Chai spice is the base of soothing and aromatic Indian tea. Learn how to make your chai spice blend customised to your taste as we break down each ingredient.
One origin story points to how people used this traditional beverage in Indian Ayurveda medicine some 3000-5000 years ago. Other recorded history shows how the British secretly brought the tea to India for trade, cementing its association with the country years later.
Its history aside, the antioxidant benefits of the drink are an excellent reason to try making it for your healthy diet. However, rather than relying on a store-bought version, why not customise your blend to suit your taste buds?
Our love for a good chai mix led us to try numerous recipes to find the best chai spice recipe at home.
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What spices are in chai?
Inside Masala Chai, you will often find fresh ginger root, green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, fennel seeds and black peppercorns. However, you will also find some blends, including vanilla, nutmeg, star anise, mace and more.
Different parts of the Indian continent will have their regional blend of spices when making chai. In addition, chai can be prepared in many different ways, including Masala, karak chai, Bombay Cutting Chai, Pink tea, Tulsi Chai, and more.
So, when the Western world refers to chai spice, it could literally be any of these. In addition to that complication, different regions will have their blends, too. However, chai spice in the West tends to refer to the spices inside a Masala chai.
What does chai spice taste like?
Chai spice has a clean, sharp taste, similar to the taste of gingerbread. However, some people also can detect undernotes of sweetness, like cardamom, which has a beautiful floral flavour. It is not quite as overpowering as mint, as the sharpness of the spices fades away to leave a medicinal aftertaste.
Since tea is drunk frequently in India, many Indian families have their own masala chai spice mix recipe. So, you might come across different variations and subsequent tastes.
Chai spice ingredients
To make our chai spice mix, you need the following ingredients:
- Fresh ginger root
- Green cardamom pods
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Whole Cloves
- Fennel Seeds
- Black peppercorns
You can then combine them with Assam or Ceylon tea, milk, water and sugar to make it into a tea.
For chai, we recommend using Assam or Ceylon as they taste closer to the ones made in India. But you can also use other black tea types like English Breakfast or Earl Grey.
Cinnamon adds a slightly bitter medicinal taste to the drink. Since it is extracted from the bark of a tree, you'll taste the natural, earthy flavour of plants if you add cinnamon. It has many health benefits, from lowering blood sugar to reducing heart disease risk.
Ginger provides a peppery, spicy edge to the drink. You'll want to add ginger for that 'wake me up' buzz.
Cloves increase the intensity of spices added to the drink and add a deep, rich warmth to the blend. It also has plenty of antioxidants, which can protect cells in your body.
Cardamom lends the drink a citrusy flavour and subtle notes of mint. The spice is harvested as seed pods and has plenty of health benefits.
Black pepper is much needed if your drink is as flavourful as possible. On its own, black pepper is bold and aromatic. However, when added to the glass, the pepper gives more intensity to other flavours.
Last but not least, fennel is an optional ingredient. However, if added, it has a light fragrance and gives the chai spice a mild herbal flavour.
Best Chai Spice Mix (DIY masala blend)
Ingredients
- 6 cardamom pods
- 1 pc cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
- 6 tablespoon black tea
Cooking Instructions
- Lightly smash the ingredients in a pestle and mortar. You may have to break the cinnamon sticks into smaller pieces.
- Add them to a pot or saucepan, and lightly roast them for 1 minute under medium-low heat.
- Remove the pot from the stove, and pour the spices into an airtight container. Add the tea leaves to the container and stir until well combined.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimate.
Using Chai Spice in Tea
If you're making the drink, here are the measurements to use.
- 100 ml water
- 240 ml whole milk
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of the chai spice mix
- ½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and sliced (optional)
- Mix water and milk in a saucepan and heat it up under medium heat. Add the chai spice mix and stir well.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low or medium-low heat. Add the sliced ginger. Then, continue to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Once ready, pour the chai into a cup through a fine mesh sieve to filter out the spices and tea leaves. Finally, stir in the sugar.
If you want something creamier, you can replace the amount of water with milk. Vice versa, if you want something less creamy, add less milk and replace it with water.
If you want something much thicker and richer, you can simmer it for longer. However, we wouldn't recommend simmering it for more than 15 minutes, as it may get too bitter. The ginger adds spiciness to the drink, so you can omit it if you want a non-spicy beverage.
Sweet Chai Spice Blend
You can add milk and a sweetener, such as honey, for a sweeter and creamier blend. But first, you'll need to prepare the spice mix. Then, add it to a rich black tea such as Assam.
To sweeten your chai, steep the spices in whole milk. This will result in a creamier texture. Afterwards, add honey, sugar, or agave nectar.
Strain the drink once you've added your sweetener to the warm caffeinated base. Finally, you can adapt this recipe to make a dirty chai, a latte version of the drink.
Spicy Chai Spice Blend
If you like your chai spice extra spicy, you will want to add more fresh ginger to the traditional blend. Fresh ginger is fiery and elevates the spicy notes in the drink.
When preparing the ginger for chai spice, use a spoon to peel off the skin. Then, slice it roughly. If you want it even spicier, you can increase the amount of black peppercorns added to the drink. However, we recommend not adding too much, as the spiciness may ruin your entire spice blend. We've done this accidentally, and it didn't taste good.
Follow our base recipe and give it a quick taste. If it's not spicy enough, add more ginger or black pepper and brew for a few minutes to further incorporate its spiciness.
We recommend adding the ginger and peppercorns in an even ratio of 1:1 to get more heat. Finally, crush 2-3 cardamom and black pepper together as they release the essence, and you'll get a more peppery drink.
Low Caffeine Chai Spice Blend
If you prefer a low-caffeine drink, you can follow these tips to customise your chai spice mix.
You can substitute a chai spice mix for coffee, as it's usually highly caffeinated. However, it's possible to decaffeinate it. For example, you can use no or less tea and add milk to the spice blend.
Additionally, you can reduce the time you steep the infusion in cool water, reducing caffeine by as much as 80%.
Most authentic chai spice recipes recommend CTC (crush, tear, curl) teas, which are processed ground leaves. This processed form results in a highly caffeinated brew. So, instead of adding tea, you can also reach for chai lattes in powder form.
How To Store
Chai spice blends can stay fresh for up to a year if they are always stored in a cool, dark place. Ensure that they are in an airtight container and away from heat, light, and moisture. Never store tea in the fridge, as other items can leach their flavour into the tea.
An interesting fact to share with your friends as you sip on your own traditional and authentic blend is that the word chai, in Hindi, means tea. This word is derived from 'cha', the Chinese word for tea. Our drink is not just delicious.
As you savour our fragrant drink, its fascinating travel history due to the trading of Asian spices from China to India and worldwide is also worth knowing.
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