Chai Spice Mix and Chai Concentrate
Homemade chai spice mix is a perfect holiday food gift! Or, keep it all to yourself, so you can make authentic chai(Indian tea) any time you want! Use the chai spice to make a chai concentrate! That means instant hot chai or iced tea any time! This fragrant and delicious Indian chai masala is my family recipe.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the Chai Spice Blend
- 3 tablespoons green cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more to preference or 2” cinnamon stick
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 5 fennel seeds optional
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger optional - omit if using fresh ginger
For 1 Serving of Chai
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon chai spice mix or more, to taste
- ½ inch fresh ginger grated or chopped
- 2 to 3 teaspoons loose-leaf tea
- ½ cup creamy non-dairy milk like barista oat milk
- sugar or sweetener to taste optional
For the Chai Concentrate (4 Servings)
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons chai spice mix or more, to taste
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated
- 1½ tablespoons loose-leaf tea
- sugar or sweetener to taste
Instructions
Make the chai spice blend.
- Combine all the chai spice blend ingredients in a coffee grinder or small blender. Blend until the mixture is evenly powdered. Depending on your blender, if might not do a good job of breaking up the cardamom pods completely. If you think that might happen, remove the husks before blending and use only the seeds.(This will make a more concentrated chia spice mix and you might need to add a bit less per serving). Store the spice mix in an airtight container away from direct sunlight. The spice will stays fresh for 6 months.
Make 1 serving of chai.
- Heat the water in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chai spice mix and grated or thinly sliced ginger and bring to a boil. Add the loose-leaf tea and boil again. Stir in sugar to taste, then pour in the non-dairy milk slowly. (Do a very slow pour that will bring the temperature of the saucepan down and reduce chances of non dairy milk separating). Bring the mixture to a boil again, then turn off the heat. Strain into a cup and enjoy!
Make the chai concentrate.
- Heat the water in a saucepan and add chai spice mix and grated ginger. Bring to a boil. Add the loose-leaf tea and sugar (if using). Boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep for a few minutes. Strain the concentrate, let it cool, and store it in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 7 days. Or freeze into ice cubes and use later!
- Use the chai concentrate: add equal parts chai concentrate and non dairy milk and heat up for hot heat or serve over ice for iced tea!
Video
Notes
Green cardamom pods: I like to include the green cardamom husks, if you can get them powdered really well, because the husk also has a lot of flavor. If you can break it up into a powder, definitely use them.
The jars pictures are overnight oats or pudding jars like these.
Prep time and cook time are to make 1 serving of chai from the blend.
Nutrition data is for 1 serving of the chai spice blend without sugar or milk, since the amounts you use will vary.
To make a spiced loose tea, mix all of the chai spice mixture you just made with 2 to 3 cups of loose tea leaves. Mix really well and store, just like you store the spice blend, then use this to make chai just like you would use loose tea leaves. Although I don’t suggest storing this way as the spice will tend to collect at the bottom instead of staying mixed in the tea.
Nutrition
Calories: 25kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 0.05g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg