Chai is the Indian word for tea (from the Chinese Cha). Traditional masala (mixed spice) chai, is about 5,000 years old and its roots can be traced unmistakably to the Hindu natural healing system, ayurveda, in which combinations of spices, herbs and sweeteners are used to cure bodily ailments.
Masala chai starts with a mix of sweet and savory spices such as cloves, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom (which is a base spice in almost any masala chai), peppercorn, ginger and sometimes fennel, which are ground and boiled in water. Black tea (Assam is a good base for a strong masala chai) is then added to the spice mixture which is steeped to preference, strained, then combined with any choice of milk and sweetened with honey.
Starbuck chai is absolutely disgusting. In NYC, I would recommend Pret a Manger chai latte.
thanks tea lady. i'm gonna boil up some of those yummy spices... and now i know... ASSAM... that's the one to pick.
yay!
i worked for many years in India, and learned how to make chai the way the tea wallahs do.
PUT IT ALL IN THE POT TOGETHER. the sugar (a lot of it) the milk, the water, the tea, cardamom, cinnamon, other spices like clove, mint, black pepper. BOIL IT. then strain it and serve.
doing it in steps, make tea first then add milk and sugar, while it might seem more deliberate, does not yield a yummy a tea.
I lived in India for a year and nothing warms my soul or takes me back to the subcontinent like a nice cup of Indian tea.
If I am feeling fancy I will go the whole 9 yards and prepare the chai as above but many times I prefer a simpler method:
Steep strong indian tea ( red label, darjeeling or assam) in hot water, add milk and plenty of sugar. I found that at least in the south (Tamil Nadu etc) this is the daily steep of choice without all the spices.
Ikogo is correct. You cook everything together, including the milk.
My uncle grew up in a Tea Estate in Tamil Nadu ( southern part of india) He learned to make tea from the women who picked tea leaves.
According to them it is a follows:
boil water. When the water has boiled add tea leaves ( the proportion of water to tea leaves depends on the kind of tea leaves. Switch off the stove. Let the leaves settle. When the leaves are settled you can pour the tea. Add sugar and hot milk to taste.
Note: When you boil the tea leaves the tea turns bitter.
Deena and co.: There are many ways to make tea. But if the question is how the "chai-wallas" make *chai*, then it's as Ikogo says above. I know this from direct and extensive experience. Also, standard chai is sweetened with sugar, not honey.