Most weak chai at home isn't weak because of the milk, the sugar or the pan. It's weak because it was rushed. CTC tea needs a couple of minutes in hot water to open up before the milk goes in, and most of us skip that step. Here's the method we use, what to change if you like your cup stronger, and the one mistake behind most flat home chai.
What you need for one cup
- 75 ml of water
- 75 ml of milk (full-cream gives the richest cup)
- 2.5 g of CTC tea, about a level teaspoon
- Sugar to taste
- Optional: two elaichi pods and a thin slice of fresh adrak
That makes a 150 ml cup, the size of a standard chai glass. For more cups, multiply everything. Keep the same timings.
The 4-minute method
- Boil the water. Bring 75 ml of water to a rolling boil. If you're using elaichi or adrak, crush them into the water now.
- Simmer the tea for two minutes. Add the tea and let it simmer in the water alone. The granules open up and release their colour and body. This is the step most people rush.
- Add the milk and simmer two minutes more. Pour in 75 ml of milk and bring it back to a simmer for another two minutes.
- Finish in the last minute. Stir in sugar and any masala during the final minute, then strain and pour.
The one mistake behind weak chai
Putting the tea and milk in together, or adding milk almost straight away. Milk cools the pan and coats the granules, so the tea never fully opens. You get colour, but not the body and strength that make chai taste like chai. Give the tea its two minutes in water first, and the same spoon of tea makes a noticeably stronger cup.
How to make it stronger without making it bitter
- Use a little more tea, not more time. Boiling chai for ten minutes doesn't make it stronger so much as harsher. Add a pinch more tea instead and keep to the four minutes.
- Start with fresh tea. Tea loses aroma once it's open to air and light. Keep it sealed in a cool, dry cupboard, and check the packing date.
- Want it very dark? Finer granules colour the cup faster. Our Pure Dust Tea is made for people who like their chai very dark and very strong. Start with about 2 g a cup.
Small changes, different cups
- Creamier: use a little more milk and give it an extra minute on a low flame. That's the slow, rich cup Irani cafés are known for.
- Cutting chai: brew it a little stronger than usual and pour half-cups into small glasses, the way Mumbai's tapris do.
- Masala: crush the spices into the water before the tea goes in, or use a ready blend such as Strong Masala Chai, where the spices are already in.
- Elaichi that stays bright: add the sugar in the last minute, not at the start.
Start with the right tea
Method matters, but the tea decides the cup. For milk chai you want CTC tea that holds its colour and body after the milk goes in. Our Premium CTC Chai is blended for exactly that: Assam for strength, Dooars for aroma. A 250 g pouch makes about 100 cups this way.
