Chai Tea. A beautiful aromatic and perfectly spiced drink that leaves you feeling warm and cozy. It’s a staple of Indian culture and a drink that has become well beloved by many around the world. Many of us are exposed to chai lattes that are made from concentrate at our local coffee shops or from tea bags we can purchase at the grocery store. However, there is nothing that compares to a cup of freshly brewed chai made at an Indian restaurant or in your own home with the correct spices.

Read along to learn more about the research I have done on this topic and check out my previous articles.

What Goes Into Chai Tea?

Chai Tea recipes vary significantly based on region, culture, and family. However, there are a few aspects that nearly all Chai has in common: the addition of black tea, strong aromatic spices, milk, and a sweetener. Despite these similarities, every Chai recipe that you can find online has a different method, quantity of spices, and cook time.

Water, Milk, and Black Tea

In a typical recipe, a mixture of water and spices is boiled then simmered for at least 10 minutes. The question is, when is the best time to add the black tea and milk? Many have reported (and I have found in my own experiments) that cooking the milk or tea for too long can leave you with a bitter flavor.

So, play around with the quantities of milk and tea that you prefer and vary the cook times. Personally, I have found that I prefer to add the tea and milk together within the last 3 minutes of simmering before allowing it to sit for about 10 minutes with the heat off. This effectively:

• brings out the flavor of the spices much more,
• doesn’t bring the milk to a true boil or cook it,
• and allows enough time for the tea to steep without turning bitter.

Which Spices to Use

As I noted before, the spices used to make chai vary significantly by region and culture. For this reason, I believe that the best method is to include spices that you are naturally drawn to or already have in your pantry. There is no reason to start out by purchasing a variety of expensive spices that you might end up not using. I will be adding in the best form of each spice to use based on my experimentation, but please use what you have first!

Here is a list of some of the commonly used spices:

• Allspice – best to use whole berries
• Black Peppercorns – best to use whole or coarse ground
• Cardamom – best to use whole pods, broken up with a mortar and pestle
• Cinnamon – best used in the form of a cinnamon stick broken up with a mortar and pestle
• Cloves – best to use whole cloves
• Ginger – best to use whole, fresh ginger and grate it
• Nutmeg – Best to use whole nutmeg that is freshly grated
• Star Anise – Best used whole

My Chai Tea Recipe

The following recipe is something that I have been playing with for a few years and will likely change many more times as the seasons and my personal preferences change. Currently, I really enjoy a strong clove and cinnamon flavor and cannot stand star anise.* So, this recipe will reflect those preferences.

Yield: 2 8 oz cups of tea

• 12 oz of water
• 4 oz of milk
• 2 tbsp black tea
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 7 whole cloves
• 1 medium sized cinnamon stick, broken into pieces with a mortar and pestle
• 4 whole peppercorns
• 1/2 inch of ginger, grated
• 3 cardamom pods, crushed with a mortar and pestle (I use pre-ground cardamom because I have it)
• 2 tsp of whole nutmeg, grated

1. Add all of your spices and sugar to a pot with the water and bring to a boil.
2. Once it boils, cover and simmer on the stove for 10 minutes stirring occasionally
3. After 10 minutes, bring to a boil again before adding the milk and tea to the mixture
4. Immediately turn back down to a simmer covered for 3 minutes
5. After 3 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes
6. strain and serve