Chai is a tea drink that has a number of spices in it. It is basically consumed in India. There are five basic components in making the best Chai tea.
The first component is the tea base. Black tea, usually Assam acts as the base of this popular tea drink because it is strong enough to hold up to the milk and the sweetener. However, there is one specific kind of Assam tea that best suits this drink. This is called ‘mamri’. ‘Mamri’ are tea leaves that cured for a time that eventually breaks into tiny particles.
The next important component is the spices. The spices is what makes masala chai a distinct drink from any other tea beverage. The spices are combined to make a mixture which is called ‘Karha’. This mixture has a ginger and pods of cardamom as its basic ingredients. From here, other spices can be added to achieve more flavor. The most common spices added to this are cloves, nutmeg, peppercorn, fennel seeds, star anise and cinnamon. Western countries usually take out some spices and add their own.
The next important component is the milk. Buffalo milk is the most common milk used in India. However, in countries where buffalo milk is rare, cow’s milk is substituted. However, there are some people who also like to use condensed milk which adds creaminess and sweetness to the tea drink. However, Chai tea can also be consumed without any kind of milk. For this water is substituted in the same proportion.
The next important component is the sweetener. For this, there is a wide choice of sweetener that can be used to sweeten the chai tea drink. The most popular being white sugar and brown sugar. Palm sugar, Muscovado sugar and coco sugar are also popular choices. Then there are those who prefer honey as a natural sweetener. For those who like it really sweet, jiggery is their choice of sweetener. Jiggery is a compact form of cane sugar.
Masala Chai is really sweet because of the presence of a good portion of sweetener. The reason for this is that the amount of spices involved can be overwhelming and the sweetener balances it out.
The last important component in making masala chai is the preparation. There are several ways of preparing masala chai but the most popular of all is the decoction method. In this method, all of the ingredients are simmered then strained into a cup.