Masala Chai
मसाला चाय (Masala Chai)
Strong black tea simmered with milk, sugar and whole spices until the cup tastes of cardamom and ginger.
Masala chai is Indian spiced milk tea: strong black tea, often CTC Assam, simmered with milk, sugar and whole spices such as cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and clove. Made in a saucepan in about seven minutes.
Sensory profile
How it unfolds
Where it sits
That is 60 mg in one serving (8 oz (240ml) cup with milk), a concentration of 25 mg per 100 ml. The scale above ranks whole servings, and servings differ in size, so a larger drink can sit further right while being weaker cup for cup.
Editorial estimate, not a laboratory measurement
Compare it against
Related gear
| Brewing method | Saucepan Simmer & Strainer |
|---|---|
| Brew ratio | 1:96 |
| Dose & yield | 2.5g → 240g |
| Grind size | CTC pellets |
| Water temperature | 212°F / 100°C |
| Target brew time | 7:00-9:00 simmered |
| Serving | 8 oz (240ml) cup with milk |
What you need
- 2.5 g CTC black tea, about 1 level teaspoon
- 120 g filtered water
- 120 g whole milk
- 2 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 1 cm of fresh ginger, about 3 g, crushed
- 1 small piece of cinnamon stick, 1 clove and 3 black peppercorns, all optional
- 5 to 10 g sugar, to taste
Required gear
- Small saucepan with a lid
- Fine strainer
- Mortar, or the flat of a knife, for crushing the spices
- Scale accurate to 0.1 g
- Cup
Step-by-step protocol
- 0:00Put 120 g of water in the saucepan with the crushed cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and any clove or pepper, and bring it to a simmer.
- 1:00Cover the pan and simmer gently for about three minutes so that the water takes on the spices.
- 4:00Add 2.5 g of tea and let it simmer for about two minutes. Longer than that and the tea turns bitter.
- 6:00Pour in 120 g of milk and the sugar and bring it back up to a simmer. As soon as it rises toward the rim, lower the heat.
- 7:00Strain into a cup and serve hot.
Troubleshooting
What it may be good for
Caffeine, in numbers
We list about 60 mg for an 8 oz cup.
Tea goes in late
Let the spices simmer first, then give the tea about two minutes and add the milk after it. Tea left boiling in the pot turns bitter.
What to watch out for
- Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you.
- Masala chai is usually made with milk and sugar, so it carries more sugar than plain tea. Use less, or none, if you prefer.
Masala chai is Indian spiced milk tea: strong black tea, often CTC Assam, simmered with milk, sugar and whole spices such as cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and clove. Made in a saucepan in about seven minutes.
Origin & Story
Pass a chai stall in the early morning and you hear it before you see it: a spoon rattling in a steel pot, the hiss as milk rises toward the rim and is pulled back off the flame. Masala chai is made on the spot, one batch at a time, and the people making it rarely seem to measure.
The name is plain. Chai is the word for tea, from the Chinese cha, and masala means a mix of spices, so masala chai is spiced tea. The drink is younger than its legends. Spiced herbal infusions are old in India, and stories trace chai back to them, but nothing documents that link. What the record does show is a push in the early 1900s by the Indian Tea Association to get Indians drinking tea, with tea breaks in factories, mines and mills and stalls along the railways. The usual account is that vendors stretched costly tea with milk and sugar and masked cheap, harsh tea with spices. It is plausible but poorly documented, and the strong, quick-brewing CTC tea invented in Assam in the 1930s suited that boil perfectly.
No two households agree on the spices. Cardamom is nearly always there, with ginger and cinnamon close behind. Clove, black pepper, fennel, star anise and lemongrass come and go, and in parts of western India clove and pepper are sometimes left out. Some cooks simmer the spices in water first and add the tea later, while others boil everything together in a mix of water and milk, often half and half.
What matters most is the order and the clock. Spices can simmer for a few minutes, but the tea wants only about two, because chai made with CTC turns bitter quickly if it keeps boiling. Add the milk last, bring it up to a simmer and strain.
Simmer 2.5 g of CTC tea with 120 ml of water, 120 ml of milk and a few crushed spices for about seven minutes in all, then strain and sweeten to taste.
Reading the Flavor Profile
| Axis | Score |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | 70/100 |
| Acidity | 40/100 |
| Bitterness | 45/100 |
| Body | 85/100 |
| Aroma | 92/100 |
These values are comparative editorial positions within our own catalog, calibrated so entries can be ranked against each other. They are not laboratory measurements.
How much caffeine is in Masala Chai?
One serving, 8 oz (240ml) cup with milk, contains approximately 60 mg of caffeine.
What temperature should I use for Masala Chai?
Heat the water with the spices to a gentle simmer, add the tea for about two minutes, then add the milk and bring it back to a simmer. The target is around 100°C (212°F); a long, hard boil makes the tea bitter and can scorch the milk.
How long should Masala Chai be extracted?
Timing: 7:00-9:00 simmered. Method: Saucepan Simmer & Strainer. Ratio: 10g CTC tea per Liter of water and milk (2.5 g per cup), plus whole spices. Grind or leaf format: CTC pellets.
Why does my Masala Chai taste bitter?
Simmered tea turns bitter if the leaf boils hard or steeps too long. Let the spices simmer first, give the tea about two minutes, then add the milk and strain on time.
What does chai mean, and is chai tea correct?
Chai is the word for tea in Hindi and many other languages, so chai tea means tea tea. In English, chai usually means masala chai, spiced milk tea. A chai latte in a cafe is often made from a sweet spiced concentrate and steamed milk rather than from tea simmered with spices.
Which spices go into masala chai?
Cardamom, ginger and cinnamon are the usual core. Many cooks add clove and black pepper, and some add fennel, star anise or lemongrass. Recipes differ by family and region, and western India sometimes leaves out clove and pepper.
What tea is best for masala chai?
A strong black tea with small, tightly rolled leaf, such as CTC Assam, because it gives color and body quickly in simmering milk. Strong broken-leaf Assam or a robust tea bag also works, and Darjeeling and Nilgiri are used in some regions.
Who should avoid Masala Chai?
Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you. Masala chai is usually made with milk and sugar, so it carries more sugar than plain tea. Use less, or none, if you prefer. This information is educational and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, managing a cardiac or gastrointestinal condition, or taking prescription medication, discuss caffeine and botanical intake with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes.
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