Spicy and comforting chai concentrate that can be used for warm or cold beverages. Makes enough for 2-4 drinks.

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There are few afternoons where a spicy masala chai wouldn’t instantly improve it. I like to have mine iced or hot, depending on the weather. The problem I find with chai concentrates at the grocery store is that they are either very expensive (my favorite concentrate is a dizzying $24 a bottle), or too sweet. When I have chai, I am looking for a spicy experience that feels like it’s healing the sore throat that I almost constantly have with small children who like to share their colds with me. The fresh ginger and black pepper kicks this recipe up a notch, so that it’s the perfect balance of spicy and sweet.

Happily, I came across this recipe, and adapted it to a concentrate by leaving the milk out so that I don’t have to worry about drinking it all by myself in two to three days. Since I am sensitive to caffeine, I like to make my concentrate with decaf tea, though the tea flavor is stronger with regular caffeinated tea. While the ingredients can sometimes be tricky or expensive to find, I know that they will last me at least six months, and are way cheaper than purchasing the concentrate on its own.

What is masala chai?

Thanks to popular coffee chains, most of us in North America have a mislead idea in mind when someone says “chai,” as the word “chai” just translates to “tea” in Hindi. This means when you say “chai tea,” you are saying “tea tea” to many others from South Asian cultures. “Masala” is a word translated from a few different South Asian languages (Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Nepali) that describes a blend of spices often including coriander, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, cardamom, garlic, ginger, chile paste, tomato, and onion. The spices are ground together and used in sweet or savory recipes like butter chicken. Put together, the words masala chai describes a black tea combined with a specific blend of spices often simmered together to release their aromatic compounds and combined with milk. Now the next time you order a masala chai, you have a deeper understanding of the cultural roots of this very delicious beverage.

This recipe was adapted from Minimalist Baker’s excellent recipe, which can be found here.

Ingredients:

1 whole cinnamon stick (about 3-4” long)
6-8 Green cardamom pods
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3-4 whole cloves
1 Star anise
2 Tbl grated fresh ginger
2 1/2 cups filtered water
3 Tbl loose leaf black tea like assam or darjeeling (3-4 tea bags)
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups of your milk of choice (whole, oat, almond, etc)
Optional Garnish: Ground cinnamon

Step-by-Step Instructions

Put cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, cloves, and star anise in a mortar and smash with a pestil. You aren’t trying to fully grind the ingredients, just release their flavors and increase surface area. You can also use a spice grinder for this step and run for about 10 seconds.

Add all of the spices plus the grated ginger and 2 1/2 cups of water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, so it reduces by about 1/3.

Add the black tea and simmer on low for about 5 more minutes. Then turn off the heat and stir in the maple syrup. Strain out the chai into a heat proof bowl and let cool before bottling in an airtight container, and storing in the fridge for up to two weeks. Shake before using.

To Make into a Drink:

Iced: Shake the concentrate, and pour over 1 cup of ice cubes. Combine with 1/4 cup of your favorite milk. Top with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Hot: Heat in a microwave-safe container or mug in the microwave for one minute. Heat 1/3 cup of milk separately in the microwave for one minute, then froth the milk with a hand held milk frothing wand. Pour into the warmed masala chai, top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and enjoy.

Tips for this Recipe

Fresh ginger can be really hard to grate. It somehow disappears as you grate it so you are left with a weird pulp and juice. I like to store mine in the freezer to prolong shelf life, and make it easier to grate. Once you start storing ginger like this, you won’t go back.

If you prefer a sweeter less spicy chai, reduce the grated ginger by half, and add 1 tsp vanilla extract.

This recipe can be easily doubled or quadrupled, just make sure you wait for it to reduce enough (probably closer to 25 minutes for larger batches), otherwise your concentrate will be weak.

Substitutions:

Decaf black tea works as a substitute for regular black tea.

Do not try to substitute ground ginger for fresh ginger, you will get a processed and too potent ginger taste.

You can substitute maple syrup for honey, though honey tends to be sweeter, so I would start with 2 tbl, and taste before adding more. You can also substitute 1:1 for white or brown sugar, just be sure it is fully dissolved before bottling.

I would not substitute the ground versions of the spices for the whole ones. They would be too difficult to properly strain out and your tea would have a gritty texture and probably be too strong.

Spicy Masala Chai Concentrate

Ingredients:

Step-by-Step Instructions