Masala Chai Tea Latte

17/07/2020

Usually, when I go to Starbucks, the only drink I would order will be Chai Tea Latte. It is my all-time favourite drink at Starbucks. The milky sweetness partnered with the astringent black tea drew me in, but the warm spices that lingered between sips kept me drinking. It wasn’t long before the sweetness of those chai drink mixes became too much for me and I started experimenting with chai lattes at home.

This chai latte gives you complete control over your chai latte experience, from the tea and the spices to the sweetener and type of milk. The result is a creamy cup of black tea subtly spiced and fragrant with cinnamon, cloves and ginger, cardamom and just the right amount of sweetness, so near perfect that you’ll skip the Starbucks chia and come home to make a pot of this at tea time.

What is Masala Chai?

Masala chai is a creamy, spiced tea that’s most popular in India but is increasingly enjoyed around the world. The primary difference between chai and masala chai is that masala chai includes spices, while chai is simply tea and milk.

Chai is typically made with four components:

Black tea (we prefer bagged or loose-leaf, decaf when possible)
Milk (we went dairy-free with coconut and/or cashew )
Sweetener (we went for a little maple syrup)
Spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove)

Anthony the Spice Marker

The spices vary depending on the recipe, but our favourite combination is cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove. It may be messy when you come into mixing herb, we came across this Masala Chia by Anthony the Spice Maker. It has the perfect blend that we like, making it way to simple to make this drink.

Like the shop name, this spice shop is created by Anthony. Anthony’s parents are the first-generational spice makers and having grown up in a spice family, he always has a heart for spice crafting and creating flavours. He aspired to be different from the big players that were already in the market, by sticking to his strong beliefs in providing ethically- sourced, quality spices and crafting authentic traditional flavours of Singapore for all to enjoy. When it comes to herb and spice the first place that we head to is always here.

How to Froth Milk for Any Latte

You’ve brewed, spiced, and sweetened your tea, and now you must froth your milk — unless you’d rather have a classic cup of chai rather than a chai latte. The problem? You don’t own an espresso machine or a frothing wand. Luckily there are three clever ways you can froth your milk for lattes.

Frothing wand; Warm your milk. Immerse your frothing wand in the milk and turn on. Whisk, creating a nice swirl of milk, until frothed to your liking.
Blender; Pour your warm milk into a blender and blend on medium speed until frothy. Make sure to cover the lid of your blender with a dish towel—you don’t want hot milk flying all over your kitchen! (Our method!)
Immersion blender; Warm your milk in a large, deep pot. Place your hand blender in the milk, making sure the blades are immersed. Turn the blender on low, and blend until frothy. This method creates nice foam, but we can’t really recommend it because it is very messy!
Pump frother; You can purchase a special pump-style frother. It makes lovely, creamy foam. We got our pump frother from tao bao.

Enjoyed by millions in India, masala chai, a spiced, sweetened black tea mixed with milk, is now popular around the world. It is sold all over India by chai wallahs, or tea vendors, who pour the tea from big kettles into small cups. But we got to enjoy them at home without travelling, try making yours now!

xoxo, Angela