How do I make proper chai?
Simmering tea, milk and whole spices together — the method that produces real chai rather than tea with syrup in it.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Simmer crushed whole spices in water for five minutes, add strong black tea and simmer two more, then add milk and sugar and bring it back to a simmer. Strain and serve. The simmering with milk is what makes it chai rather than spiced tea.
Chai is brewed rather than infused. The tea and spices are simmered directly in milk and water together, which extracts far more than steeping and gives the thick, sweet, spiced character that a teabag in hot milk never produces.
What you'll need
- Strong black tea
- Whole spices
- Milk
- Small pan
- Pestle and mortar (optional)
Step by step
- Crush whole spices roughly.Green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, ginger. Crushing releases the oils; ground spice gives a dusty texture and a flatter flavour.
- Simmer the spices in water for about five minutes.Around 150ml of water per cup. This extracts the spice before the tea goes anywhere near it.
- Add strong black tea and simmer two minutes.Assam or a strong breakfast blend. Delicate teas are lost entirely in the milk and spice.
- Add milk — about the same volume as the water — and sugar.Whole milk gives the right body. Sugar is traditional and balances the spice; adjust to taste rather than omitting entirely.
- Bring back to a simmer and let it rise once or twice.Watch it — it boils over fast. Letting it rise and pulling it off the heat, twice, thickens and integrates it.
- Strain into cups.A fine sieve. The spent spices and leaves should not go into the cup.
- Adjust the balance next time rather than mid-pan.Note what you used. Chai is very personal, and small changes to ginger or cardamom shift it a lot.
- Add fresh ginger at the start if you want warmth.Sliced or grated, in with the other spices. It is the most noticeable single addition.
Tips
- Make a large batch of the crushed spice mix and keep it in a jar. It turns a fifteen-minute drink into a five-minute one.
- Cardamom is the defining flavour in most chai. If it tastes like it is missing something, that is usually what.
- Oat milk works well because it has enough body to simmer without splitting. Skimmed milk gives a thin result.
Common mistakes
- Steeping instead of simmering — Chai relies on simmering the tea and spices in the milk. Infusing a bag in hot milk gives something quite different and much weaker.
- Using ground spices — They give a dusty, muddy texture and lose their aroma quickly. Whole spices crushed at the point of use are markedly better.
- Walking away once the milk goes in — It boils over quickly and completely. It needs watching for the last two minutes.
Questions people ask
What spices go in chai?
Green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and ginger are the usual base. Cardamom is the defining one; the rest vary considerably by region and household.
Can you make chai without simmering?
You can infuse spiced tea in hot water and add milk, but it is a different and much lighter drink. The simmering in milk is what gives chai its body and depth.