it out to sit for too long will in fact turn it into one big cup of gummy! (Which will melt into liquid again if you heat it back up). Here’s an Amazon link to purchase the brand above.

I’ll walk you through how to add this to your latte in just a bit. Now, let’s get into the full ingredients list.

Ingredients List

The ingredients list for this Saffron Chai Latte is short and sweet. As always, I always recommend that you tailor any recipe you find on my site to your own individual taste buds and dietary preferences. Here’s what I used:

Loose Leaf Chai Tea
Saffron
Bovine Beef Gelatin
Creamer (or Milk of Choice)
Raw Honey (or Sweetener of Choice)

Now, it’s time to walk you through making our latte.

Saffron Chai Latte Steps

I’ll be using an electric milk frother which is in no way a necessity. It will do the stirring and blending for us, which can easily be done by hand if you don’t have a hand or electric frother handy.

Start by boiling a spoonful of the loose leaf chai tea in a teapot. It should be a deep, rich dark brown color akin to coffee when ready. Set aside.

Now, grab about 10 strands of saffron and add it to the bottom of a mortar (or a bowl if you don’t have a mortar and pestle).

Next, you are going to add the tiniest bit of hot water to the mortar. Like just a pinch. You only need enough water to cover the saffron, but not too much, or else you’ll make this next step much harder than it needs to be.

Now you’re going to use the pestle (or a round, firm kitchen tool) to begin grinding up the saffron until it completely dissolves into the water. You should end up with a bright, rich, gold liquid. It should look something like this:

See? Easy peasy. Now it’s assembly time! Start by adding your brewed chai tea to the milk frother.

Then, add in your golden saffron liquid.

Now, two full scoops of the Bovine Beef Gelatin go into the frother.

Finish up by adding the sweetener, milk and/or creamer of your choice. I’m going with the Caramel Macchiato Creamer by Chobani.

Cover your frother with the lid, and press the button to blend everything together!

And wala! We have a perfectly blended Saffron Chai Latte with a yummy, frothy top layer! Transfer it to your favorite mug, top it with anything that you’d like, and enjoy.

If you’d like the exact measurements of everything we used above, keep scrolling for the full recipe in the recipe card below.

Ingredients

1 tsp vanilla chai loose leaf tea
10 strands saffron
2 scoops Bovine Beef Gelatin
3 tbsp coffee creamer (or ½ cup warmed milk of choice)
pure raw honey to taste (or sweetener of choice)

Instructions

Brew 1 teaspoon of vanilla chai tea in 8 oz of hot water in a teapot or an infuser mug for 5-7 minutes. Set tea aside.
Add 10 strands of saffron into a mortar (or a small mixing bowl if you do not have a mortar and pestle).
To the mortar, add in the tiniest bit of hot water; just enough to cover the saffron strands.
Begin grinding the saffron strands with the pestle until it is completely dissolved and it turns into a bright, golden liquid.
Pour the brewed tea and saffron liquid into a milk frother.
Add 2 full scoops of Bovine Beef Gelatin to frother.
Add coffee creamer (or ½ cup milk of choice) to the frother.
Add in pure raw honey (or sweetener of choice) to taste to frother.
Cover the milk frother with lid, and blend all ingredients together (my machine takes about 1 minute to fully combine).
Pour your latte into your favorite mug and enjoy!