Chai Tea Spice Mix

My new year’s resolution for 2020 was to significantly cut down on the coffee. Of course that means that I need a new wake up drink instead.

For a while, my matcha latte was my go to drink in the mornings, but I felt like I needed a change from that. And with a lot of Indian food we’ve been eating the house lately, trying something Indian was the logical next step.

When I studied to become a certified and licensed tax advisor while having a more-than-full-time day job already, I drank A LOT of chai tea lattes. Meyerbeer-Coffee at Prager Platz, Berlin is probably my favorite place in whole Berlin.

When I created this recipe however, I quickly came to understand that the sugary, syrupy chai concentrate the use at the coffee shops has little to nothing to do with what a proper chai tea latte should taste and look like.

What is chai tea?

The term “Chai tea” is a bit redundant as “chai” actually means “tea” in hindi. Chai tea probably has its origins in India, or at least it is mostly associated with that area of the world, and is a is a tea blend normally made with black tea leaves mixed with various spices.

Technically speaking, chai tea should rather be called mixed spice tea.

What spices are included in chai tea or shall I say masala chai?

Chai tea has a very distinctive blend of strong flavors that people seem to either love or hate. At our house, I don’t need to share because hubby hates it and will even open the window when he accidentally opens the storage tin.

Your masala chai tea blend can really be different from mine. I just want to provide some inspiration for you and you can customize it to suit your taste. Some of the more commonly used spices include cinnamon, cardamon, and cloves. Ginger is also normally added, giving it an extra flavor kick.

Print Recipe

Chai Tea Spice Mix

Prep Time15 mins

Course: beverage

Cuisine: American, Indian

Keyword: 10 ingredient or less, 30 minutes or less, pantry prep, vegan

Servings: 50 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup black tea of your choice I used Earl Grey
• 3 tbsp dried ginger
• 3 tbsp green cardamon pods around 75 pods,
• 3 tbsp star anise 9-10,
• 1 tbsp cloves
• 4 tbsp ground cinnamon use 4 cinnamon sticks if available
• 1 tbsp peppercorns
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds

Instructions

• Add all the spices to a blender and blend shortly for about 10-15 seconds or until coarsely ground. You want to use smaller pieces of the spices to have them infuse properly, but at the same time, don't want to end up with a fine powder.
  
  
• Mix together the coarsely ground spices with your tea of choice.
  
• Your chai tea is now ready for using. You can either spoon in around a tsp. of the mixture into teabags to have ready to use chai teabags for individual servings, or add the desired amount to a teapot.