Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 black tea bags
- 4 green cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 4 black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp honey, plus more to taste
- 1 1/2 cups milk
Instructions
- Simmer the spices. In a saucepan, combine the water, crushed cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, ginger, and peppercorns. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Steep the tea. Off the heat, add the tea bags and steep 5 minutes — no longer, or the tea turns bitter.
- Strain and sweeten. Strain out the spices and tea bags, then stir in the honey until dissolved. Taste and add more honey if you like it sweeter.
- Add the milk. Warm the milk until steaming (or froth it for the full café effect) and stir into the chai.
- Serve. Pour into 2 warm mugs, dust with a pinch of cinnamon, and sip immediately.
💡 Chai smarts
Crush the cardamom pods and lightly crack the other spices — whole spices simmered intact give weak, shy chai. Don't boil the tea bags; a 5-minute off-heat steep extracts flavor without bitterness. Froth the milk if you can — that foam cap is what makes it feel like a $6 café drink.
Common questions
Can I make chai decaf?
Yes — use decaf black tea bags. The spices carry most of the flavor anyway.
Can I make it vegan?
Yes — swap in oat milk and use maple syrup instead of honey. Oat milk froths beautifully.
Can I make chai concentrate ahead?
Yes — double the water, spices, and tea (skip the milk), simmer, strain, and refrigerate up to a week. Mix 1:1 with hot milk to serve.
My chai is too spicy / too mild — help?
Adjust the ginger and peppercorns — they're the heat dials. More ginger = more bite; fewer peppercorns = gentler.
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