Life. Love. Food

Chai Masala

A perfect mug of chai masala can fix literally anything! There is a comfort that it brings, that reminds you of home. Chai masala is a hug in a mug. Chai masala is fun times with family. Chai Masala is joy in your heart and cozy night in. It is comfort and laughter with your mother. It is magical! In my hearts of hearts, I am a strungi (black tea) girl. However once in a while, I do love me some milk tea and when I do brew a mug, it often is chai masala.

Chai is the Kiswahili word for tea. Chai masala hence means spiced tea. There are a billion variations out there but this particular once I am writing about today is one I have tried, tested and perfected. You will love it just as much!


I made a dope vid to accompany the blog post. Do watch below, and subscribe!

PREP TIME: 2 min    COOK TIME:  10 min      SERVES: 2

Ingredients

400 ml of whole milk

½ a cup of water

1 ½ teaspoon of tea leaves

2 tablespoons of cardamom

2 tablespoons of minced ginger

1 tablespoon of black pepper corns

2 star anise

2 cinnamon sticks

Method

I always prefer to make my chai masala using whole spices. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with using supermarket-bought chai masala blend, making your own allows you to vary the ratio of the specific notes as per your liking.

First step is to roast the whole spices. The roasting of the spices also allows the flavors of the spices to blossom and intensify. That gives you a fuller, more enjoyable flavor at the end.

Begin by roasting your whole spices on an ungreased pan for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring. Be careful not to burn them. Once they start popping and become fragrant, take them off the heat and set aside. You can choose to slightly grind them after the roast – which I do from time to time – but on this day I chose to leave them whole.

Star anise is my personal twist to the traditional chai masala recipe. It usually isn’t included, however I like some in mine because of the soft & sweet licorice flavor it adds to the tea. I purchased all my whole spices from my local CarreFour. You can get yours in any well stocked supermarket around you as well.

For the tea, pour your milk and water onto your sufuria and add your whole spices (or the rough spice grind if you chose to grind) and then the fresh ginger. Some people like their tea having more water than milk. For me, on the days I take milk tea, I like my tea having more milk than water.

Tea brewing gives you plenty of leeway to adjust specifics according to your taste. While I have provided you with the specific ingredients I used, you are very much free to vary the quantities according to your preferences.

Allow the milk to warm up as the spices flavor seeps into the simmering milk. Do not rush it. Great tea is slowly brewed tea. Once the milk is hot and almost rising, add the black tea leaves, mix them in. We produce the best tea in Kenya and it is no wonder that we among the top exporters. When I travel, I always pack Kenyan tea because the tea from other nations just doesn’t provide the same kick!

You can vary the amount of tea leaves too, depending on how dark you love your tea to be.

Turn the heat to low and let this steep (still on low) for a about 3-5 minutes stirring and mixing from time to time as the video demonstrates.

Once done, sieve and serve.

Perfect warming drink be it for breakfast, for chai ya saa kumi or even for nighttime before bed. You can taste each spice note and smell it too. The warmth of the ginger, the sting of the pepper, the fullness of the cardamom, the sweetness of the star anise and the softness of the cinnamon came together in such perfect harmony! This is an aromatic drink that fills the home and a delicious one that makes your soul happy.

You can enjoy this on it’s own. But I recommend that you enjoy it with some brownies or some banana bread or even some mahamri. I hope you loved the read and I invite you to watch the complimentary video as well!

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Happy Wednesday!


Get your downloadable recipe here :))


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38 Comments

  1. Nicole

    Perfect for this gloomy weather we’re having today in Toronto. Thank you for this recipe

    • Kaluhi

      Most Welcome!

  2. Tamara

    This Chai Masala has such delicious flavors! You can really taste all of the spices. Not too sweet but a perfect treat to get me going in the morning!

    • Kaluhi

      The balance really is phenomenal! Happy you loved it!

  3. Mykalee

    I love Masala Chai! I like the idea of using whole ingredients instead of grounded. I’m excited to try this for breakfast.

    • Kaluhi

      The whole spices really do make a huge difference!! You will love it as well!

  4. Marta

    After one of his trips to the Middle East, my husband came back having halved his coffee intake for Chai. I absolutely loved that he found it and now we share it all the time.

    • Kaluhi

      This makes me so happy to know! chai masala makes for a great swap for coffee while stil giving the same kick we love!

  5. Gladys

    I’m a “chai girl” and I made tea your way, not going back!
    Very riveting

    • Kaluhi

      I am also a chai die hard and I am so happy my recipe made you love this even more!

  6. Jessica

    Toasting the spices gave this Chai such a wonderful flavor. I never knew it was so easy to make at home and now I’m making this all the time. Thanks for the recipe!

  7. Barry J.

    I LOVE Chai Masala. I drink it almost every night so I just had to make my own. I swapped out the whole milk for cashew milk and it was so good. Will definitely be making my own more often now.

    • Kaluhi

      Yum!! I will try it with cashew milk soon too!

  8. Jen Sim

    I have never tried chia masala before but it looks so tasty! I am really looking forward to trying this because it includes toasted spices which are always delicious and warming.

    • Kaluhi

      Very warming indeed!

  9. call girls in gurgaon

    What I would like to say about your post is that you only need to have a look, at first glance, you understand how hard people have worked to write your post, you have not put any useless content at all. . Wrote my post in beautiful words.

    • Kaluhi

      xx

  10. Robin

    Chai is my hot beverage of choice so I was interested in trying this recipe. The star anise gave it a wonderful, subtle licorice flavor.

  11. Lilly

    This drink is definitely a hug in mug. Ever since I found this recipe I’ve added it to my daily night time routine. Winding down with a cup of this delicious drink has been great.

    • Kaluhi

      Love how you described it “hug in a mug” because that is exactly what it is!

  12. Jazz

    This was so cozy! I’m making it every week going forward.

    • Kaluhi

      Lovely tradition!

  13. Chenée

    This was so amazing! The spices are so perfect and roasting them really brought out the flavor!

    • Kaluhi

      It really really did!

  14. Leah

    What a beautiful and creative recipe. This now replaces my morning coffee.

    • Kaluhi

      Perfect!

  15. Britney

    I made this every morning with my breakfast this week! It’s soo good and so easy to make!

    • Kaluhi

      Easy and delish for sure!!

  16. restaurantthatdeliversnearme.website

    Thanks for the Chai Masala recipe.

    • Kaluhi

      You are most welcome!

  17. Myrna

    Where do you find good quality of the lack tea leaf? I’m in the Mid-west and I’m not sure where to get them. Maybe online? Chai is may favorite, love the spices.

    • Kaluhi

      Unfortunately I cannot advise on where to get then in the US as I am not an American citizen neither have I ever visited. My country is a tea grower so I wrote from my perspective as a Kenyan

  18. Marly

    Thank you for your recipe. I love this kind of beverage!

    • Kaluhi

      So bomb!

  19. Mavis

    Woiy Kaluhi…..thank you for this! Now I’m gonna show off my prowess!

    • Kaluhi

      FLEXXXXXX!

  20. Lilian

    A different way to enjoy your tea and an amaizing one at that.

    • Kaluhi

      For sure!

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