Chai is one of the traditional drinks typical of India and East Asia which has recently become widely known by culinary lovers in various parts of the world. While you can always buy chai tea in the form of tea bags at your nearest supermarket, it's actually easier to get a more authentic taste if you try to make your own using the various spices listed in the following recipe. Interested in making Masala Chai or Indian spiced milk tea? Read the full recipe below!
For: 8 cups of tea
Ingredients
- 4 cm. cinnamon bark (canela)
- 1 tsp. cardamom seeds
- 10 whole cloves
- 5 cups of water (1 cup of water is equivalent to 250 ml)
- 3 medium-sized black tea leaf bags such as Assam or Darjeeling tea
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 85 ml of honey
- 750 ml milk
Step
Step 1. Prepare a piece of tofu or cheese filter cloth
Place the cinnamon, cardamom, and clove bark on the surface, then tie each end of the fabric to form a pocket. In French, such packets of spices are known as bouquet garni (pronounced "boo-KAY gar-NEE").
Step 2. Put the bouquet garni in a pot of water
Make sure you tie the ends of the filter cloth tightly so that the spice bag can be removed more easily later.
Step 3. Bring the water to a boil until small bubbles form on the surface
Once the water boils, reduce the heat and continue the boiling process for 15 minutes. In a boiling state, the flavor of the spice extraction will be so strong that it can taste bitter.
Step 4. Turn off the stove, add the tea leaves, and let sit for 2-3 minutes
The longer it is allowed to stand, the more concentrated the tea will be and the more bitter the taste will be.
Step 5. Take out the bouquet garni
Step 6. Discard the tea bag or strain the brewed tea using a special strainer
Step 7. Add honey, vanilla extract and milk
Stir well.
Step 8. Serve
Pour the spiced milk tea into a serving glass filled with ice cubes if you want to serve it cold. The recipe above will make 8 servings.
Tips
- In fact, the drink you're familiar with by the name of "chai" or "chai tea" is "masala tea". In Urdu, Indian and Russian, the word "chai" means "tea". Meanwhile, the word "masala" in Indian means "spice". If you claim to make or consume "chai", it means that you are making only plain tea. That is why, the two words have equal significance.
- If soaked in hot water too long, the tea leaves can give off a very bitter taste. In general, if you want a stronger flavor, don't brew the tea too long. Instead, increase the amount of tea leaves you used!
- Remember, chai tea recipes are actually very flexible to modify. If you want to reduce or increase the amount of ingredients used to better suit your taste, don't hesitate to do so. Want to change the recommended ingredients? Please do that! For example, you can replace honey with granulated sugar or brown sugar. If you want, you can also add freshly grated nutmeg, licorice, saffron, cocoa, or cocoa powder.
- Reluctant to use a tofu or cheese filter cloth because it feels inconvenient? Do not worry. You can buy empty tea bags at many specialty shops that sell tea. After buying it, fill the bag with the various spices and tea leaves you will be using, close the bag tightly with tongs, and remove it easily when finished. If you want, you can also use a muslin cloth that doesn't contain bleach, so it can be used multiple times. After that, tie the surface with a thin cloth like a drawstring bag. If you don't want to use all three, just strain the tea to separate the tea liquid from the spices. However, always remember that small spices will still be mixed into the tea.
- Kenya is one of the many countries that use the word chai. In Kenya, the word chai generally refers to hot tea mixed with masala tea and milk. Sometimes, they also add sugar to the tea (especially since Kenyans are very fond of sugar), although the choice is still tailored to individual tastes. Generally, Kenyans make chai tea by boiling tea bags, water, and milk together. After that, they will add the masala tea just before the tea is served. Like other spices that are sold in the market, masala tea is generally sold in small bottles.
- The Red Blossom Tea Company in San Francisco recommends tea connoisseurs boil black tea for 1-2 minutes at 96°C for optimal flavor. In general, this temperature will be reached shortly before the water boils completely.
- Feel free to experiment! For example, use green tea leaves or white tea (young tea leaves) instead of black tea leaves. You can also use soy milk instead of regular cow's milk, or other sweeteners like maple syrup or rice syrup instead of honey.
- In general, there are four types of cinnamon sold in the market, namely China Cassia, Vietnamese Cassia, Korintje Cassia, and Ceylon Cinnamon. Typically, Ceylon cinnamon sells for twice as much, but also tastes much better. If you want, you can try all four types or even combine them.
- Some recipes will require you to boil the tea longer, about an hour. If the recipe is so, some types of spices such as ginger can be cut into fairly large sizes. After that, add the tea separately at the last moment the boiling point of the spiced water decreases. Some variations of the chai tea recipe also require you to use mint leaves and omit other ingredients such as vanilla extract. Make sure you add any crumbly ingredients like mint leaves just before the tea reaches its highest boiling point (or after the tea has stopped boiling.
- One of the roots of the word "chai" comes from China. The word “cha”, which is pronounced like “chai” (without the letter “i”) is also interpreted as tea in various parts of China and areas of North India such as in Bengal.
Warning
In some cultures and linguistic contexts, the term "Chai Tea" is actually redundant. So, if you don't want to sound lame, just say "Chai" instead of "Chai tea". However, in many countries (including Indonesia), the term is still considered common because it is generally used to define a type of Indian spiced milk tea, which in its home country is actually known as Teh Masala
The word "Chai" comes from the Indian language which means "tea" in Indonesian.
