Masala Chai Concentrate

Mmmmm, delicious masala chai... to me, the perfect masala chai is hot, spicy, thick, creamy and only slightly sweet. My husband has told me about the chai he would drink everywhere when he studied abroad in Kathmandu, Nepal, everywhere from his host home to the movie theater. It was everything I described above, but served with whole goat's milk, so that made it almost a snack in itself.


"Chai tea lattes" from coffee shops always disappoint me. Commercially available chai concentrates leave something to be desired - too sweet, not enough warm spice. When I've bought pre-made chai spiced black tea blends, they also leave something to be desired - they sort of taste how I want, but they aren't quite there yet. I think I've discovered what was missing.


In order to get the full, intense flavor from the spices - the cinnamon, the cloves, the ginger, the anise - requires much more than the five minute steep time of black tea... but you can't steep black tea too long or else it turns bitter. In comes the crock pot. Here, I've taken all of the spices needed to create a delicious cup of chai and simmered them for hours, making a highly flavored concentrate one can then use to steep black tea and mix with milk to create a steaming, warming, wonderful cup of masala chai!


This recipe makes a masala chai spiced concentrate.  I like to make concentrates because they are easier to store in my refrigerator (I can't ever seem to have enough room in there) and I can still have the same cup of tea all week with minimal effort. To make the perfect cup of masala chai from the concentrate, simply follow these instructions:

• To make hot masala chai: Heat one part of the concentrate to a boil. Remove from heat, quickly stir in one part of your choice of milk (such as half a cup of each), then pour over your favorite black tea and steep for five minutes. Remove the tea leaves, sweeten to taste (if desired) and enjoy.
• To make iced masala chai: Heat one part of the concentrate to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over your favorite black tea and steep for five minutes. Remove the tea leaves and sweeten to taste (if desired). Mix in one part of your choice of cold milk and pour over ice.

If you do not wish to have a caffeinated  beverage, simply leave out the black tea leaves - mix one part concentrate with one part milk and sip any time of the day!


Milks: Traditionally, masala chai is made with whole cow's milk or goat's milk. You can use any milk you prefer - whole, skim, 2%, soy, rice, almond, hemp, coconut... personally, I like to use vanilla almond milk. It adds a little bit of sweetness and the subtle nutty flavor goes very well with the spices. Condensed milk will make a thick, creamy tea that is sweet enough without adding sugar.
Sweeteners: Honey, raw honey, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, agave nectar or pure cane sugar.


When you make this, your entire home will smell delicious. Cheers to tea!!!


Masala Chai Concentrate
Makes enough for about eight to ten cups of tea.
Use whole spices - not ground

• one thumb sized section of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 20 green cardamom pods
• 25 cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 3 black peppercorns
• 5 allspice berries
• 5 star anise

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker with four cups of water. Set to the high heat setting and let simmer for six to eight hours. When finished, strain out the spices and cool the concentrate. Store in the refrigerator for about one week. To make a cup of tea, follow the instructions above.


If you don't own a slow cooker, simmer the spices on the stove in a pot with a tight-fitting lid over low heat for 3-4 hours.

Fruit and Citrus Tea (caffeine free)

Some mornings I don't feel like drinking caffeinated beverages, and I especially never drink any at night. I came up with this gentle, unobtrusive tea that is full of flavor. The ginko in the tea gives you a boost of brain power, and the cool, fruity flavors of rosehips and lemongrass keep you calm.

I used a peel from a clementine that I dried myself and had stored in a glass jar. I would use some other type of orange peel - orange, blood orange, tangerine, so on. 

To dry your own citrus peel, simply peel it off the fruit (it's easy to do this in one piece with mandarins, but oranges have a thicker peel so it will be in many pieces) and lay someplace where air can get to it on all sides. I rigged mine up to the handle of a cabinet using string and clips. Let it sit for a day or two until it is hard, and store in a glass jar or airless plastic bag.


This recipe makes a tea concentrate - that is, you keep it around a mix it with water to make the perfect cup of tea. I like to make concentrates because they are easier to store in my refrigerator (I can't ever seem to have enough room in there) and I can still have the same cup of tea all week with minimal effort. To make the perfect cup of tea from the concentrate, simply follow these instructions:

• To make hot tea: Heat one part tea concentrate with one part water in a saucepan. Let simmer for a second and sweeten to taste using raw honey, honey, agave nectar or your favorite sugar (if desired).
• To make cold tea: Mix one part tea concentrate with one part cold water and some ice. If you'd like sweetened cold tea, follow the instructions to make hot tea, add in the sweetener and then chill before pouring over ice.
• To make caffeinated tea: After bringing the tea concentrate/water to a boil, simply use that as your steeping water. I haven't tried any yet, but I'm guessing this would be delicious with black, green, oolong or white tea!  

Alternately, you could simply mix together all of the herbs and store it in a glass jar, taking out one teaspoonful at a time to brew one cup of tea at a time the way that you normally do; however, simply steeping the tea blend won't produce as strong of a flavor as simmering it for a longer amount of time. 

Alternately again, to simply make tea that you and some friends would like to drink in thirty minutes or so - double the amount of spices but keep the amount of water the same. Strain and enjoy.



Fruit and Citrus Tea
Yields enough concentrate to make about eight to ten cups of tea.
All ingredients are dried

• 4 tablespoons ginko
• 4tablespoons lemongrass
• 4 tablespoons rosehips
• 2 tablespoons peppermint
• 1 small or 1/2 large dried citrus peel
• 10 green cardamom pods
• about 4 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the tea is dark and fragrant - about half an hour. Alternately, put everything into a slow cooker and simmer over low heat for 8 hours.

Simmering tea, relaxing me...