Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

This is a simple guide to brewing one cup's worth of Chai. To brew more than one cup, see the Advanced Brewing section.

What You'll Need

• A pot or pan to brew in
• Ingredients from the Ingredients List. Here are some common ones, with recommended amounts. Keep in mind you should always change the amounts to suit your taste!
  • 3/4 cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon grey tea
  • 6 cardamom seeds
  • 8 cloves
  • 3 black pepper corns
  • 1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar)
  • 15 minutes of free time
  • A stove top with functioning burners
  • Two pans, two pots, or a pot and a pan.
  • A strainer (or sieve)

Procedure

1. Fill a pan with 3/4 cup of water and put it on a stove top. Put the stove on the lowest setting, or just below a boil. 3/4 cup is not a lot of water, and we don't want it to evaporate. On the other hand, the more you let evaporate, the stronger the Chai's flavor will be.
2. If you have a mortar and pestle, then mash the cardamom seeds, cloves, and black pepper corns together. If you do not have a mortar and pestle, then de-shell the cardamom seeds and consider using a pepper-shaker. If you have cinnamon stick, break it into four pieces, if you have Cinnamon Sugar, put it in the water now. Put all of the spices in the water, as well as the honey. Mix well so that the honey dissolves into the water.
3. Stir, occasionally smell or taste (if it's for you) a bit of the Chai. If the spices are not strong enough, then let it brew longer or add more spices. Usually, it takes five to ten minutes for all of the spices to let their flavor out.
4. Once you are satisfied with the spices, add the tea. Depending on how long you leave the tea in, it will be stronger. Usually, I wait until most the tea sinks into the water.
5. At this point, the Chai is probably a bit strong and may have a bitter flavor (though the honey will often make it a bit sweeter). We are going to add milk soon, so I usually bring the Chai to a simmer at this point, so that the milk doesn't make it too cold. Don't cook it too much though- it may all evaporate or the spices may overpower it!
6. Take the pot off of the stove top. Put the strainer or sieve on top of an empty pot or pan. Dump your concoction into the strainer, so that all the liquid pours into the pot or pan below it. Put the hot pan or pot back on the stove so it doesn't crack or melt your counter top. Turn the stove off.
7. Pour some milk in a mug/teacup. I don't use too much milk, as the ingredients list above states. Then pour the strained tea into the milk (we do this so the milk is not scalded and flavorless). Drink your Chai! If it is too bitter, consider adding a little bit of honey or making changes to the ingredients list.

Notes

• There may be some spice residue floating around in your Chai. You can get rid of it using a finer sieve, but it adds flavor and isn't going to hurt anyone.