Nuts and Bolts:

My history with chai latte is interesting. I'm not fond of sweetened tea at all. I never put sweetener in my tea. But I like Chai Masala or the American version, Chai Latte. However, I am not a fan of the available concentrates at the supermarket or the chai lattes available at fast-food chains. They are too sugary sweet and have too much milk. Yet I like the taste of spice and tea with warm milk. I adapted a recipe I found on Bon Appetit’s website, and the URL is at the bottom of the recipe if you want to try the original recipe.

My thought on Chai Latte:

1.    I use a Breville Tea maker. You do not need this for the recipe. It is fine to use a saucepan. 

2.    You do not need a milk frother. You can warm milk in a saucepan or microwave for this.

3.   I recommend putting in a little bit of the maple syrup, but you do not have to use maple syrup. Any other liquid sweetener would work here.

4.    The sweetener is necessary for the recipe because it brings out the flavor of the spices. It tastes flat without it. 

Method:

This chai latte is a quick recipe. It is a spiced black tea. So, any plain black tea will do. I am using an English Breakfast here.  I use about 4-6 well-rounded teaspoons of loose tea per recipe. If you have tea bags, use between 4 to 6 tea bags depending on how strong you like your tea. Then choose your whole spices for your spice mix. I use crushed cardamom, cinnamon sticks, peeled fresh ginger, and cloves. If you are using a saucepan, you do not need to break the cinnamon, just boil the water with ginger and cinnamon. You can add about 3-4 cups of water to the pot. Since I use a tea maker that has an infuser, I load everything into the tea basket. In the tea maker, I use between 750-1000 ML and set the tea maker to custom and steep for six and a half minutes at a temperature of 212°F. If using a pan, boil the water, take it off the heat, and let tea and spices steep.  Then warm the milk or prepare the milk in a milk frother.

Important tip: If using a Breville Milk Frother, I use the latte disc for this. I want the milk to be warmed with a little froth.

When the tea is done steeping, strain the tea if you are using a pot. Then get cups. I let the visitor decide on how much maple syrup to use. I coat it with a thin layer on the bottom of my mug. My daughter uses at least two tablespoons, then add the tea followed by the milk. I like to add a little bit of froth to the top.

Final Thought:

I like to make this Chai Latte over getting one at a coffee shop. I can also control the amount of spice, sweetener, and milk that goes in my drink. Also, I like to know what is in my hot drink, and this way, I know exactly what is in my Chai Latte.

Chai Latte:

4-6 well-rounded teaspoons or 4-6  tea bags of black tea

2 cinnamon sticks(Broken if using tea maker)

Small peeled piece of fresh ginger

2-3 whole clove

2-3 Cardamom seeds crushed

3-4 cups(750-1000ml)of water

Maple syrup

Directions:

If using a saucepan, add water, cinnamon sticks, and fresh ginger and bring to a boil. Then take it off the heat, add the tea and other spices. Let it steep for 5-6:30 minutes. While the tea is steeping, begin to heat or froth the milk. Then add maple syrup to the cup, followed by the strained tea to the cup. Then top it with the warm milk.

If using Breville Tea Maker:

Fill the glass jug with water to somewhere between 750-1000ml. Then add the tea and spice to the basket. Place the covered basket in the jug and add the top. Set the teatime to the custom setting for 5-6:30 minutes at 212°F.

While that is going froth or heat the milk, then add maple syrup to the cup, followed by the strained tea to the cup. Then top it with the warm milk and Enjoy!

Bon Appetit‘s Masala Chai