Chai Masala

The word “chai” simply means, in many languages, “tea.” That’s why saying “chai tea” is an odd redundancy, like saying “café coffee.” Around here, though, “chai” is usually assumed to mean Indian spiced tea, or masala chai . There are, of course, a million different ways to make chai. We’ve had a lot of different cups of it, in a lot of different places, and no two were ever the same. It’s taken years to settle on a consistent recipe that brings together all the best things from the different types we’ve tasted – and this, finally, is it. The one common ingredient, no matter who’s making your chai, is cardamom. After that, ingredients vary wildly. Our blend is quite unique in that it includes ajowan, mint and rose petals in addition to fennel, cloves, cinnamon and ginger. The smell of the spice mix is a little different than the generic chai teabags that are so common now, but the flavour is full, complex and very fresh and fragrant. We sell chai masala (tea spices) both on their own and with Indian Assam tea mixed in. We include a recipe card with every purchase, but included below are the instructions to make it the way we make it at home. The key is the whole milk, which adds…