How to Make Hot Chai, 500ml

A recipe for about 500ml of hot chai, made with one sachet of Chai Spice Pack and milk (dairy, soy, oat or similar). This is the basic cup Inspice recommends learning first.

What you will need

Chai Spice Pack, 1 sachet

Every product below holds the same sachet inside. Choose the size that suits how much you drink.

• “Chai Spice Pack”, 2 sachets ── for a first try
• “Chai Spice Pack”, 6 sachets ── for everyday drinking
• “Chai Spice Pack”, 12 sachets ── the best value per sachet

The Cacao Nibs Chai Spice Pack, layered with roasted cacao nibs, brews in exactly the same way. It adds a gentle bitterness and gives a cup that reads as chocolate.

• “Cacao Nibs Chai Spice Pack”, 2 sachets
• “Cacao Nibs Chai Spice Pack”, 6 sachets
• “Cacao Nibs Chai Spice Pack”, 12 sachets

Equipment

• Pan: a small pan or milk pan of 700ml capacity or more (a pouring lip helps)
• Tea strainer: avoid a very fine mesh. It holds back the spices and the caramelised sugar as well, and the cup turns thin and vague
• Teapot, tumbler or similar: the vessel you pour the finished chai into through the strainer

Ingredients

• Milk 300ml: dairy, soy, oat or similar
• Water 250ml
• Sugar 2 tablespoons (about 30g): unrefined cane sugar is best (see the next section)

About the sugar

The type of sugar changes the flavour of chai a great deal. Unrefined cane sugar suits Inspice chai best.

◎ Unrefined cane sugar ── the right choice

Unrefined cane sugar is drawn off just before the cane juice is fully refined. The molasses left in it carries an aroma and depth that recall honey and caramel. In India, the home of chai, this kind of sugar is in wide use.

In Inspice chai it does not mask the spices and the tea. It lifts them from underneath. Added during the brew, it caramelises against the hot base of the pan and builds depth and savoury weight. That reaction only happens because the molasses is still there.

Look for it in the sugar aisle or at a baking supplier, sold as unrefined cane sugar or cassonade. The powdered form dissolves more readily and is easier to work with.

If you use another sugar

Light brown cane sugar (kibizato) ── the next best thing
Easy to find, with plenty of depth. Reach for it when unrefined cane sugar is not to hand.

Beet sugar ── workable
Gives a lighter chai than unrefined or light brown cane sugar. Good if you like a lighter body.

Dark cane sugar (kokuto) ── not recommended
Its depth comes through too strongly and covers the 12 spices and the tea.

White refined sugar ── not recommended
With no depth at all, there is nothing to carry the aroma. The result is simply sweet. Of the five, it suits chai least.

How to brew the chai

Time required: about 7 minutes

Keep to the quantities and the timings as written. Inspice chai is designed so that the aroma peaks at this ratio and these times. Brew longer because you prefer it strong and the tea turns astringent, and the spices end up hidden behind it. Follow the method as it stands the first time.

1. Put 250ml of water in the pan.
2. Add the cassia, the cardamom (snipped lengthways with scissors) and the tea leaves to the water, then set over medium heat and bring to the boil.
   
   
3. Once it boils, drop to the lowest heat and brew for 2 minutes 30 seconds.
   Held at a rolling boil, the tea turns bitter. Leave it for 2 minutes 30 seconds on the lowest heat, or with the heat off.
4. Add 300ml of milk, the ground spices and 2 tablespoons of sugar (about 30g). Draw a cross through the base of the pan with a spoon, then raise to medium heat and brew for 60 seconds.
   
5. After 60 seconds, lower the heat and brew for 1 minute 30 seconds.
6. Take the pan off the heat and draw a cross through the base again, on a different line from before. Then stir the whole thing gently with the spoon to bring it together.
   Stir as though dissolving the sugar settled at the base into the chai.
7. Pour slowly through the strainer into a pot or tumbler. Done.
   Pressing the tea leaves releases astringency and bitterness. Do not crush them. Draw off the chai milk alone, gently. If liquid pools in the strainer and will not fall through, tap the rim lightly with a spoon.

Common questions

Q. My milk boiled over.
A. Above 74°C milk takes on a cooked note that gets in the way of the fine aromas of the spices and the tea. Once the milk is in, small bubbles at the edge of the pan are enough. Keep to the heat and the timings and it will not boil.

Q. Can I add the sugar at the end?
A. It will sweeten the cup, but you lose the depth and savoury weight that come from caramelising. Add it during the brew, as the method says.

Q. Can I use soy or oat milk?
A. Yes. The quantities and the timings are the same as for dairy milk. Soy separates readily, so take particular care not to let it boil once the milk is in.

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📍How to Make Hot Chai, 700ml (lighter, and more of it)

📍How to Make Iced Chai, 500ml

📍The complete guide to brewing chai (choosing your equipment, and three tips for a better cup)