How to Make Proper Stovetop Chai Recipe

The recipe

Exact quantities, then the method.

Real chai is not a teabag in hot water; it is brewed on the stove, with the tea and spices simmered right in the milk so everything mingles. Using a Classic Chai bag as the base, you add a couple of crushed cardamom pods and a coin of fresh ginger to lift it from a flavoured tea into something that tastes properly homemade. Keep it at a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil, and sweeten it at the end with a little honey.

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the How to Make Proper Stovetop Chai recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/chai-tea/how-to-make-proper-stovetop-chai/

⏱ 8 min 🍽 Serves 1 📊 Easy 📚 Chai Recipes

You'll need

1 tea bag of Yogi Tea Organic Classic Chai
150ml freshly drawn water at 100C, just off the boil
150ml whole milk
2 whole green cardamom pods, lightly crushed open
1 thin coin of fresh root ginger, peeled
1 teaspoon of clear honey
1 280ml mug, warmed
1 small saucepan with lid
1 fine sieve for straining

Method

Pour the water and milk into a small saucepan.
Drop in the tea bag, the crushed cardamom pods and the ginger coin.
Bring to a slow, gentle simmer over medium heat for five minutes; do not let it boil hard or the milk will catch.
Take off the heat and stir in the honey.
Strain through a fine sieve into a warmed mug.
Tip: for a stronger, spicier cup, simmer a couple of minutes longer or add an extra cardamom pod.

What you'll end up with: A proper homemade chai, milky and warmly spiced with cardamom and ginger, lightly sweetened.

Save / print

Keep going