I’ve been making my own Masala Chai! Yum! Perfect timing as the weather turns colder here in the Northeast. We tend to incorrectly call this “Chai Tea.” The word chai means tea. Masala means spiced. Here’s a quick recipe that I adapted from a few different recipes:
- In a pot, add 2 tablespoons of loose black tea, 1 cinnamon stick, (not pictured, a bit of sliced up fresh ginger,) and a bunch of spices that you grind yourself for the absolute best experience.
- The spices I chose were 1/2 of one whole nutmeg, 2 whole cloves, the seeds from 4 cardamom pods, 1/4 of a star anise, 3 black peppers, and a teensy bit of cayenne pepper. I have a nice mortar and pestle for this.
- Add 2 cups of water and bring everything to a simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Then add some of your favorite sweetener (I use raw turbinado sugar,) and a cup of milk. Let milk simmer until the skin forms. Don’t break the skin, let all the spices roll around under the skin for another 5 minutes.
- Strain out the tea leaves and spices and enjoy!
I am definitely no expert on this, just trying variations out – and this turned out too strong for my taste. So I use it as a concentrate that I add to my black tea in the morning, to go with my morning practice. Share your chai recipe if you have one.
It’s super warming, and just the way I like to rock n’ roll these days!