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This simple Masala Chai recipe is a comforting and aromatic Indian spiced tea! Learn to make it the authentic way with black tea, whole spices, and milk in about 20 minutes.
Whenever I’m craving comfort, I love turning to warm drinks like turmeric tea, cinnamon tea, or this Indian masala chai recipe. With winter approaching, this masala tea recipe is quickly becoming my favorite. Thanks to its blend of warming, fragrant spices and whole milk (vegan adaptable), it has the perfect creamy consistency and spicy-sweet, full-bodied flavor!
Best of all, this authentic Indian chai recipe is super simple to prepare at home. And it tastes much better than Western coffee-shop versions (aka a chai latte/chai tea latte), with a more robust flavor!
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What is Masala Chai
Masala chai is India’s most popular drink. It combines “masala,” meaning a blend of spices (called “karha”), with “chai,” meaning tea (in this case, a robust black tea). It’s a simple, warming, aromatic milk tea beverage.
As with most “traditional” recipes (like garam masala), the spice blend varies between vendors and families, but they often contain warming spices, like cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, and sometimes black peppercorns as a base.
The method of preparation varies too—for example, the order in which ingredients are heated, time spent boiling, double boil method, aerating the tea, etc. However, after plenty of recipe testing, I’m sharing my favorite method. The result is a rich, creamy, smooth, full-bodied, silky mouthfeel masala Indian tea!
Note that in the West, we often call the drink “chai tea” or “chai tea latte,” which is basically like calling it “tea tea.”
Watch how to make it
Ingredients
- Black tea: It’s best to use CTC tea granules or strong black loose-leaf tea like Assam, Darjeeling tea, or Nilgiri Indian tea. You could use Darjeeling or English Breakfast tea in a pinch, or even Rooibos tea or green tea. Alternatively, you can use 4-5 strong black tea bags and steep them directly in the pan, but the flavor will be weaker.
- Masala chai spices: I use a combination of aromatic spices: cinnamon stick (Ceylon is best), whole cloves, green cardamom pods, fresh ginger, star anise (optional), and black peppercorns (optional). For the best flavor, I recommend using whole spices (not dried/powdered).
- Whole milk: You can use whole milk or 2% milk. Traditionally, water buffalo milk is used. Alternatively, use creamy dairy-free milk for vegan masala chai, like barista-style oat milk or canned coconut milk. For a super creamy version, use some evaporated milk, but avoid milk powder.
- Sugar: I love to use cane sugar. You can also use brown sugar, coconut sugar, jaggery, honey, maple syrup, or a sweetener like erythritol.
- Water.
How to make Masala Chai
Crush the spices: First, slice the ginger (no need to peel it first). Then, use a mortar and pestle to gently crush all the whole spices, ensuring the cardamom pods are open. Add the ginger and crush it with the spices.
Make masala tea: Next, bring the spice mixture and water to a boil over medium-high heat in a saucepan. Leave them to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. During this time, the water will infuse with the aromatic oils from the spices.
Switch off the heat and add the tea leaves (or tea bags), then cover the pan and leave it to steep for 5 minutes. If the color/flavor of the Indian chai isn’t strong enough for you, add more tea (instead of steeping it longer, as it can become bitter).
Add the milk and sugar, then bring the masala chai to a simmer once more.
Aerate masala chai (optional): Aerating the tea (also called “pulling” the chai) is a popular step used by chai wallahs (Indian tea-sellers) to add some air and froth.
You can aerate the chai blend at two points. First, when you add the milk to the saucepan, stir and move the tea around constantly to start building up a gentle foam and aeration. Or, before serving it, scoop some up into a ladle (or small cup) and pour it back into the pot from a slight height (but not too high, or it’ll splatter everywhere), repeating this until foamy.
Alternatively, use a small milk frother for a similar effect and extra foaminess.
Strain and serve: Finally, strain the spices out of the tea through a strainer (pressing on the spices to extract maximum flavor), and enjoy!
