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There’s one profession that can beat every other profession by the amount of happiness it can bring others–chai wallah. Chai walla or chaiwalla is, simply put, a person that makes and sells tea. But not every tea–the most delicious milk tea in the world. Chai.  

What is chai tea?

The chai tradition is not very long, but is very strong nevertheless. In India, just like in many countries with strong tea traditions, tea is not only a drink. It’s a necessity. A really delicious necessity. India is a country of mostly black tea, although many farms are producing green, white and oolong tea as well. But chai didn’t start with black tea. It started with spices, thousands of years ago, and thousands of years ago before the story of Indian tea even started.

Spices were always important in Ayurveda, the traditional medicine, and used to make a medicinal brew. Today, they are an important part of Chai Masala – or spiced milk tea with sugar.

Black tea was first discovered in India about 200 years ago. However, in the early years, it was extremely expensive and thus not available to everyone. The real popularity of chai tea started at least 100 years after the actual tea production has started.

The best types of black tea for making chai are those with broken leaves or CTC style teas. Milk and sugar didn’t find their way into recipes by a chance. The habit of adding these two condiments to tea is likely to originate from the British influence at that time.

Just like with every tea tradition, there are certain rules you must follow to truly enjoy your cup. Chai means tea, and in India tea without milk is almost never an option. There are many types of chai tea, but the most comforting by far is the chai masala–milk tea with a blend of spices. Ginger, black peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves are the most common ones.

What is chai wallah?

Chai is more than just a drink. It’s an art that requires a lot of knowledge, passion and skills. It’s not uncommon for every family to have their own traditional chai recipes that’s passed onto every new generation. Tea from different chai wallas will be different too.

Tea by chai walla is prepared right on the street and poured into small traditional unglazed tea cups called kulhars. Today they are often replaced by plastic cups, due to high cost as kulhars are disposable too. In India, chaiwallas are everywhere. They keep the tea culture alive by selling tea on the street and at the stations, from freshly ground spices and freshly boiled tea.

Photo by Sonaal Bangera

How to make the best chai at home?

To make chai like a chai wallah, you don’t need a special kettle, pots or clay tea cups. However, you would need a pestle and mortar for making the most fragrant chai. Choose fresh spices and crush them using a pestle and mortar to get the best flavor and aroma. Then you will need a proper black tea. Black tea should have enough strength and body to hold spices, milk and sugar. Loose leaf tea is always a better choice than tea bags. The choice of milk also matters. Use semi-skimmed or full fat milk. Regular cow’s milk is a better than non-dairy milks, because non-dairy options tend to be more watery. Mix in ratio 1/3 milk 2/3 tea or ½ milk ½ tea. Chai is usually very sweet, but you can reduce the amount of sugar if you want. Use about one to one and a half teaspoon of black tea per cup of water. You don’t need a lot of spices to make an aromatic cup of tea, but try to use fresh over dry ingredients.

Chai Recipe

Spices you will need:

• Freshly grated ginger, about 3-4 teaspoons
• 3-6 cloves
• Small cinnamon stick
• About 5-8 cardamom pods
• A pinch of fennel seeds

Other ingredients you will need for about 3-4 servings of chai tea:

• 3 – 3 ½ cups of water
• 2 cups of milk
• 3-4 teaspoons of black tea leaves
• 2-3 tablespoons of sugar

You may start your chai journey with ginger only if you wish.

• Place all ingredients into a mortar and use pestle to crush them.
• Now put them into a small saucepan and add water.
• Bring water to a boil, lower the fire and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
• Add milk and sugar and increase the heat. Once the milk is nearly boiling point, reduce the heat and add black tea.
• You can keep it on a very low fire or turn the fire off and simply steep for about 5 minutes, depending on the type of tea you are using. The smaller the leaf particles, the stronger the brew will be.
• Strain into another saucepan or a teapot and pour into cups. Or, strain it directly into a cup.  
• Enjoy.