Homemade chai spice mix makes a perfect holiday gift! Or keep it all to yourself, so you can make authentic chai (Indian tea) whenever you want! Use chai spice to make chai concentrate! That means instant hot chai or iced tea anytime! This fragrant and delicious Indian chai masala is my family recipe.
Chai spices, or chai masala as I would define it, it is excellent as a gift. Freshly made chai spice is much more flavorful than the pre-packaged version! Store packaged versions (in the US) are usually not close to an authentic Indian chai spice blend. They tend to be much more cinnamon or nutmeg, while the Indian spice chai, or chai masala, is heavier on the cardamom.
There are several ways to make chai spice, depending on your region, family recipes, and personal preferences. You can add more spices for different flavor profiles or reduce some based on your preferences. This is how I usually make my chai spice.
I usually prepare a larger bottle of chai spice because we use it daily to make chai. Sometimes I sprinkle it in curry to bring out the cardamom flavor. Other times I add it to my turmeric latte and it makes the golden latte taste amazing. You can make a smaller or larger portion of the dough, depending on your preference.
My chai spice mix usually includes cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, fennel seeds, and ground ginger. You can also add other flavorings, like nutmeg or allspice or even vanilla for variations. For a simpler chai spice, you can just use cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. Fennel seeds deepen the floral flavor profile of the chai spice, but you can omit them. You can also use fresh ginger when making chai and omit the ground ginger from the mixture.
I use ground cinnamon instead of cinnamon sticks, because they can be difficult to grind in some regular blenders/spice grinders. If you have a coffee grinder, this might work better, but you’ll want to break the cinnamon stick into smaller pieces, so it fits in the grinder. In any case, I provide values for using both forms of cinnamon.
You can prepare the chai spice mix and keep it for use as needed or give it as a gift. But you can also turn it into a chai concentratewhich reduces the time it takes to prepare delicious chai. To make the concentrate, boil the chai spice blend with water, fresh ginger, and loose tea leaves and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week. Just add non-dairy milk and your chai is ready! You don’t need to measure each ingredient and you don’t need to filter.
However, I would not use this chai concentrate to make chai for my mother. It can only tell if the chai is freshly made. It’s an Indian thing.:) Make her fresh cup of tea with my chai spice and oat milk every morning and night!
Chai spice blend or chai concentrate makes a great gift. It smells just amazing, with the freshly powdered spices and it’s such a versatile blend. You can add it to cakes, rice pudding, baklava, pancakes, fresh toast, chai-misu (tiramisu but use chai for soaking!) or other desserts for that amazing flavor.
Why you will love Chai spice mix
- both the chai spice mix and the chai concentrate make great holiday gifts for the tea lover in your life!
- or keep blends on hand for making tea
- naturally gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free
For the Chai concentrate (4 servings)
Prevents the screen from going dark
Make the chai spice blend.
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Combine all the chai spice mix ingredients in a coffee grinder or small blender. Blend until the mixture is uniformly pulverized. Depending on your blender, you may not be able to completely break down the cardamom pods. If you think this may be happening, remove the skins before blending and use only the seeds (this will make the chia spice blend more concentrated and you may need to add a little less per serving). Shop the spice mix in an airtight container away from direct sunlight. The spice will stay fresh for 6 months.
Prepare 1 serving of chai.
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Heat the waterfall in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chai spice mix and grated o sliced thinly ginger and bring to the boil. Add the loose tea and boil again. Mix sugar to taste, then pour the non-dairy milk slowly. (Make a very slow pour to lower the temperature of the pot and reduce the chance of the non-dairy milk separating.) Bring the mixture to a boil again, then turn off the heat. Strain into a cup and enjoy!
Make concentrated chai.
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Heat the waterfall into a saucepan and add chai spice mix and grated ginger. Bring to the boil. Add the loose tea and sugar (if in use). Boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let the mixture macerate for a few minutes. Strain the concentrate, let it cool and store it in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Or freeze it in ice cubes and use it later!
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Use chai concentrate: Add equal parts chai concentrate and non-dairy milk and heat or serve over ice for iced tea!
The pictures of the jars are overnight oats or pudding pots like these.
The prep time and cooking time are used to make 1 serving of chai from the mixture.
Nutrition facts are for 1 serving of the chai spice blend without sugar or milk, as quantities used will vary.
To make a spiced loose tea, mix everything together chai spice blend you just done with 2 or 3 cups loose tea leaves. Mix very well and store, just like you store spice blend, then use it to make chai just like you would use loose tea leaves. Although I don’t recommend storing this way because the spice will tend to collect at the bottom instead of staying mixed with the tea.
Calories: 25kcal, Carbohydrates: 6G, Protein: 1G, Fat: 1G, Saturated fat: 0.1G, Polyunsaturated fats: 0.1G, Monounsaturated fats: 0.2G, Sodium: 4mg, Potassium: 100mg, Fiber: 3G, Sugar: 0.05G, Vitamin A: 10UI, Vitamin C: 1mg, Soccer: 46mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is calculated automatically, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and substitutions
- whole spices – For the chai mix you will need green cardamom pods, cinnamon (sticks or ground), whole cloves, black peppercorns and fennel seeds.
- ground ginger – For the chai spice blend.
- waterfall – To prepare chai masala.
- fresh ginger – To prepare chai masala or prepare chai concentrate.
- loose leaf tea – To prepare chai. I use Indian tea like wag bakri, jivraaj
- non-dairy milk – To make it creamy. Oat milk works best. Almond milk when heated can sometimes have a metallic taste.
- sugar – Use sugar or your favorite sweetener, to taste.
💡 Tips
- I like to include green cardamom peels, if you can powder them really well, because the peel has a lot of flavor too. If you can crush it into powder, definitely use them. Otherwise, open them, take out the seeds and use them.
- To make it a gift, print out instructions for making a batch of chai and include it in the spice mix.
How to Make Chai Spice Blend
Combine all the chai spice mix ingredients in a coffee grinder or small blender. Blend until the mixture is uniformly pulverized. Depending on your blender, you may not be able to completely break down the cardamom pods. If you know your blender isn’t blending well, remove the skins before blending and only use the seeds.
Store the spice mix in an airtight container away from direct sunlight. The spice will stay fresh for 6 months.
For a single serving of chai, heat the waterfall in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chai spice mix and grated or sliced ginger and bring to the boil.
Add the loose tea and boil again. Mix sugar to taste, then pour the non-dairy milk slowly. Slowly pouring in the milk reduces the temperature of the pan and helps reduce the chances of the mil splitting due to the sudden temperature differential. Bring the mixture to a boil again, then turn off the heat. Strain into a cup and enjoy!
How to prepare Chai concentrate
Heat the waterfall into a saucepan and add chai spice mix and grated or sliced ginger. Bring to the boil.
Add the loose tea and sugar (if in use). Boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let the mixture macerate for a few minutes. Strain the concentrate, let it cool and store it in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Or make some ice cubes to freeze and use later,
What to Serve with Chai
Chai is a cozy way to start the day if you don’t want to have coffee. Serve it with your favorite breakfast, like peach upside-down pancakes or scones!
Frequently asked questions
YES! Both the dry chai mix and the chai concentrate are naturally free of gluten, soy and nuts.
The chai spice blend is caffeine-free and can be used to make tea without the tea leaves. Just the spice with ginger makes the tea amazing. You can add other additions like tulsi (Indian holy basil) or rooibos and boil with the spice mix.
