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Bon Appétit

BA's Best Masala Chai

4.6

(22)

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Photo by Alex Lau

This chai is definitively ginger-forward. Feel free to add a little more maple syrup if you like it on the sweeter side. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 Servings

Ingredients

1

1½-inch piece fresh ginger, unpeeled, coarsely grated

1

3-inch cinnamon stick, lightly crushed with the flat side of a knife

6

teaspoons loose strong black tea (such as Assam) or 6 tea bags (such as PG Tips)

14

green cardamom pods, lightly crushed, or ¾ teaspoon cardamom seeds, lightly crushed

2¾

cups milk

¼

cup pure maple syrup

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring ginger, cinnamon, and 3½ cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by a third and very fragrant, about 20 minutes.

    Step 2

    Remove pan from heat, stir in tea and cardamom, and let steep 2 minutes.

    Step 3

    Return pan to medium-high heat and stir in milk and maple syrup. Cook, stirring occasionally and keeping a close watch, until mixture begins to foam up and boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Strain chai through a fine-mesh sieve into a teapot or pitcher and serve.

Explore Bon AppétitHot DrinkGingerCardamomCinnamonQuickEasyDrinksNonalcoholicHealthyish
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Reviews (22)

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  • damn this chai is AWESOME and i’m addicted to it!enough said!

    • jacquivanaswegen

    • UK

    • 1/6/2018

  • Fantastic. My assam tea was loose leaf but not as finely crumbled like shown in the video, so make sure you measure your tea after crumbling.

    • jnjn06161502

    • FL, USA

    • 1/8/2018

  • Is it possible to make this recipe with an alternative milk (soy milk or almond milk)?

    • Anonymous

    • 9/26/2018

  • Absolutely fantastic and not at all difficult. It takes a little time, but the results are worth it. I cut down the number of tea bags to 5 and like the results a little better. When I come home from work, I get this started and it makes the house smell wonderful and then I have a steaming cup and save the rest for the next day. I'm addicted!

    • Anonymous

    • Colorado

    • 10/18/2018

  • SO GOOD! I love the spicy ginger flavor it's perfect for a sudden scratchy throat during a polar vortex. I used a coconut based dairy alternative because my husband is lactose intolerant and we never have real milk and it was great!

    • Joey3

    • Cambridge, MA

    • 1/31/2019

  • This is sooo delicious on a rainy day! Would it be sacrilege to make this the night before and heat it up the next morning? I think this would be wonderful in a thermos to take to work but I'm worried it wouldn't be as wonderful reheated.

    • Anonymous

    • New York

    • 5/14/2019

  • So yummy! Could you give a TBS amount for the ginger for consistency? thank you!

    • Anonymous

    • california

    • 8/13/2019