ha ha! just read this post with a mug of chai already in my hand! being another worldy cook living in china, i also can't live without my cardamon and cloves (bought during the last visa run to hong kong from chunking manions), particularly in the winter when i find my ice-cream habit turns into a hot milky drink habit. i normally put in cloves, cardamon, star anise, gui pi (not quite as good as cinnamon but way cheaper), black peppercorns, tea leaves, ginger, sugar AND honey - but what i want to know is, was this version any better than your standard one?

The intro to your post is hilarious.

I've always liked the idea of chai but the truth is I have a very hard time with Indian spices when used aggressively. The worse thing is eating a biryani and finding a cardamom pod in my mouth. I know a lot of Chinese people who are this way, so I blame it on my upbringing.

I love chai, it brings me back good memories of a friend in the US, but I never tried to make my own... I usually buy... great recipe, I have all ingredients here...

Diana, one day you should come to visit our bakery88 in Dali, we're doing chai from the scratch. we got the same problem with cardamom, I'm always importing very good quality vanilla pods and cardamom from Germany. Give me a shout when you need. regards karine

We luv chai and haven't drunk one for quite a while. Tks for your sharing. Can I replace black tea with other tea? Nice blog and beautiful photos!

I loved this post. My favorite masala chai recipe is from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. If has ground ginger, cardamom, cloves black peppercorns and cinnamon. The milk is in a smaller ratio than your version, next time I'll have to up the dairy because that sounds lovely.

1/4 inch bruised flattened ginger, 3 peppercorns, 2 cloves, 3 cardamoms boil along with 3 cups water, add 6 heaped teaspoons of black assam tea, boil for 3 mins, stir in half to one (depending on how you milky you like your tea) cup warm milk, add as much sugar according to taste, boil for 1/2 min, cover and brew for another 1 min. Strain and drink.

I love your comment about "personal space". I would miss cereal very much, too!

I love chai, as a non coffee drinker I was sold when I went to Mumbai for work. I would get chai served by " the Tea boy". Sometimes ginger would be the prevailing spice, sometimes cardamom. I couldn't agree more : Big coffee chains non coffee assortment is lousy. The worst kind is the powered they mix with hot milk. It's not even tea! I can drink the Tazo but I agree it gets really boring. And they try to compensate the lack of caramelized milk with extra suger which makes it so sickly sweet.

I just moved to Japan and I am having a hard time finding lots of ingredients. I have to have all of my Korean ingredients sent to my by relatives in Korea...thank God they are close. Any many of my Indian spices are flown in from a contact in Fiji. I swear, I think that if I was to open up an exotic spice shop here, I would make bank!

my daughter loves chai so much, that, as a toddler, that's the name that she gave milk. we make it together from scratch and cannot imagine being without beloved cardamom and nutmeg etc. we will try this recipe out next time we make a batch. yummmmmm.

Hi Diana,

You can find cardamon at San Yuan Li, I believe, or at the Indian Kitchen market in San Li Tun, right behind the Hunan Xiaochi place behind YaXiu. Punjabi on Lucky Street might have them too, but I've never ventured inside.

Also, true Kashmiri chai doesn't use salt but baking soda, I believe--I'm of South Asian descent and my parents' Pakistani friends would make this often during winter gatherings. They use a particular kind of green tea, which when combined with the baking soda turns the tea a lovely pink! Ground pistachios are added at the end to make it more interesting texturally.

I love chai. But I have to try adding nutmeg and saffron. Those I have never put in my chai so next time I will experiment a little.

I make my chai with:

Cardomom pods
cinnamon sticks
Fresh mutmeg
Cloves
a couple peppercorns
a slice of ginger
Red label tea (indian)
Milk
Honey

I biol the spice is some water, then add the tea, then add the milk at the last and strain. Must serve in an ugly (awesome) handmade mug (we call him mugly) and enjoy!

I have been scouring the internet for a good recipe because I actually miss the ease of buying my Stash Chai in the tea bag. Your beginning comments about life in China are right or at least for Shanghai.

I love chais, it is just so warm and comforting!

In Kerala where my family is from chai was made only with cardomom and no other spices, was heavy on the milk and sweetend with sugar. It was served hot and frothy. I like it best this way. However, when I make it now I occassionally add along with the cardomom a sliver of ginger and a mint leaf (from my mint patch in NY). I use loose indian black tea which is added to a 50/50 ratio of boiled water and fat free milk (this is my preferance, not authentic). I then let this steep a few minutes while covered, strain and add honey. I find if you pour the tea back and forth between two containers in order to create some froth it brings out the flavor of the cardomon. Cheers!

Here's a great recipe for Masala Chai

Boil some water
When the water gets luke warm
Add a few slices of ginger
Then add a couple of cardammon seeds
to this add a few black pepper seeds

Let it boil on a slow flame
then add sugar, tea leafs
once the color of the tea is there
add milk to taste and let it boil and serve

it's the best masala tea you ever had

I'm a chai newbie, and found all these posts quite exciting. I can't wait to start experimenting. I made--and tasted--my first Chai a few weeks ago, but it was a Chai hot chocolate,did you all cringe? It was
completely yummy...black tea, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, vanilla, sugar, milk. Thanks for all the recipes, keep them coming.