Justin McLemore

Masala chai recipe

Created: · Justin McLemore

Photo of a cup of foamed masala chai.

Ingredients

  • 415 ml water
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 6 green cardamom pods
  • 7 whole black peppercorns
  • 2 cm ginger, sliced
  • 1 Tbsp loose leaf black tea
  • 326 ml whole milk
  • 2 Tbsp honey

Instructions

  1. Lightly crush spices in mortar
  2. To a saucepan, ginger (muddle in the pot), add crushed spices, water, and bring to a boil over high heat.
  3. Then reduce heat slightly to medium/medium-low and maintain a simmer for 10-15 minutes or until it reduces by about one-third.
  4. Add the tea (Do not boil the tea, it can get bitter) and let it steep for at least 5 minutes.
  5. Add milk and bring to a simmer once more, turn off the heat.
  6. Add honey and stir to melt.
  7. Strain and press on the spices to extract maximum flavor.

These posts and spreadsheets are free to use, tweak, and make your own. I built them to organize my own chaos and figured they might help someone else too.

If you find value in them and want to support the time I spend creating and updating these resources, feel free to buy me a tea. It helps fuel the next round of nerdery.
Buy me a tea