Premium tea part three - a recipe for (masala) chai tea

This article is the second in a series of three about premium teas and infusions. In the first article, the different varieties of tea (C. sinensis) are presented along with a list of retailers of premium teas, and in the second article, a list of tea-like infusions is provided.

Spicy and sweet (usually), creamy and hot, delightful and warming: masala chai, meaning spiced tea, is a popular drink worldwide, particularly in India and coffee shops everywhere.  You can make this delicious drink and a ton of great variations on it at home with very little in the way of special equipment.  In fact, all you need is a pan and a mesh strainer.

Ingredients (per 12 oz. cup):

1. 1 1/2 teaspoons of bold, loose-leaf black tea;
2. 6-8 very thin coins of ginger;
3. 10-20 whole cloves;
4. 5-10 whole black peppercorns;
5. 3-4 green cardamom pods or around 10 cardamom seeds;
6. 1 3-inch cinnamon stick or a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon;
7. 8 oz. cold water;
8. 4 oz. whole milk or half and half (or you could use skinny milk if you want...);
9. 1/2 tbsp brown sugar or turbinado, if desired.

Directions:

1. Put all of the spices and the water into a small pan or kettle and begin to heat it to boiling.
2. When the water boils, add the tea leaves and continue to boil the mixture for 3 minutes.
3. Add the milk to the pan.  Keep it over the heat until it just starts to boil again (2-3 minutes).
4. Remove the pan from the heat and strain the liquid into a cup.  Top with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, and/or whipped cream.

Variations:

1. Add half a teaspoon (or a whole one!) of your favorite vanilla extract or a tablespoon of gourmet vanilla syrup for vanilla chai.  It can be added at any point in the process, but it goes best if added with the milk.
2. Add a level teaspoon of premium cocoa powder per 12 oz. cup (and optionally a little vanilla) for chocolate chai.
3. Add pumpkin pie spices and vanilla (and even a spoonful of canned mashed pumpkin) for pumpkin pie chai, great around the holidays.
4. A few dried peppermint leaves and a little nutmeg can be added for a more Christmassy flavor.
5. For a surprisingly good jolt, add a shot or two of espresso or concentrated coffee.  This is actually sometimes called a "dirty chai."
6. Go to The Fresh Market and get some double cream white chocolate milk.  Use it in place of the sugar and milk and have a naughty-good white chocolate chai that cannot be beat!
7. Try making your chai with green or oolong tea instead of with black tea.  For best results, green teas should be simmered after boiling the spices and then it should only be raised to a high simmer once the milk has been added in.  The same is true for a caffeine-free variety made from rooibos in place of the tea (which is absolutely fantastic with vanilla added).

Many of the commercial chais avaiable come in tea bags and produce a reasonable approximation of chai, although to be made properly, the ingredients have to be cooked in both the water and the milk.  Many teabags impart a harsh flavor if used this way, if they survive the cooking process at all (which makes a terrible mess).  For a great (my favorite) prepared chai, visit The Tao of Tea and get their 500-Mile Chai, reportedly based on a recipe used in roadside chai stands for Indian truckers to have "so they could do another 500 miles" after it got dark.  It is very good.

Buy it locally!  Good teas are available in loose-leaf bulk at the Earth Fare locations in Knoxville, in the bulk section near the coffee.  Pre-packaged loose-leaf teas are available at Earth Fare, The Fresh Market, and at any of the Asian or Indian groceries in or around Knoxville (and there is where you can probably find the best-quality tea as well).  The 500-mile chai mentioned above was purchased by the author at The World Market in Turkey Creek, but it isn't always available there.  That store, however, always has a great selection of very good and interesting teas.  Green cardamom pods are sometimes available at The Fresh Market and Earth Fare but will be more reliably available in an Indian grocer like Taj Mahal on Sutherland and Indian Grocery on Ray Mears Blvd.  The other ingredients in masala chai are widely available in the Knoxville area.

For more information about teas, see the first two parts of this article: about premium teas and about tea-like infusions and tea drinks.

For even more ideas and information about tea, see the National Tea Examiner, Margaret Studer.

For more great recipes and cooking ideas, follow the Knoxville Gourmet Food Examiner by subcribing at the top of the page. You can also read more on his personal cooking blog: The Untrained Gourmet.