Our standard Chai Masala has been a customer favourite for a few years now and we thought it was time to introduce a new chai recipe. The ingredients of masala chai, which means “spiced tea,” vary throughout India. Some people favour a simple and fragrant blend of cardamom and fennel and not much else. Some like it very complex and nuanced. And some like it very spicy with heavy emphasis on ginger and pepper. Our normal Chai Masala is in the complex category, with 9 ingredients including rose petals and mint.
For Ninth Avenue Ginger Chai, we’ve gone a little simpler and a little spicier. We held ourselves to just five ingredients and went heavy on the ginger, to give it a real warming effect. It’s the perfect for cold winter months.
This chai blend contains no tea, so you’ll have to add your own. We recommend trying it with green tea instead of the more traditional black. There’s something about the combination of ginger and green tea that works well. But of course, it’s fine with black tea as well.
Instructions: bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a pot on the stove. Add 3 tbsp of chai masala and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of whole milk, 3 tbsp of loose tea (or 3 teabags), and 2 tbsp of sugar (raw sugar or brown sugar is best). Simmer for 4 minutes, bring quickly to a boil and strain into a teapot.
Ingredients: ginger, cardamom, star anise, black peppercorns, allspice.