When serving, pour the tea into tall glasses (or your favorite mug) from a high distance, allowing it to aerate further. Enjoy a cup of Masala chai with cookies, cake, biscuits, rusk, or Samosa.
Masala Chai mistakes to avoid
- Reduce the milk ratio too much: if you don’t use enough milk, you can’t properly aerate the chai. Use a 2:1 ratio of water to milk minimum.
- Adding the milk at the wrong time: If you add the milk before the tea, you’re far more likely to scald the milk. More so, don’t just add milk to any spiced tea. Instead, ensure it simmers with all the ingredients on the stovetop for a proper masala chai.
- Boiling the tea: The bitter tannins within the tea are more likely to cause bitter tea when cooking the tea, especially with boiling water. Instead, allow it to steep off the heat for the smoothest, full-bodied flavor. Likewise, don’t steep the tea for too long, or it becomes bitter.
- Leaving the spices whole: Lightly crushing the spices will ensure their oils disperse into the chai sooner for the best flavor.
FAQs
You can avoid wasting the leftover tea leaves/spices in several ways. First, rinse them well. Then, you can use them as part of a homemade body scrub.
Or compost them/use them as fertilizer. You can also add them to the water when cooking rice/grains to lightly fragrance them. Or dehydrate them to crush into a powder and use them in tea once more.
If you make this drink often, you can make a batch of the spices.
Use a coffee/spice grinder to grind them into a powder. Then, use between 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of the masala chai spice mix per serving of tea. Use it all within 1-2 months for optimal flavor.
Yes, it’s typical for many Indians to drink masala tea every day (and all year long). Sometimes, even several cups of chai are consumed a day, though in small quantities.
If you use fresh ginger, you have to boil it in water before adding the milk. Otherwise, an enzyme in the ginger will cause the milk to curdle (like how we make this ginger pudding).
More tea recipes
- Cinnamon Tea
- Ginger Tea
- Turmeric Tea
- Pineapple skin tea (anti-inflammatory)
- Hibiscus Tea
- Homemade Green Tea
- Fresh Mint Tea
- Chamomile Tea
If you try this masala chai recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Masala Chai Recipe
Ingredients
- 0.4 oz black tea 3-4 Tbsp strong black loose leaf tea (or use CTC tea granules), like Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiri, etc. alternatively 3-4 tea bags
- 1.5 cups milk whole milk is best but 2% will work, or use dairy-free
- 1.7 oz cane sugar 4 Tbsp;
- 3 cups water
- 0.14 oz cinnamon stick 1 stick or 1.5 tsp powder
- 10 cloves
- 15 green cardamom pods
- 0.7 oz fresh ginger 4-5 slices
- 2 Star Anise optional
- 8 whole black peppercorns optional, for more "heat"
Instructions
- Slice the ginger (no need to peel it first).Use a mortar and pestle and gently crush the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, star anise, and black peppercorns. Add the ginger slices and crush them with the spices.
- In a saucepan, add the spice mixture and the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Switch off the heat and add the tea leaves (or tea bags). Cover the pan and leave it to steep for 5 minutes.
- Add the milk and sugar and bring the tea to a simmer once more.
- Optionally, aerate the tea by stirring and moving it constantly to build up a gentle foam. You can also scoop some tea with a ladle or a small cup and pour it back into the pot from a slight height, repeating this until it becomes foamy.Alternatively, use a small milk frother for a similar effect and extra foaminess.
- Strain the spices out of the masala chai through a strainer (pressing on the spices to extract maximum flavor), and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it.
The easiest and simplest recipe I found. Measurements were provided, too! I loved it! Tasted so good! I didn’t have cardamom but proceeded to trying the recipe instead, and tasted similar to what I tried in a cafe. Also used honey as a sweetener and almond milk for this lactose-intolerant. Thank you!
~proceeded to trying the recipe anyway ☺️
Glad you liked it 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment, Jayme!